http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/...

http://speaker.house.gov/...

"Any real change requires the inclusion of a strong public option to promote competition and bring down costs. If a vigorous public option is not included, it would be a major victory for the health insurance industry.



"President Obama has said that a public option will keep the insurance companies honest. If someone has a better idea for promoting competition and reducing health care costs, they should put it on the table. But for the past month, opponents of health insurance reform have demonstrated that they are afraid of the facts. They have only offered distortions, distractions and misrepresentations to try to kill this historic legislation. "A bill without a strong public option will not pass the House. Eliminating the public option would be a major victory for the insurance companies who have rationed care, increased premiums and denied coverage."

Go Nancy! she has been a consistent Champion and a fighter for our center-left causes in this congress. Especially the public option. M.r. president at this point it will be both politically and substantively idiotic to back down on the public option (both progressives, dems and the substantial majority of the American people support it. Polls after August range from 52%, 55%, 66% & 77% support for it. Even after all the negativity and the town hall disruptions clear majorities support it. In the senate only 2 dems have come out and openly opposed it, that leaves clear margins for a reconciliation bill that passes the senate easily). I hope for both your and our sakes you will draw a line in the sand on something you feverishly campaigned on next week in your state of the union address. If the public option goes down because of the president being wishy washy on it (or worse), he will have no defenders for the bill from left or the right and the negativity will creep over to independents as well. In short he will have no allies. I am wishing for the best next week, do not cross over to the dark side M.r. president. That is a line too far for me to cross it over with you.

Update: So much for the moderate Snow, she WANTS to stick with gang of six and wont cut a deal! what kind of moderate is she if she wants to stick it with likes of Grassly and Enzi? (I commented 2 months ago there was no way in hell to get Enzi. He is from Wyoming for fucks sake) I look at this as good news as well. Lets just go to reconciliation. That is best chance for a good bill right now, in fact reconciliation will FORCE a better public option for it to pass the byrd rule.

http://www.rollcall.com/...

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) appears unlikely to walk away from bipartisan health care reform talks in the Senate Finance Committee to cut a side deal with the White House, but her spokeswoman said Thursday that she continues to keep an "open line of communication" with President Barack Obama. "The Senator’s foremost goal is to achieve a bipartisan consensus among the six members of the group on a path forward for meaningful health care reform," Snowe spokeswoman Julia Wanzco said.

UpdateX2:

In my opinion for progressives to get the best bill out of this process they must mobilize RIGHT NOW to advocate strongly for reconciliation. From what I understand (and have researched) of the process if the public option is strong enough it wont even have to be susnset, since sunset comes into play when the bill adds to long term deficits (a point of order against a bill that adds more to the deficits up to 5 decades from now). That is why bush tax cuts sunset after 5 years and needed to be renewed to get to 10 years. If the public option is strong it wont add to the long term deficit (hopefully, it is determined by CBO) so therefore it wont need to be sunset to get around this point of order. That is the best case scenario for this bill and it can only be achieved through reconciliation.IMO we have to advocate for reconciliation non stop from now until oct 15 in diaries and in public/congressional outreaches.

P.S. Good to see this at the top of rec list :)

UpdateX3:

Here is a link about reconciliation and how it will apply to strengthen the public option and removing the sunset provisions.

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/...