The Return of the Public Option

B_VinylBoy

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With reconciliation negotiations under dispute, four Senate Democrats are now proposing that the bill contain the infamous "Public Option". Senate Democrats write to ask Reid to reintroduce healthcare public option - The Hill's Blog Briefing Room

This has always been something that has been looked at favorably by most Americans. At some points in 2009, the Public Option was actually more popular than Health Care Reform itself. According to a poll sourced on the Digital Journal in December of last year, registered Democrats would support a Health Care bill with a Public Option or Medicare buy-in by 88% and Independents by 57%. Poll: Voters don't want health care reform without Public Option

Lastly, in reconciliation you can pass the bill with the simple majority of 51 votes. With 58 Democrats in the Senate, they still maintain enough votes to pass the bill. Ironically, Democrats always maintained enough votes to pass a bill with a regular majority if it wasn't for the threat of a filibuster... and still do.

What's to come is anyone's guess? But it does look as if we may get the Public Option after all.
 

SilverTrain

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Perhaps the Congressional Dems will have some balls this time and pass it. Then we'll see if the Congressional Repubs will have the (suicidal) gall to filibuster.

I really consider this to be an issue of such monumental importance. And I regret that the public "discussion" of it has been co-opted by self-interested partisan groups, and reduced to sound-bytes so targeted to inflame that the real issues involved have been almost completely overshadowed by--yes, here it is again--partisan bickering.

I was so pleased that logic and reality won out when the attempt was made to put all the social security funds into the stock market right before it crashed. Hoping for a similar ray of light to shine on this even bigger land mine.
 
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Industrialsize

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Perhaps the Congressional Dems will have some balls this time and pass it. Then we'll see if the Congressional Repubs will have the (suicidal) gall to filibuster.

I really consider this to be an issue of such monumental importance. And I regret that the public "discussion" of it has been co-opted by self-interested partisan groups, and reduced to sound-bytes so targeted to inflame that the real issues involved have been almost completely overshadowed by--yes, here it is again--partisan bickering.

I was so pleased that logic and reality won out when the attempt was made to put all the social security funds into the stock market right before it crashed. Hoping for a similar ray of light to shine on this even bigger land mine.
If the Public Option is passed through Reconciliation, it can't be filibustered. 51 votes is all that's needed to pass.
 

SilverTrain

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If the Public Option is passed through Reconciliation, it can't be filibustered. 51 votes is all that's needed to pass.

Right. I would imagine that if it were implemented thusly, the Republicans (and particularly their satellite mouthpieces) would howl loudly and incessantly about how the Dems had rammed this thing through sneakily, etc. etc..

I'd like to see the Republicans involved to the extent that they either approve it or obstruct it, thus removing any "gotcha" shenanigans (which have become depressingly de rigueur in all Congressional activity). Either you're for it and take responsibility for being for it, or you're against it and you take responsibility for being against it. Rather than weaseling about and lobbing cries of "it's their fault!" into the post-passage fray.
 

B_VinylBoy

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Right. I would imagine that if it were implemented thusly, the Republicans (and particularly their satellite mouthpieces) would howl loudly and incessantly about how the Dems had rammed this thing through sneakily, etc. etc..

Which could be easily countered with the fact that the previous Congress and administration used reconciliation five times to push measures through, avoiding the filibuster and becoming law with a simple majority.

And here are the bills:
2001: SENATE USED RECONCILIATION BILL THAT ALLEVIATED THE MARRIAGE TAX PENALTY

HR 4810: "A bill to provide for reconciliation pursuant to section 103(a)(1) of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2001. Marriage Tax Penalty Relief Reconciliation Act of 2000"


2001 & 2003: SENATE PASSED PRESIDENT BUSH'S TAX CUTS USING RECONCILIATION

HR 1836: "To provide for reconciliation pursuant to section 104 of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2002."

H.R. 2: "(Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 )...To provide for reconciliation pursuant to section 201 of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2004."


2005: REPUBLICANS USED RECONCILIATION TO ENACT CUTS IN MEDICARE, MEDICAID AND STUDENT LOANS

S. 1932: "An original bill to provide for reconciliation pursuant to section 202(a) of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2006 (H. Con. Res. 95)."


2006: SENATE REPUBLICANS EXTENDED BUSH TAX CUTS THROUGH RECONCILIATION

H.R. 4297: Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005


Click here to see how everyone voted. :wink:
 

SilverTrain

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Which could be easily countered with the fact that the previous Congress and administration used reconciliation five times to push measures through, avoiding the filibuster and becoming law with a simple majority.

Oh, Sweetheart, the mouthpieces would get the subject changed so fast that people wouldn't even have a chance to look up Reconciliation on dorkapedia before the hot topic was the excessive expenditures for Malia's dentistry or some "Arabian" welfare recipient's criminal record or Joe Biden's gaffe of the week or....................................................................................................................................................................................."and the Dems are raising your taxes to pay for health care they snuck through."
 

B_VinylBoy

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Oh, Sweetheart, the mouthpieces would get the subject changed so fast that people wouldn't even have a chance to look up Reconciliation on dorkapedia before the hot topic was the excessive expenditures for Malia's dentistry or some "Arabian" welfare recipient's criminal record or Joe Biden's gaffe of the week or....................................................................................................................................................................................."and the Dems are raising your taxes to pay for health care they snuck through."

I know, I know... :biggrin:
We're both on the same page on this issue. All the obstructionists are going to do is scramble to find a rhetorical statement that sticks so they can exaggerate it, in hopes that the distorted noise reverberates with citizens and result in negative ratings with the current administration. I'm just finding it funny that most of the things they're bringing up are making them look even worse than before. First it was the Stimulus Bill, and if Democrats push Health Care through reconciliation it'll also be that as well.

Does the Chinese Zodiac have a character for the Year of the Hypocrite? :wink:
 

slurper_la

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Just as with the Recovery Act, the republicants will scream loudly but then take credit in their own districts.

this is exactly what happened when the social security and medicare acts were passed. the republicants of that era loudly opposed both bills and then touted the benefits of such beneficial government programs.

even today, the republicants scream holy crap about the dems cutting medicare and SS but they are actually the ones who always do and constantly try to wrest control of SS in favor of privatization.