It would appear that the public option is moribund (again) in the Senate. Joe Lieberman says he’s going to filibuster the thing:
I can’t see a way in which I could vote for cloture on any bill that contained a creation of a government-operated-run insurance company.
And Joe apparently isn’t going it alone. Unpleaseant growling is also emanating from some RINOs and Blue Dogs:
Combine this with Snowe’s declaration that she’s not voting for any opt-out public option either and you’ve got 41 votes to kill it. And maybe, given the rumblings coming from Blue Dogs like Ben Nelson and Landrieu, a few more than that.
Things aren’t going so well in the House either. The ”robust” public option is definitely not feeling so good.
The House Dem leadership has conducted its preliminary whip count and has tallied up less than 200 likely Yes votes in support of a health care reform bill with a robust public option, well short of the 218 needed for passage.
If the Blue Dogs and RINOs are already this jumpy, it may be that next week’s elections in VA and NJ will tell the tale after all.
Republican victories could turn cold moderate feet to ice. Let’s hope so.
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