Pelosi: No Hope For Public Option At This Time

[kpete]

Source: Talking Points Memo

Pelosi: No Hope For Public Option At This Time
Brian Beutler | February 2, 2010, 5:23PM


The public option already died once. Today it died again.

House progressives have been trying to use the health care stalemate to revive the public option. Almost 100 have signed a letter urging Congressional leaders to include a public option in a separate bill, which could in theory pass the Senate with a simple majority of votes. If that passed, it could be included as part of comprehensive legislation. But on a conference call today, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi put a second set of nails in the public option's coffin--saying it would not be part of any grand bargain to push ahead with health. And in so doing, she took a veiled swipe at the White House for not standing enthusiastically behind the proposal.

"The Senate never supported the public option," Pelosi said.

There was talk that there would be 51 votes for it, but it never passed on the floor of the Senate. It did pass in the House and, of course, I think it would be the way to go. But it isn't the way that the Senate went. And so I think that what you might see coming out of some reconciliation would be those areas of agreement that all three--the White House, the Senate and the House--had already agreed to...more than two weeks ago.

Read more: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/02/pelosi-no-hope-for-public-option-at-this-time.php?ref=dcblt

[No Elephants]

1. Died once? It's died a thousand deaths. Pelosi just finally called time of death.

[Atman]

2. FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK! Nancy, RESIGN, or DO YOUR GODAMN FUCKING JOB!

WE HAVE A MAJORITY! We have the public on our side! Why do you lilly-livered corporate whores not listen to the people who elected you? FUCK YOU, Nancy. Lead, follow, or get out of the way. But quit enabling the fucking Republican obstructionists!

:banghead:

.

[blueclown]

10. Nancy is not the leader of the Senate. She did her job in the House.

Blame spineless Harry.

[Atman]

11. I hate Harry, too. I just don't know how we got stuck with such spineless weasels.

But if Nancy had any backbone, she'd be workin' it. She'd make the deals, she'd talk to the right people. She wouldn't be saying it's dead, she'd be calling them all out and putting on some pressure. You don't come out and pronounce the patient dead while there are still surgeons working.

.

[Tim01]

15. "I just don't know how we got stuck with such spineless weasels." Somebody voted for them.nt

[rhett o rick]

37. We didnt get to vote on who would be majority leader in the Senate. nt

[blueclown]

18. She has no influence over the Senate.

She is the leader of the House. Her sphere of control over the Senate is non-existant. That is just the way it is. She did her job in the House. She handed it over to the Senate and Harry did nothing with it, per usual.

[defendandprotect]

23. This isn't about backbone . . this is about corporate payoffs to our elected officials ...

[No Elephants]

31. Their Democratic colleagues elected them. Please see Reply 30.

[No Elephants]

30. IMO, Harry is a scapegoat. He does what the people who keep electing him minority

and majority leader elect him to do--take the blame and keep things under wraps so none of them suffer at re-election time.

[wordpix]

55. PO "would not be part of any grand bargain to push ahead.." Nancy, why don't you stand behind

the House members who voted FOR the PO and shut up about bargains that won't go forward. Get some gonads, will you?

[Matariki]

16. How is what happens in the Senate her fault or lack of leadership?

[Atman]

17. You're right...the Senate being assholes isn't her fault.

But it just seems to be a total lack of leadership. I lashed out when I saw Nancy's name, when I should have lashed out at Harry.

Either way, we don't have a public option.

.

[No Elephants]

29. The Republican obstructionists were irrelevant. Democrats killed the public option.

Well, at least all 60 had a (D) after their names, except for Lieberman and Sanders. But all 60 members of the Caucus voted for that Senate bill. And Lieberman's demands were not, IMO, the worst of the lot.

[Solly Mack]

3. k/r

[inna]

4. big surprise. (not.) K&R for info.

[Crowman1979]

5. Well that translates into no hope for another term in the House, eh Nancy?

And your Senate lacky Reid as well.

[bvar22]

6. Less than 35% of the American People ....

...support Mandates without a Public Option.

Thank You for confirming WHO you are working for,
and Good Luck selling this Bait & Switch Scam to America in 2010 and 2012.

Mandates with NO Public Option + Trillion Dollars Corporate Welfare = Republican Health Care Plan.

If I wanted a Republican Health Care Plan, I would have voted FOR a Republican.

"When given the choice between a Republican, and a Democrat who acts like a Republican, the voters will choose the Republican every time." ---Harry Truman

QED Massachusetts

"There are forces within the Democratic Party who want us to sound like kinder, gentler Republicans. I want us to compete for that great mass of voters that want a party that will stand up for working Americans, family farmers, and people who haven't felt the benefits of the economic upturn."---Paul Wellstone

[Lucky Luciano]

19. Wow...that is going to go into my sig line (The Harry Truman quote). Super accurate statement. nt

[No Elephants]

36. The insight and foresight in that Truman quote no doubt reflect the mind that made him one of the

greatest American Presidents of all time.

