Blanche Lincoln, looking out for self

[ProSense]

Josh Marshall: Fog of War Reform

There's a lot of commotion and confusion right now on where the state of play is on health care reform, especially with the news emerging over the course of the day that the president will start a new roll out next week.

First, literalism in a situation like this will only get you so far. Sen. Blanche Lincoln appeared to say yesterday that she was ruling out a public option. Politico and others reported it that way. What she actually said was: "I would not support a solely government-funded public option. We can't afford that."

The only problem with that is that there's no version of the public option that is "solely government-funded." It's fundamentally premium-based, with more or less subsidies either at the front end to get it started or to defray costs for middle and lower income consumers. So on the face of it, it's a nonsensical statement -- like, I'll vote down every death panel.

What does it mean? Probably that "public option" has become toxic in Arkansas where, remember, Rush Limbaugh is more popular than President Obama. And she wants to distance herself from it as much as possible while also hinting in the details that she might not be opposed to something like it. Or maybe it's just an answer not intended for the consumption of anyone who's actually dealing with the policy questions and just for the death panel and socialized medicine crowd and you just drive yourself crazy trying to make sense of it in any rational terms.

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[Better BeLIEve Bull]

1. she will likely lose her next election.

she stood for nothing.

[Thrill]

2. Biden was down there after the election helping her raise millions

This is what he gets in return.

[donheld]

Blanche Lincoln is the official senator of Wal-Mart.

They Own her.

[donheld]

3. Blanche Lincoln is the official senator of Wal-Mart.

They Own her.

[frazzled]

4. There is no "solely government-funded public option" on the table

As the article says. So stop getting all wee-weed up. Blanche Lincoln is saying nothing. Though her record is so bad, I wouldn't be surprised if she voted against it. But that's not what she said here.

The public option in all the current bills is what Obama has called "self-sustaining." You'll have to pay a premium for it, like private insurance. The public moneys would only go to subsidies for people who need help buying insurance--but that subsidy would also go to them if they choose a private plan.

[Joanne98]

5. I can't stand her.