As usual, former Clinton Administration official (and current
CEO of Progressive Strategies) Mike Lux
nails it, this time on health care reform and specifically the public option:
Okay, stay with me now: ditching the public option would mean a massive, ugly civil war with House progressives, most of whom will be feeling very gun-shy about abandoning their written pledges to oppose any bill without the public option. Keeping the public option would require dealing with some unhappiness from some conservative Senators, and might require a procedural move or two that would be complicated.
Which approach sounds easier to get done?
But conventional wisdom insiders have been telling each other for a long time that there is no way to pass a public option, and that has made White House staffers and legislative leaders have a hard time seeing what is becoming the honest truth: passing a bill with the public option is not only possible, but the easiest way to a victory.
Maybe there is something I don't understand here- it wouldn't be the first time. But as someone who passionately wants to help the White House pass a health reform bill, it seems pretty clear which way to go. I will admit it would not be simple or smooth, but that civil war scenario of dropping the public option would be a lot worse.
Let's get this train moving down the most direct path to victory.
In other words, the public option isn't just the right thing to do in terms of keeping health care costs down, it's also the most politically feasible. Is this a "no brainer" or what? Thanks to Mike Lux for explaining it so clearly. Democratic Congressmen and women, are you listening?
