Taking one for the team, Rep. Anthony Weiner has, in agreement with Speaker Pelosi, withdrawn his single payer amendment:
"I have decided not to offer a single payer alternative to the health reform bill at this time," says Weiner in a statement. "Given how fluid the negotiations are on the final push to get comprehensive health care reform that covers millions of Americans and contains costs through a public option, I became concerned that my amendment might undermine that important goal."
His decision is a tactical one, but it may nonetheless disappoint progressive activists and elected officials who, at the very least, want to put members on the record, and see single-payer given its day in the sun.
The "fluidity" of the negotiations is in large part due to the continuing push by Stupak and his abortion-foe colleagues to make the legislation even more hostile to women and reproductive rights. In the horse-trading world of rules, this can make it easier for leadership not allow any. The abortion fight is still apparently the main issue to resolve. Nice that these men are willing to hold up legislation that could benefit millions of Americans to make the political point that they want to control women's lives.
In terms of Weiner's move, the biggest tactical mistake made by Dems in this debate was not using single payer as the starting point for negotiations from the left. It made no sense in terms of politics. It made no sense in terms of policy. But there you have it. The sort of silver lining for singel payer proponents is that, while the current bill will do a lot to provide coverage to a lot more people, healthcare reform will be far from finished in this country. There will be more chances in the near future to enact more sweeping reforms. Once we get past the hurdle of doing it once, we'll just have to keep pushing for more.