Keep The Public Option Alive

by: Chris Bowers

Wed Sep 16, 2009 at 13:58


Senator Max Baucus is apparently going to release his health care bill today. As we have already discussed on Open Left, there is a strong case to made against the bill, it probably won't be close to the final bill, and it does not have 60 votes in the Senate. Despite all of this, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid appears ready to push forward with the Baucus plan:

An aide to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says, "Although we don't agree with everything in this bill, Finance Committee's mark represents critical momentum in this process."

It is momentum alright, but not in the direction we need to be going.

In response to the release of the Baucus bill, Open Left is joining with CREDO Action to tell Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to make sure a public option is included when the bill goes to the floor of the Senate.

Click here to sign the petition.

Assuming the Baucus bill passes the Finance Committee next week in some form, the next step in the process is for the Senate Finance Committee and the Senate HELP Committee -- which passed a public option under the late Ted Kennedy -- to combine their bills into a single piece of legislation. This merging is largely determined by the Senate leadership, and so it is important that Harry Reid hear from us.

Click here to sign the petition.

This petition also represents the start of a new era of expanded activism capabilities for Open Left.  Over 81,000 people have taken action in the myriad campaigns we have conducted over the past two years: Bush Dogs, Donna Edwards for Congress, Better Democrats, No On Larry Summers, Senate Whip Count, and many more.  Starting today, all 81,000 activists are being invited, by email, to participate in Open Left Action, which will become a regular feature here.  Open Left Action is designed to help provide more leverage to the strategic campaigns we pursue in our mission to build a progressive governing majority in America. We are starting Open Left Action by joining with CREDO Action in an effort to keep the public option alive in the Senate:

Click here to sign the petition.

We have the votes to pass a public option in both chambers, as long as we use reconciliation in the Senate. There are not enough votes to pass the Baucus plan in either chamber, at least according to the 60 Senate votes for which the bill was designed. So, at this point, not only is keeping the public option better policy, but it is also the pragmatic move. Join with Open Left and CREDO Action to tell that to Senator Reid:

Click here to sign the petition.

A new phase in the health care fight, and a new era for Open Left, starts today.
Chris Bowers :: Keep The Public Option Alive

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Keep The Public Option Alive | 23 comments
As Open Left's resident Nevadan... (4.00 / 3)
I feel like I have a special duty to do something. I'll keep going and I won't give up until my Senator does what most of us here in Nevada want, and that's to pass a bill with a strong public option!

Want to save marriage equality in Maine? Ask me how! ;-)
Congratulations. (4.00 / 3)
So how's it work? (4.00 / 3)
Does Reid, and Reid alone, now combine the Baucus bill with the Kennedy bill? Would he have the gaul and stupidity not to include Kennedy's PO in the final product?

Okay, dumb Question. Better sign that petition.


Pretty much... (4.00 / 1)
And to be honest, I'm not as angry with him right now. maybe it's just because I was expecting worse. He has said he wants a public option. We just need to make sure he doesn't wimp out on us, and that will take us pressuring him 24/7 until we see a final product that's satisfactory.

Want to save marriage equality in Maine? Ask me how! ;-)
[ Parent ]
aren't the committees involved? (0.00 / 0)
at least the chairs?

it's Reid in the sense that it's up to him what can be brought to the floor for a vote, when and how, right?

this process is so crazy.

(and remember, Reid wants a public option but only so long as it's private, because he's like a fox.)

not everything worth doing is profitable. not everything profitable is worth doing.

[ Parent ]
These are both good questions (4.00 / 2)
And rather than cobbling together my far from complete knowledge with googled details, why doesnt openleft hold a short online symposium on how this part of the legislative process is going to work.

If not something that complex at least a front page article with some history, some explanation and some idea of the input points and who has control where.

This is what organizing is. One of the progressive Representative's staff people could be seconded for an advanced civics social studies lesson.

What say all is this a good idea?

Change
"We must break up the banks and never again let them get so big that they distort our politics and take down the economy.

[ Parent ]
i'll do it (4.00 / 3)
If I could just find a link to the petition somewhere.
signed your petition (4.00 / 3)
Nice to see email from OL in my inbox!

Listen the writing is on the wall when even Andrew Sullivan is calling for a public option....

David Corn makes a useful point:

   With the Baucus plan, a family of four making $66,000 would have to pay $700 a month for government-mandated health insurance coverage. That's more than many people at that income level are used to paying now for whatever health care coverage they have. For a good number of households, this could be a rather weighty obligation.

Is there not a good argument to be made now that Obama, having failed to win any serious Republican support, should give his party what it wants: a public option or, at the very least, more generous subsidies for the middle classes this bill is designed to help? The worst outcome would be a bill that is largely unsupported on the left, reviled by the Beck right and yet too cheap to help the people it is trying to help. If the GOP insists on total opposition - and it is - Obama could consider responding by adjusting the bill to please its actual supporters. There is more to come on this long and winding road.

and after this long and tortuous process no one will be able to say that Obama didn't try like the dickens to work out a bi-partisan solution...

glad you are doing this (4.00 / 1)


New Jersey politics at Blue Jersey.
Yeah I already agreed up higher but I have to re-iterate. (4.00 / 2)
This is a big step in the development of openleft, of progressive organizing and I am grateful and excited at this first step. Look, here is history writing itself.. and when the future is brighter and some University student ibn the future wants tio write about how it all came about, the forming of  OPENLEFTaction will be right here to find.

Change
"We must break up the banks and never again let them get so big that they distort our politics and take down the economy.
[ Parent ]
Good News: Reid does NOT like the Baucus Bill! (4.00 / 1)
Take a looky at The Sun's story. Given, his main objection right now is over Medicaid financing. Still, it's good for us that he wants the bill changed. Hopefully, he'll also make sure a public option is also part of the bill he wants.

