Pelosi just flushed public option.

[dixiegrrrrl]

She has just this minute said public option is the "people's option to hold insurance companies accountable" Then repeated her goal of accountability, accessibility, affordability.
She re-defined the public option to mean holding insurance companies accountable.

[laughingliberal]

1. Any surprise, there? On to bill pong. nt

[sui generis]

arg me eyes I need coffee

I read that as Pill Bong. I am off the caffeine and it hurts. Propel Water, my undercaffeinated ass.

[Jamastiene]

2. The Public Option is off the table.

I expected as much.

[elocs]

8. Do you expect Pelosi to somehow force the Senate to pass a bill with a public option?

She got one through the House, but no matter how much everyone here wants a public option, it will not pass the Senate. So, no public option in the final bill means no public option, but a public option in a final bill that does not pass the Senate also means no public option. This is not difficult to understand.

[LooseWilly]

32. Fine, then kill the whole thing...

Ohh right, forcing people to buy crap is better than no solution.

Gods forbid they fight to have the mandate pulled along with the public option...

[elocs]

3. Really, there's nothing she can do if the Senate will not pass a bill with a public option.

She held up her end because the original House bill did have a public option.

[tblue]

7. That's sad. When the Speaker of the House and the Senate Majority Leader and the President

"can do nothing," that's sad.

[elocs]

22. Did you miss the vote in the Senate where they rejected a public option?

How exactly is Pelosi responsible for flushing the public option when the Senate rejected it, yet the House originally passed it? Does anyone think Pelosi can somehow force the Senate to pass a bill with a public option?

[tblue]

27. No.

It's still sad.

[elocs]

37. You're right, it may be sad, but in reality there is nothing Pelosi can do about it.

It may be a bitter pill to swallow for House members who wanted a public option to have to vote for a bill without one, but that's reality in politics. Months and months and months were spent on health care reform, so the Democrats will pass something rather than face the American voters in November and accomplishing nothing. None of this should be a surprise to anyone here at DU who is familiar with the reality of the situation after the Senate vote.

[Uncle Joe]

38. Yes, she could kill the bill and let the Senate run on denying the public option

this year.

[joeybee12]

42. Then she says she won't have the House vote on a final bill without a

public option...make the senate change its bill...the senate is not the House's boss, nor vice versa. Call their bluff...if Obama really wants a bill, any bill, he'll go back and wrangle that extra vote.

[elocs]

49. Please explain how Pelosi can "make" the Senate change their bill?

Do you understand how a conference committee works? There is no bluff to call. There will be a bill and it will have no public option. Blame the Senate, not Pelosi.

Did people here at DU believe there was magically going to be this spectacular health care reform bill with a public option after the Senate vote before Christmas?

[Romulox]

54. Basic "good cop/bad cop" routine.

I submit that if the President supported the Public Option, he would've been vocal about it all along.

In other words, the President will sign the bill he wanted all along--one that does not include a public option.

[Mari333]

4. In other words, her definition is we the people keep getting reamed.

you cant hold them accountable, nancy, unless they are forced to compete. with no govt run option, there is no competition.

[avaistheone1]

6. That's a fact.

This bill is worthless without a public option imo.

[napi21]

25. NO. Here statement is or will be...I did everything I could, but

the opposers were simply too many!

Have you ever been part of a union negotiaion, or negotiating with a supplier for a better price, terms, or extended credit? Nobody EVER gets all they want. Most of the time, you get lucky if you get a little of what you want. That's what negotiating IS!

[avaistheone1]

55. When the Democrats have all the cards

THAT explanation does not hold up anymore.

[napi21]

60. Not true. You are assuming that ALL Dems think the same, and

they don't! The Dems don't threaten their members and bribe them for their votes like the Pubs do. Remember that fiasco on the floor when the Pubs were determined to pass Shrub's drug bill? I SAW the lobbyiests trying to manuver some of the members. I heard soe of the threats that Delay was making that if he didn't get their vote, they would get NO support & NO money for their reelection, and the Party would even run someone against them.

Dems don't operate that way 7 I don't want them to.

[avaistheone1]

61. Oh yes Dems operate the same way. They are bought and paid for the

same way as the republicans.

The Dems have enough numbers and influence that they know how to bring unruly members along.
Look at the bank bailout and how the Dems lined up and how they all "thought alike" on that one.

[JoeyT]

67. Uh huh.

Democrats don't bribe for votes?
So all the gifts to Nelson and Lieberman's states that were stuck in the insurance reform bill to get them to vote were...goodwill presents? Calling them anything but bribes would require redefining the word "bribe" to the point of uselessness.

