Something To Stiffen Soft Spines

[babylonsister]

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2009_06/018706.php

SOMETHING TO STIFFEN SOFT SPINES.... Politicians tend to care about polls. Other considerations may apply pressure to an office holder, but nothing is quite as effective as cold, hard data pointing to public attitudes. When push comes to shove, popular ideas are much easier for a policy maker to support than unpopular ones.

In the context of the debate surrounding a public option in health care reform, lawmakers on the Hill may not care that President Obama wants such a provision and has a mandate to get one, but the recent poll numbers are so one-sided, the results should be hard for Congress to ignore.

An NBC/WSJ poll released the other day found that 76% of Americans believe it's either "extremely important" or "quite important" to "give people a choice of both a public plan administered by the federal government and a private plan for their health insurance."

The wording of that question was a little awkward, though. The results from the latest NYT poll are even more encouraging.

Americans overwhelmingly support substantial changes to the health care system and are strongly behind one of the most contentious proposals Congress is considering, a government-run insurance plan to compete with private insurers, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.

The poll found that most Americans would be willing to pay higher taxes so everyone could have health insurance and that they said the government could do a better job of holding down health-care costs than the private sector.

Respondents were asked, "Would you favor or oppose the government's offering everyone a government administered health insurance plan like Medicare that would compete with private health insurance plans?" It wasn't even close -- 72% supported the public option. Among Republicans, the ones who are supposed to find the very idea of a public plan so outrageous, 50% favor the same policy idea.

Now, for conservative Republicans, it's likely that none of this matters. A public option can save money, can enjoy broad public support, and can make all kinds of sense, but they have a philosophical objection that trumps everything else. Fine.

But conservative Republicans represent a fairly small minority in Congress right now. For those Democrats who are reluctant to support a public plan, the concerns may be strategic -- they're worried that they'll be punished by voters for supporting a controversial idea. But that's precisely why a poll like this matters. It's not like Ben Nelson, Joe Lieberman, and Evan Bayh can go to the next caucus meeting and say, "If we support an idea with 72% national approval, voters will kill us."

The president wants a public option. A majority of the House wants a public option. It's likely a majority of the Senate wants a public option. A clear majority of Americans want a public option. Oh, and not incidentally, a public option makes a lot of sense as a matter of public policy.

I don't know what more it would take to stiffen the spines of wavering Democratic senators who just can't seem to bring themselves to do what needs to be done.

—Steve Benen

[pleah]

1. K&R

[madokie]

2. If only it will

It should but will it is the question

[Peacetrain]

3. K&R

[Joanne98]

4. Off to the greatest

[ananda]

5. polls don't matter to Reeps and Bluedogs.

They only care about money and corporate power.

That is their ONLY interest.

[Cowpunk]

9. Please don't kid yourself

The American electorate is not monolithic. I guarantee you Republicans and conservative Democrats are getting an earful from their constituents about "socialized medicine" and "government takeovers". I live in Ben Nelson's state and the propaganda drive here against a public health option has been absolutely massive.

[old mark]

6. I think what matters most to Congress of either party is the money

they get from the insurance business and the AMA to keep the public option out of it.


mark

[ljm2002]

7. Their spines are plenty stiff...

...stiff enough to stand up to the 72% of Americans in general and probably 90% of Democrats who want a public health option, and still they insist that a public option is not viable.

Money has bought that stiffness of spine.

It is important to know your enemy. Right now, our enemies are in both parties, and they are quite committed to squashing a public option, in service of their corporate paymasters. So committed that they are willing to stand up against overwhelming poll numbers and Just Say No to a public option.

If they were soft, or wavering, that would imply one set of tactics. But that is not what is happening, not at all. They already *are* hardened. What we need to do is break their backs, metaphorically speaking. We have to find a way to fight the Blue Dogs and the rest of the idiots, both Republican and Democratic, who continue to oppose a sensible solution to our health care woes.

If only we could get big business like the auto industry to act in its own best interests and point out to the politicians that, if they were relieved of the burden of funding health care for their workers, they would overnight become more competitive in the global economy.

We need a true popular movement with some workable strategies. Sure we can and should call our Congress people. But that will only take it so far. These people need something stronger, something that will hit them in the pocketbook, hard.

[babylonsister]

8. The House isn't comitted to squashing anything, and saying it

doesn't make it so. As for the Senate, all bets are off. I don't know which way they'll go.



House Democrats "Anxious To Take On" Health Care Reform Opponents

snip//

Where the Senate Finance Committee's outline of a bill didn't include a public health insurance option for people to buy into, the House version includes a robust public plan that would operate nationally and compete with private insurers on a level playing field to keep them honest.

The public plan would be self-sustaining and not subsidized by the federal government, although an upfront infusion of capital would be needed. It would initially be tied to Medicare reimbursement rates, to capitalize on the existing infrastructure, but would evolve into a separate plan that paid higher rates. Participation by doctors would be voluntary.

Rangel described the public plan as "the best of Medicaid, best of Medicare, then kick it up a notch." The chairmen estimated the plan would cover 95 percent of Americans.

more...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/19/house-democratsanxious-to_n_218177.html