Could The Public Option Slip Back In?

[Turborama]

Maybe, according to Ryan Grim in the Huffington Post...


Could The Public Option Sneak Back In?

First Posted: 03-22-10 09:51 PM | Updated: 03-22-10 11:54 PM

=snip=

The vote on the public option would be close without Democrats whipping against it. In that face of that opposition, it would likely be a blowout. In December, they managed to persuade 30 Democrats to vote against a bill allowing prescription drug reimportation - even though many of them were public supporters of it. But if Republicans succeed in altering the bill even slightly, that justification disappears. The House, at that point, will be required to vote on the bill one more time.

And with Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) and his pro-life caucus squarely on board as the result of a deal with the White House, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has the votes to pass a public option. There's an easy way to prove that assertion: She passed it in November 220-215 with a public option. Sunday night's version passed 220-211, meaning that four members could peel off and she would still have the needed support.

Any Democrat could introduce a public option amendment in the Senate and it would need a bare majority to pass. Would it have 50 votes? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/11/the-public-options-last-s_n_495383.html">It looks that way, but the one way to find out is to hold the vote without leadership urging members to vote it down.

Democratic aides and members in the House and Senate say that the strategy is too risky, that there's no certainty that the House could get the final bill through again. But ask House Republicans: Betting against Pelosi is a quick way to go broke. And Senate Republicans would be left to mull over the final irony that it was their own parliamentary obstruction that allowed the public option to slide back in.

Full article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/22/could-the-public-option-s_n_509206.html

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[vaberella]

1. I don't like this idea too much. It gives us way too much problems in congress.

It was already EXTREMELY difficult to this bill passed without the PO. I do like Sanders and Grayson's plan which are simple and could be much better with this particular bill and the reconciliations. I don't think the PO was sufficient the way it was, as well. I find the ideas of the two gentlement aforementioned much better and much more dynamic with the plan we currently have..

[yurbud]

4. who made it difficult? not the republicans. They're irrelevant.

[babylonsister]

2. We'll see soon enough; Woolsey is introducing it today...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x240569


Liberal caucus leader will introduce new public option bill

[ihavenobias]

3. If a *strong* version does, this bill might have a chance to do long-term good.

But I'm not holding my breath.