[tblue]

5. So, next November, don't come cryin' to me, Nancy.

Ach. The "public option" wasn't really an option for most people anyway.

[elocs]

10. Pelosi had a public option in the original House bill.

Be pissed at the Senate and not her because that is the reason there is no public option.

[slutticus]

13. Then why not grow a spine and say just that?

I'm tired of the spin...from both sides.

[tblue]

15. A little straight talk would go a long way. Don't tell me it's cheese when it's Velveeta!!!

[leftstreet]

9. The Democrats DESERVE every midterm loss they get n/t

[thotzRthingz]

11. FIGHT ON ... angry letters to editors, congress, potus ... start campaining NOW against all who

stood in opposition!

[thotzRthingz]

31. they've gone on BREAK again: RAISE HELL WITH YOUR Rep., Senators, house/senate leadership, and POTUS

[napi21]

12. Anybody who STILL thought there might be a PO is delusional!

It doesn't matter how much YOU wanted it, as soon as several Senators stated they WOULD NOT VOTE FOR ANYTHING THAT RESEMBLED A PO, it was GONE! Try being a little realistic here folks! The dream world is kinda fun & a much happier place, but it's time to wake up now.

[Jackpine Radical]

34. You are right.

But there is a corollary:

Any politician elected by Democrats who thought they could actively work to deny us a public option and get re-elected is equally delusional.

Guess what, Barack. Calling a bad bill a win doesn't make it a win.

We will remember.

[JoeyT]

69. Well

then those senators are refusing to represent the people they represent and should be replaced.
You know, since the public option had overwhelming public support.

It isn't time for us to wake up, it's time for us to wake up our senators that don't give a damn about the wishes of those they represent.

[librechik]

14. Who is surprised that the fat cat Old Boy Network Senate wins against the people

again? We are helpless apparently to free ourselves from this oligarchy.

I declare our nation is no longer free.

[kpominville]

16. How is that flushing it?

She stated it is a means to holding them accountable and that accountability is her goal. That sounds like she is supporting and defending it, not flushing it.

[omega minimo]

17. War is Peace. Ignorance is Strength.

[HughMoran]

21. Lieberman, NOT a Democrat

It's a lot simpler that hyperbole.

[boston bean]

29. then most aren't democrats, since they let him be their boss....

[omega minimo]

57. Hyperbole? Their word games -- crucial to their strategery -- are Orwellian

[jpak]

18. How does that mean she flushed the public option? Doesn't sound like that to me

:thumbsdown:

[JohnnyBoots]

28. She re-framed the debate so that now the Public Option is BS hyperbole and not

a public healthcare option.

[jpak]

39. Someone's interpretation of what she said - and a poor one at that

n/t

[JohnnyBoots]

44. This coupled by the fact that she wants to negotiate uno, ostensibly keeping the Repubs out - but it

also keeps out the Progressive Left as well. This is the first phase in trying to soften the blow that there will be no public option at all, even though we hold all of the power. It hides the fact that our elected officials are beholden to Corporate power elites. First Re-frame the debate, get the talking heads spinning about how the public option is about rhetoric and not a sustainable sytem of public healthcare and then the bill appears as a Pyhrric victory. The best they could do all things considered....when intruth they never even put up a fight for the true Public Option.

I don't trust Pelsoi to ever actually inact any true Progressive policy for HCR.

[JohnnyBoots]

47. This coupled with the fact that she doesn't want above bove board reconciliation, ostensibly to

keep the GOP out, but it also keeps out the Progressive Left as well. This is the first phase in trying to soften the blow that there will be no public option at all, even though we hold all of the power. It hides the fact that our elected officials are beholden to Corporate power elites. First Re-frame the debate, get the talking heads spinning about how the public option is about rhetoric and not a sustainable sytem of public healthcare and then the bill appears as a Pyhrric victory. The best they could do all things considered....when intruth they never even put up a fight for the true Public Option.

I don't trust Pelsoi to ever actually inact any true Progressive policy for HCR.

[JohnnyBoots]

68. no response? keep your head in the sand,

[HughMoran]

19. Lieberman, still not a Democrat

:think:

[JoeyT]

70. Then perhaps

it's time the Democrats we elect stopped licking his boots every chance they get?
Just a thought.

[HughMoran]

73. Well, yeah! The Democrat in this case should have been Lamont if you remember correctly

Lieberman is NOT a democrat - he sleazed his way into this position and it's still burning us daily.

[JoeyT]

74. Can't argue with that.

I'm thinking we're not going to be stuck with him a whole heck of a lot longer, though.
It would seem absolutely everyone hates the man.

