Now this is welcome news:
Roland Burris, the junior Democratic senator from Illinois, has been the Senate's most forceful defender of adding a public option to health care reform, stating clearly that he will not vote for a bill without a government-run insurance option.
Burris went one step further this morning in an appearance on C-SPAN's "Washington Journal," refusing to rule out a filibuster on the Senate floor if the public option is not included in a final health reform bill.
"I'm not getting into the process at this point or telegraphing my moves on the procedural matters," Burris told host Greta Wodele Brawner when she asked if he would block the bill from a final vote. "I have stated unequivocally that if the final bill does not have a strong public option that would allow individuals to have competition and to acquire health insurance, then I would not vote for that legislation."
I've always through a progressive bloc of senators can have much more influence over this thing than the House progressive caucus could, and in much smaller numbers. If Burris follows through with this (and Burris knows he's not running for another term, he knows he's persona non grata with the Senate Democratic Congress, so why wouldn't he be serious about this?), that would mean they would need all 59 other democrats, plus Snowe, to break a filibuster. And if we can get another senator like Rockefeller, Sanders, or Feingold to join in -- ta-da, instant leverage!
I would be all for a campaign to call some of our more progressive senators to try and form a mini-bloc that could stand up to White House and conservadem pressure. But for now (and I never thought I'd be typing this), yay Senator Burris!