In the latest strange twist of the health-care debate, the public option seems to be making a comeback. As Jon Cohn explains, Senate Democrats are trying to round up 50 votes to get it into the reconciliation measure that will need to be a part of how reform eventually passes. They may not be able to get to 50, but the question is, at this point, with the end of the health-care debate so close, should they even be trying? The public option is extremely popular, but it's also controversial among Democrats in Congress. As Cohn says, "Adding a public option could produce an even better reform bill. It could also produce no bill at all."
For progressives, the first year of the Obama presidency has been defined by the health-care battle, and not in a good way. Progressives came in with enormous hopes and found that again and again, the things they wanted were bargaining chips to be traded away and that conservative Democrats seemed to care more about sticking it to them than about fixing a broken system. They got screwed by Bart Stupak, then by Ben Nelson, then by Joe Lieberman, all while the White House seemed to care more about getting Olympia Snowe's approval than about standing up for progressive principles on the issue. The process was an endless series of disappointments, and it ground those progressives down. You can argue that they should be feeling better than they do, but their feelings are undeniable.
This effort to revive the public option is no doubt aimed at least in part at re-energizing those dispirited progressive Democrats, without whom the party is doomed to disaster in November. That's all well and good, but only if it actually succeeds. And success in this particular effort means both passing reform and including the public option. If you do the former without the latter, after bringing it up again at this late hour, it could make progressives feel even worse. It would be like the person who broke your heart ringing your doorbell and saying, "I think I was wrong -- let's get back together," then when you say, "Really?!?", your ex says, "No, not really," then gets in the car and drives away. That's not going to make you feel like you were loved all along. Or make you want to get to the polls to vote for this former flame.
On the other hand, if Democrats can get a public option into a bill that passes, they could wipe away all those bad feelings progressives have built up and boost their base's turnout in the fall elections. But it's a big chance to take.
-- Paul Waldman
(AP Photo)