Want to save marriage equality in Maine? Ask me how! ;-)
I am all about action so this is great (4.00 / 2)
One suggestion -- a graphic that could be used to identify diaries that ask for specific action so when we are scrolling through we know to stop there to do something.

If you live on Chicago's north side, get involved in Northside DFA.
www.northsidedfa.com
Okay, I signed your petition. Now sign mine. (0.00 / 1)
Send the following email to the MacArthur Foundation at 4answers@macfound.org with the subject line...

"Jacob Freeze deserves a MacArthur Fellowship!"

Yo, chumps!

It has come to my attention than another bunch of MacArthur Fellows will be announced September 22, 2009, and Jacob Freeze, "the prophetic wonder-man of political blogging," is once again among the finalists.

In fact, he may be the very last player thrown off the island!

That ain't just a mistake... it's a crime! What the fuck are you thinking? Get real!

Jacob Freeze deserves not just one but probably three or four of your stupid fellowships!

How come you didn't give him one already, morons?

Sincerely,

your_name@your_email_address


I have a new stalker on OpenLeft! (0.00 / 0)
This is "Gordon Ginsberg," who has posted zero diaries and exactly one comment way back in November 2008.

As far as I can tell, "Gordon Ginsberg" only exists to troll-rate my comments, and uprate Paul Rosenberg and his wonderful little buddies.

Classy!

[ Parent ]
that's funny! (4.00 / 1)

[ Parent ]
What "public option"? (0.00 / 0)
The only "public option" (in my mind) is Medicare for All - starting 12/31/2009.  Since that's not going to happen, I'm very much afraid that any other "public option" will be designed to fail and set single-payer back another generation.

What "public option" are we supporting?  If it's a bad option, maybe the whole thing should fail.

(And, yes, I've been reading this blog - but I can't tell you what public option is the one "we're" supporting.)

I think at this point... (0.00 / 0)
...we're talking about an option that is run by the government but run entirely on the money put into it by it's members.  By running without making a profit it will be able to deliver lower cost insurance to people who can't afford private insurance.

Not sure if this is specific enough for you.  Not sure if I'm on the same page as everyone else either.

[ Parent ]
I guess that's what I'm concerned about.... (0.00 / 0)
I'll sign the petition when I know what the petition means by Public Option.

I am not in favor or the public options that have been put forth since they are not truly a public option....IMHO.

[ Parent ]
And if we get mandate + no public option? (0.00 / 0)
What is the Progressive plan going to be if they try to pass a health care plan that that has mandates and no public option... a mandate that forces everyone to buy private health insurance?

Here's one idea...
http://www.dailykos.com/storyo...

I have another idea. I personally think Progressives need to put the term "general strike" back in our working vocabulary. You don't have to hit the streets in a general strike anymore. Thanks to Iranians angry over their stolen election, we've all been given a course on activist communications via twitter and facebook. Everybody can now stay in communication with strike leaders safely at home on the net, or on a cellphone with a net browser.

re: plan (4.00 / 1)
What is the Progressive plan going to be if they try to pass a health care plan that that has mandates and no public option... a mandate that forces everyone to buy private health insurance?


[ Parent ]
What public option? This effort is such a joke. (4.00 / 1)
I and many others are beginning to question the membership requirements for entering the "reality based community."  The bylaws need some revisions.

Because in the real world, people need to JUST ADMIT IT, A ROBUST PUBLIC OPTION IS DEAD and has been since Democrats dumped Hackers original proposal to carry 130 million and replaced it with these various firewalled and hamstrung versions that may only cover zero (that's right ZERO) to 11 million.

But yea, fight for two words to be included in a bill, that mean absolutely nothing, do absolutely nothing and will feature premiums even higher than private insurance (so says CBO).

Yea that'll show 'em!

Progressive Power!!!

What a total joke.  The insurance companies and Big PhRMA are laughing their asses off right now.

WHY I STILL DO NO TRUST BAUCUS (0.00 / 0)
When the plan to fund ObamaCare included taxing employee provided health care benefits...Baucus added an amendment to exempt union members and their families:

http://sayanythingblog.com/

But surprise, surprise if the Democrats get their way not all Americans would have their health benefits taxed. Union workers would be exempted.

Union members and their families who receive healthcare benefits paid for by their employers would be exempted from a new tax on healthcare under one option being proposed by Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mt), according to a report by the Fox Business Channel's Peter Barnes.

Baucus's plan would tax health care benefits to raise from $161.9 billion to $418 billion over ten years to fund the nationalized "government provider" of health care benefits President Obama and Democrats want. Peter Barnes told me, "There would be preferential treatment for unions" under one version of the Baucus proposal.

As shown on page 3 of the Baucus outline published by Fox News under two of Baucus' four options, healthcare benefits provided under collective bargaining agreements dated on or before January 1, 2013 would be exempt from the tax.

This Baucus plan was great for union members...but the rest of us were totally screwed.  Although his plan went back under the covers after so many complained about the higher taxes for so many (not the supposedly just those making over $250,000), I am still concerned about the mindset of a person who include such underhanded amendment in a bill. How can I, not a union member, trust a person like this? Was this a payback to his union supporters?  I don't know.

--


"The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the
oppressed." --Steve Biko

OK, my husband and I signed ALTHOUGH (0.00 / 0)
....we don't like the use of the term Public Option 'cause what you want as a public option is not what we want.

SINGLE PAYER/MEDICARE FOR ALL.  Now that's a public option!

Keep The Public Option Alive | 23 comments
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