The Public Option Comes Back- but Will it Kill the Bill?

Just when I was finally convinced that the public option was lost forever, reports of it’s demise appear to be immature. And surprise of surprises- who would’ve thought the champion to breath new life into it would be Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid?

What’s most interesting about this procedure is not that he can get away with doing it, because he can -- it’s that he, of all people, is turning out to be the hardball player -- the David who slays the Goliath Health Cartel. I’ll be honest, if I were choosing players for my rugby team, Harry would not be the first person I’d pick. Boy, did I misjudge him. With I one stroke of a pen, he’s shown more chutzpah than President Obama, by standing up for what really matters when the chips are down. Obama has been woefully non-committal on the public option; I think he doesn’t want anything to threaten passage of the health reform bill, regardless of how worthless it may end up for the people. Victory, by any definition, seems to be more important to him at this point than implementing true reforms.

Now the battle really gets interesting. Will the Democrats get 60 votes to prevent a filibuster? If they don’t, will the bill stay as written? If the Republicans do filibuster, will it help or hurt their cause? Does it prevent the bill from ever being voted on? And finally, will the Democrats stand tall and vote down the bill if it turns out to be nothing more than an entitlement bill for the insurance companies? Several Yogi Berra sayings come to mind here- the best one may be “you can see a lot by watching”…