Some people think that the state by state public option plan is a good idea - I happen to know better. Let me educate you, Governor Dean et.al. about state politics outside of New England:
I happen to personally know several state reps in FL and a few FL Congressmen and also a national lobbyist so I happen to know how the game is played up close from the front row seats.
My lobbyist friend goes around defending the Life Insurance Settlement Association against the lobbyists from the life insurance industry in a never ending battle that travels from state capital to state capital - a battle you never read or hear about in the news because it's "state" and not "national" news. The LI companies pour in national level resources into getting their way state by state though.
That is exactly what will happen with HEALTH insurance too. We'll forget about it because it's "state" level but the insurance companies sure as hell won't and they'll spend huge amounts to make sure. They'll lobby and donate to campaigns and work to get Republicans elected and Democrats unelected so that they can get the vote they want.
Florida's state gov't has a Republican governor: Charlie Crist, 26 Republican Senators vs. 14 Democrats, and 78 Republican Representatives vs 42 Democrats. They will make sure we never ever see a public option and will probably do OTHER bad things to health insurance to help the insurance companies and hurt the little guy while they are at it.
Florida is not alone either. Practically every southern state and many midwestern and western states have GOP controlled legislatures. We're gonna get screwed state by state on the public option if it is allowed to be up to individual states and this gives the insurance companies 50 under the radar chances to stick it to us. It's called "divide and conquer".
State government is usually "the best that money can buy" - lobbyist money and these guys are notoriously afraid of pissing off the Chamber of Commerce and big corporations because they will find themselves outfundraised for re-election by an order of magnitude if they oppose the wrong business.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orl-florida-offshore-drilling-cannon-100509,0,7232184.storyHere's Dean Cannon (R-35FL) who decided this session that hey it'd be a good idea to start drilling offshore of Florida's beaches 3 to 10 miles off shore IN SIGHT of the touristas. I can't imagine why... I wonder if it was all the lobbyist money he got from the oil companies. He's hardly unusual in the Florida legislature or any Southern state legislature for that matter.
That's the future of your state by state public option right there if you don't fight it right NOW and keep Congress from allowing it we're ALL screwed. As
As Benjamin Franklin famously once said regarding the Declaration of Independence: "We must all hang together or most assuredly we will hang separately."
Doug D.
Orlando, FL