We've been noticing in the past week a little pushback from Democratic Senators on the public option for healthcare. Specter and Nelson flatout said they would oppose it, with Nelson saying he would actively get a coalition of centrist senators to make sure it wouldn't pass. You also had Chuck Schumer talking about watering it down (although i don't think this was as a big a deal as some) and Max Baucus reiterating his previous position that a public plan was not necessary to achieve halthcare reform.
It seems the Obama team may be getting the message and is becoming more assertive on this issue. First we heard the president in his press conference say that he was for a public plan and that republicans should not oppose entire healthcare legislation because of a public plan, rather they should find other places where they agree like malpactrice suits and so forth. It was important that he framed the public plan as an example of a philisophical difference that could not be bridged but that should not be a point of negotatiating either. He then went on to say that "the majority party will probably win out in cases were we simply have philosophical differences", which would mean a public plan would be included.
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Karen Tumulty from Time also broke a story recently that earlier last month Obama reached out to republicans to make concessions on healthcare and the most he was willing to offer was tort reform, which is consistent with his press conference remarks. The fact that the republicans did not reciprocate any concessions, per Tumulty's reporting, probably led to Obama's hard stance with them in a WH meeting a week ago where he told them they have until Oct.15 or else healthcare will be passed via reconciliation.
Lastly, today Kathleen Sebelius was testifying in front of the House Ways and Means committee today and said, unequivocally, that both she and the President believe that a public option is REQUIRED to have true healthcare reform. Thats a huge statement, one that Sebelius would not make without the green light from Obama and it shows that they're no longer taking the hands off approach.
So, while its unfortunate to see the Senate waffling on achieving true healthcare reform, it seems like Obama has planted his flag on this issue and is not willing to roll over. It's now upto us to put the necessary pressure on key Senators.
UPDATE: Here's the exact Sebelius quote:
I share the Presidents belief that reform must guarantee choice of doctor and health plans, including a choice between a public and private plan option.