[RDANGELO]

20. Lets see what's in the final bill.

The way that every country that has substantially better results than we do, has controlled costs, is by either eliminating or restricting health insurance companies. Lets look at what restrictions are in the final bill. The public option is just one way of restricting the insurance companies.

[JohnnyBoots]

23. The Public Option: Pay up or Fuck Off...It's pretty much the only option for the working public.

[winyanstaz]

24. This woman has betrayed the American public quite enough by now...

She has blocked investigations, accountability and has stabbed us in the back yet once again with this.
When can we vote her ass out of there????

[jgraz]

62. We've tried, but her constituents like her.

Personally, I think we should put House Speaker to a national vote. Third-in-line to the Presidency should not be chosen by internal party politics.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

26. So, Nancy has joined the lipstick-on-a-pig squad to try and sell a lousy bill. K&R

"Holding insurance companies accountable"? More like sending insurance company payoffs to her accountant.

[FLAprogressive]

30. Maybe we should flush her. She is starting to smell a little bit.

[jsamuel]

33. talk about reading a statement wrongly

sure, attack the one person in power that is currently praising the public option

[dixiegrrrrl]

50. I did not read anything.

I wrote the words coming out of her mouth at the press conference as it was happening on
C-span.
I even put a heads up on her imminent CSPAN appearance so you could listen along with me.
Then I typed what she said.
And the words coming out of her mouth were: " We are calling the public option the
"people's public option" in that we will work to develop a means to hold the insurance industry accountable. And after awhile, when the industry realizes we mean it, they will be the ones calling for a public option".
Cspan and the news will have the repeat of her comments.

[spanone]

35. link?

[dixiegrrrrl]

51. See my comment just above. It was a Cspan appearance, live.

[Blue Owl]

36. No surprise there

Nancy's knees are chafed from all the GOP blowjobs she's given to BU$HCO over the years.

Always disapproving -- but given nonetheless.

At the end of the day she'll never deliver for we the people.

[elocs]

40. Having read some of these responses, I think some internet fumes are affecting DU today.

Evidently some are hell bent on making Pelosi responsible for the loss of the public option in spite of the Senate vote. I sure hope some people can reconnect with reality as it is and not how they wish it to be.

[Parker CA]

43. Especially strange since she was the one who pushed the PO through the House with a successful vote.

If certain senators will vote against any changes made to include a PO in the conference phase, there really is nothing more she can do at this point. If someone is going to take the blame on this one, that should be Harry Reid.

Definitely some fumes on DU, but that's not just today.

[elocs]

45. Right, people believe what they want to believe in spite of reality. n/t

[thotzRthingz]

41. DO THIS TODAY ... get a SINGLE-PAYER system TOMORROW!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7399824

[mzmolly]

46. I'm sorry, I don't agree with your assessment of her remarks.

:shrug: In fact, I find them to be counter to what you suggest.

[Hannah Bell]

48. odd reading of those words from you.

[closeupready]

52. So was she lying when she said she was for the strongest possible public option?

Back in September?

[Greyhound]

72. Were her lips moving? n/t

[Hubert Flottz]

53. "By The People And For The People" is off the table...

Just because most of the people in this country think the PO is the way to go, don't mean the folks we pay to represent us in Washington think so.

They don't need no stinkin' Democracy! The I Got Miners never stop undermining the tax payers.

[Romulox]

56. and "For the People" is a running joke. nt

[Odin2005]

58. Then I flush my support for any bill.

[Captain Hilts]

59. She's just following the president, Tim Kaine and Max Baucus's lead. nt

[slipslidingaway]

64. Exactly! n/t

[gopwacker_455]

63. she's a sellout

[shadesofgray]

65. Who didn't see this coming?

[Kablooie]

66. This is news?

[Greyhound]

71. Wow, we get to replace "pay or die" with "pay and die"!

:woohoo:

[Lorien]

75. She's the messenger. Obama should have taken the lead and demanded a robust

public option. But he didn't want one, so the rest of the party will go down for it.

[Generator]

76. Yep the public has many options

(if you are young, healthy and or rich nevermind....)

To not buy insurance and get sick and die.

To buy overpriced insurance and go bankrupt, or even better-barely enough money to live every year! (especially for those over 50! woohoo you get to pay 3x as much-hold on to 65 or die folks!-disclaimer I'm 47 and the medicare buy in at 55 had me wetting my drawers-how sad that is-only eight more years-hell I survived eight bush ones!)

To not buy the overpriced insurance and pray you don't get sick.

To not pay their tax and cheat the IRS and pray you don't get caught.

And oh yes-to not vote for these frauds again.

That seems like a public option to me.