I asked yesterday if anyone would have the courage to bring up the public option to the President at today’s summit. I was flabbergasted to see that the one who brought it up bluntly was Speaker Pelosi.
Mr. President, I harken back to that meeting a year ago. At that time Senator Grassley questioned you about the public option. And, you said, “The public option is one way to keep the insurance companies honest and to increase competition. If you have a better way, put it on the table.”
It begs the question: Have we seen a better way? The obvious answer: No.
More:
As a representative of the House of Representatives I want you to know that we were there that day in support of the public option which would save $120 billion, keep the insurance companies honest, and increase competition. We’ve come a long way to agreeing to a Republican idea, the exchanges. Senator Enzi has been a leader in that. Senator Snowe along with Senator Durbin had legislation to that affect—bipartisan—because the insurance companies opposed the public option. They couldn’t take the competition.
We have in our bill market-oriented, encouragement-to-the-private-sector initiatives. I think that the insurance industry, left to its own devices, has behaved shamefully. And we must act for the American people. We have lived on their playing field all this time. It’s time for the insurance companies to exist on the playing field of the American people.
She also sets a couple of Republicans straight:
I think it’s really important to note, though, and I want the record to show—because two statements were made here that are not factual in relationship to these bills: My colleague, Leader Boehner, the law of the land is there’s no public funding for abortion and there is no public funding of abortion in these bills. And I don’ t want our listeners or viewers to get the wrong impression from what you said. Mr. Camp, you said that Medicare cuts in this bill cut benefits for seniors. They do not. They do not. So, I want the record to show, just in those two cases… we may have differences of opinion and approach and evaluation of different things. But, certain things are facts about our bills that I cannot let the opposite view stand when they are stated.
Thank you, Speaker Pelosi, for speaking not just for the House but for us.
Now, how soon are we going to see a public option pushed through on a majority vote?
UPDATE (2010-02-25 15:17):
Daishan found this clip on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/...
UPDATE (2010-02-25 15:24):
And from Phoenix Woman:
from Firedoglake.