That consistent-to-increasing, overwhelming support may still have a hope of breaking through the pretenses of enough of the bought-and-paid-for political whores occupying seats in Congress and through shouted teabagger lies. After all, beyond a certain point, even dialing-for-dollars millions from their corporate masters can't guarantee buying re-election (the over-riding, if not only, priority of most) against the outrage of the large majority of their constituents whose interests they'd have just sold down the river in service to their pimps.

For a minute there, I thought your post was going to reveal that 65% of Congress favored public option. Let's face facts old boy, that's the only percentage that counts.

Something will get done on health care reform very soon, Rahm Emanuel is going to be the real hammer (not this uber-corrupt dickweed), some people are going to be happy, and some are going to be pissed off.

Reconciliation will become the new buzzword for the right, and capitulation will be the accusation thrown from the left.

The legislation is going to be a compromise, which is fine.

It is the US, where not everyone agrees on anything.

strong majority public opinion can influence that percentage in the manner I described (fear of not being re-elected as result of defying will of most constituents). Such strong public preference could also have the further salutary effect of re-directing Rahm's mis-aimed hammer from the Dem progressive caucus who, like Rahm's putative boss Obama, have consistently supported the public option (if we can't have single-payer) to the Blue Dogs/Six Gangers where it belongs (they're the ones obstructing the President's stated preference, after all).

No, the only percentage that counts is the percentage that can get something done.

I can link you to polls that say 87% of all voters in North Carolina think Barack Obama is from Kenya.

Barack Obama's poll numbers are a-tumblin', and health care is the reason.

Just a hunch, but I think he's about to compromise.

(Rahm's "putative" boss? Trust me, Emanuel knows who the boss is.)

voters or just people? Rasmussen usually has the skinny on the ones that count...you know people who actually vote?

Not quite sure what this post is trying to say but I think I agree with it.

Now how do you like that?

I don't agree with reforming the pay structure alone though...Cost control is far more important but if we must have interference it damn well better be with a public option because without that we will be worse off than we are now.

jo

tartuffe, isn't it great! No only 65% of Americans support public option but 51% of republican voters support public option. Republicans have been very successful in derailing and slowing things down but the economy is getting better and ficial dept said the public option would save Americans money and bring down cost. Gret!

I agree with one thing with regards to the conservatives, like Olympia Snowe, truly, something of this magnitude can snow ball on itself; like other good ideas that have come out of Washington, I think Snowe's prudent arguments with Baucus did some good; it was a failure analysis of the Senate bill, good for her, she's doing her job and very well I might add.

But DeMint and his "Waterloo"? he's a media whore and I have no use for him.

I believe a Public option is just what this country needs right now, and there's nothing wrong with making the insurance companies sign up to work out at the "fiscal" gym.

It will do them some good.

Regards

Pace

is that Rasmussen is an avowed fundamentalist Christian and a conservative idealogue.

Unurprisingly his polls tend to sway towards the conservative agenda.

I agree with you though...without the public option this thing is just a windfall for the private insurers (via all those guaranteed new 'mandated' customers).

Not, of course, that there won't be any compromise, that's inherent in the sausage-making. Talking specifically about public option.

Also, not saying chances are yet better than 50-50 for it, just that they're moving in its direction, for some pretty obvious reasons:

1. (if you followed the links, as I've long argued) public option saves money ($85B to fed gov't alone per CBO scoring, i.e., not even counting savings to premium-paying consumers) by providing cost/inflation control in the form of private insurers having to compete with at-cost, low-overhead, efficiently run (a la Medicare) public option.

2. Dems gradually waking up to the political-suicide aspect of mandating everybody send their premiums to private insurers with no such cost-controlling public option (see #1).

As I've said before,

(universal mandate to send our money to private insurers) - (public option's cost/inflation control) = (political suicide)

The first hints of blowback on such combined policy/political idiocy are already evident. If Dems actually end up presiding over such an obviously suicidal debacle (and make no mistake, they own it like an albatross around the neck whether it passes with (50+Biden) Dem-only votes in "reconciliation" or 60+ "bipartisanship") they will earn the XX(X?) resulting years of wandering in the wilderness -- it's that politically stupid.

P.S. (deleted and re-posted to add re: "putative") Funny you picked up on that. Tongue pretty firmly in cheek on that one (though not SO much so that I think Rahm has not sometimes been at odds with The Boss's program, especially re: "hammering" progressives more than Blue Dogs, etc.).

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I am aware of who it is that wants the public option...the whole problem is this...

Choosing the public option as part of reform is still giving the government way too much intrusion into the private sector...though I will admit somebody has to intrude or the insurance companies will eventually eat us alive.

So you are left on the deck of the Titanic with two choices:

1.) The Mezzanine with standing room only ( No Public Option )

2.) The Chez lounge section ( Public Option )..

The government is like Walmart. They come in with the lowest bid but when the competition is dead they become the worst consumer nightmare imaginable. I'm telling you this is a Big Mistake. Sure they will kill the insurance companies and they probably deserve it but I will refer you to the Wisdom of the following proverb used on these boards many times by me.

" when the fox hears the rabbit screaming he comes running......but not to help "

jo

not the person you want to hook up with tarty....he is a staunch believer in social Darwinism...not the best model for someone who admires socialism.

jo

will start a war between the US Government and the Direct Provider network. There will be law suits and battles galore over how much this is worth or whether they should do this or that procedure. It's going to be a freaking mess...but its better than not having it with the reform law coming one way or another.

Cost... is the real problem and nobody has done a damn thing about cost yet.

jo