If you heard this quote from a politician:
“I have the fear that it will create a long-term risk for taxpayers. And I think that comes on the heels of this orgy we’ve had of government spending, whether it’s bailouts for multiple people, multiple groups.”
you'd think you were hearing yet another Republican on the Senate floor about the danger of healthcare reform. Hell, we have heard that quote coming from Republicans on the Senate floor. But this time it's from "Democrat" Blanche Lincoln, who in the face of all of the evidence that has been presented from the CBO on down of the cost-savings a public option will provide, continues to parrot the Republican line:
"I'm looking at everything," she said after the fifth public option question. "And I'll reassure you that I am going to look at everything and I'm going to judge it based on ... whether or not there is long term risk to the taxpayers and whether it's government funded and government run. I'm willing to talk to everybody."
She was explicit in expressing her concern that if a government insurance program failed, taxpayer funds would be used to prop it back up.
"I have the fear that it will create a long-term risk for taxpayers. And I think that comes on the heels of this orgy we've had of government spending -- whether it's bailouts for multiple people, multiple groups. I think it's critical for us to look at how fiscally responsible we can be on behalf of taxpayers."
She may as well change parties now. It probably wouldn't be enough to save her seat in 2010, very little is going to be. But at least we could be done with this myth of having 60 Democratic votes in the Senate.