So with the flurry of stories in the last 72 hours about the status of the public option -- and despite a lot of public hand-wringing -- it appears that a decent public option is closer than ever, with only one potential obstacle that we activists need to be battling.
That obstacle, however and unfortunately, seems to be located somewhere inside the one place we have never gotten the 100% support we have been demanding for months and months: the White House.
This summary by Steve Benen at WASHINGTON MONTHLY seems to summarize the state of play pretty nicely ...
I think the end of the entry lies the money quote:
... The goal line is in sight, and they just want to cross it. Indeed, I'm not entirely unsympathetic to the White House's fears about getting a bill done. If the choice were between a) a good health care bill with a triggered public option; and b) watching the entire reform initiative die, it would be entirely reasonable for the president and his team to cling to what some have begun calling the "Snowe trigger."
But therein lies the point: that's not the choice here. By all accounts, Reid is on the verge of delivering the right bill with the right number of votes. Obama may not be sure that Reid can get and keep 60 votes -- it's what "We hope you guys know what you're doing" is all about -- and the skepticism is fair. But with a little help from the White House, the goal is well within reach.
Mr. President, take "yes" for an answer.
We here at Kos and throughout the blogosphere have been dynamite in exerting pressure on our legislators -- indeed, it may be one factor in where Reid apparently is (and we need to keep doing it). But, we still seem to have work to do to break through whatever firewall there is between Obama and doing the right thing in demanding a real public option (coughcoughRAHMhockpthooey).
Whitehouse.gov, MoveOn, DFA, Health Care Reform NOW! - we know the means, and we have to let Obama know that if there ever was a decisive moment to get a REAL public option with NO triggers and NO Snowe, we need to let him know NOW.
If Obama/Rahm sell out to Snowe now with a worthless trigger instead of a real reform bill -- Hell, I'll even take the opt-out (if Alabama or Montana wants to screw their citizens and their citizens let them, fuck them - I'm fed up with those states stopping me from getting something I desperately need that will also be good for the country) -- they have to be swayed now.
We know what to do. Let's do it.