Apparently, the answer when it comes to health care reform, is the Wal-Mart twins, AKA its Senators. Let's just revisit the Arkansas poll numbers Markos posted earlier:
Do you favor or oppose creating a government-administered health insurance option that anyone can purchase to compete with private insurance plans?
Favor Oppose Not Sure
All 55 38 7
Dem 81 14 5
Rep 22 71 7
Ind 56 34 10
Over one in five Republicans support the public option, which is more "bipartisanship" than you'll ever see in Congress. Meanwhile, the public option enjoys solid support among Democrats (obviously), and Independents. In addition, the public option is supported among all age groups (including 50-42 among those older than 60), and both among blacks (81-5) and whites (51-43).
Here's Blanche Lincoln:
LITTLE ROCK — U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln said today she opposes a public health insurance option because it would be too expensive.
"For some in my caucus, when they talk about a public option they’re talking about another entitlement program, and we can’t afford that right now as a nation," Lincoln said in a speech to the Elder Law Task Force at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
Not only is Blanche Lincoln out of touch with the vast majority of her Democratic base in Arkansas, but she's either misleading her constituents about what the public option is, or she hasn't bothered to take the time to educate herself on the proposal. As envisioned in any bill that contains it, and by the President, it's not an entitlement. It's paid for by subscriber premiums, not tax dollars. As Obama has stressed again and again, it won't add to the deficit. And if she's so opposed to entitlement programs, perhaps she should explain if she supports Medicare.
Lincoln's twin, Mark Pryor, takes the tack of playing concern troll on the public option, dragging out and bemoaning the utterly unproven claim that "there just aren't the votes." Here he is is after the conservaDem meeting last week with Obama:
Pryor said he was glad to hear Obama pin down what he means by a public option — a limited government plan that only about 5 percent of the uninsured would have access to — but he said the senators told the president the proposal’s chances were slim.
"My guess is that there are not votes to do it in the Senate, even a very modest public option like what he’s talking about," Pryor said.
Asked if he would vote for a limited public option, Pryor said, "It depends on how it was structured. I would really have to look at it in detail."
Perhaps Sen. Pryor should instead look at the details of the polls in his home state while he's considering his vote. It could provide exceedingly instructive, unless of course he cares more about his industry buddies than his constituents.