[Zavulon]

42. If they pass that sort of crap,

they'll find themselves with lots of problems with voter base turnout, and both registered voters where I live will be among those staying home. I won't vote Republican, but I won't be rewarding wannabe Republicans in Democratic clothing with my votes.

I can't believe they even bothered to discuss such a plan for so much as a minute, much less wind up supporting it. I'm beyond disgusted.

[bvar22]

48. THAT doesn't matter to THEM.

The "Centrist" Democrats (DLC) and Republicans BOTH work for the same people.
Their BOSS wins either way, and as long as the BOSS is happy....

The DLC Corporate Democrats would prefer to see a Corporate Republican win a seat than a REAL Working Class Democrat.

QED Massachusetts



The DLC New Team
Working Class Democrats Need NOT Apply

(Screen Capped from the DLC Website)

[Zavulon]

51. Correct.

Good call, and flawless analysis. Glad to see I'm not the only one who feels this way.

[fascisthunter]

50. I think the Dem Leadership doesn't need our votes anymore

fine by me

[wordpix]

56. absolutely true, Harry T.

[Pharaoh]

7. Come on Nancy!

We're dying out here!.............Screw these corporations and vote for us human beings!O8)

[onehandle]

8. It's not her. She's right. The Senate and White House will not back the public option.

Oh, fickle DU. We hate Nancy! We love Nancy!

It's not her. She wants the public option.

[RZM]

12. I agree

She can't just say 'kazaam' and conjure up votes/support out of nowhere (especially in the senate). It's hard to get stuff done in Congress. It amuses me that individual legislators are often revered in their districts, but when you put them all together, legislative bodies (and those in leadership roles) become giant scapegoats for what people dislike about politics. I'm not saying Congress functions all that well - it doesn't. But there's a degree of cynicism that colors popular perceptions of legislative bodies.

[No Elephants]

38. In my case, the acts and inactions of the legislative bodies created the cynicism, not the

other way around.

[wordpix]

57. yes she wants it but should not give up on it, IMO. Fight like hell, although as a Dem in Congress,

that's an oxymoron. :crazy: The Repukes don't like the PO so let's give up. sigh

[daleanime]

9. Thanks for nothing Nancy...

don't expect us to forget itx(

[Jefferson23]

13. Well there ya have it. I have serious decisions to make about where

my money, time, and support will go from here.

[belpejic]

14. Nancy's got it right.

There's no way a public option makes it through the Senate, not even via reconciliation. I'm sure she's not just reading tea leaves; I'm sure she has it on authority from whips. That doesn't make it right, but it makes it reality. She thinks it sucks and I do too but for crying out loud just PASS THE CURRENT BILL. It will get fixed, and many of you Dems might, just might, get re-elected later this year.

I love Nancy's comment about the WH. Obama screwed this one up...he should have taken the lead earlier on in shaping this legislation. Instead he left it to losers like Baucus and Snowe, with craven lizards like Lieberman spoiling the mess further. All of the kick-ass Obama sentiment over the past few days notwithstanding, he screwed this up, and we need to be wary.

I'm many years younger than Nance, but is it wrong to say I have a crush?

[laughingliberal]

53. It will not get fixed

I'm sorry but the same band of thugs in the Senate who wrote this horror are not going to 'fix' anything but us...as in 'fix us good.' If they can't fix it with the majority they have now, they sure as hell aren't going to fix it in the future.

I don't think Obama ever wanted the public option. His CofS called activists' ads trying to garner support for the public option, "fucking retarded." Does that sound as if they were behind a public option?

He didn't screw it up. He got the bill he wanted. Only problem? Him, the Senate, and the insurance industry are the only ones who want it.

Fix it now or kill it. I don't trust them to ever do anything except make it worse.

[Demeter]

20. Politics Is the ONLY Place Where a LEADER Can MAKE Reality

and Nancy proves again that she's no leader. Nor does she want to be.

She wants to sit on a soft chair in a swanky suit and have minions kiss her feet all day.

A leader sweats and browbeats and plots Plan A, Plan B, Plan C, and so on, until the result is right.

Thanks for NOTHING, Nancy Pelosi.

[belpejic]

21. She can't bend the Senate to her will.

Reid and Obama can do that. They failed. That's why we have such shitty options.

[Demeter]

25. If the House Doesn't Do Its Job, How Can Anyone In The Senate Follow Through?

Nancy has to do her job, and not sit there and bitch about what other people are or are not going to do.

And if the movement fails, she won't be a party to its failure.

[belpejic]

26. Demeter, I hear you.

But remember that Pelosi has to simultaneously find a consensus in the House about what they're basically going to give up AND present it to the Senate in a way so that the rotten Blue Dogs, even votes 48, 49, and 50 (whomever they are) agree.

The House is on our side.

The House of Lords, otherwise known as the Senate, isn't.

Get a bill through. All of the crappy provisions will be like the AMT--when politicians know they're going to get blowback they'll fix it.

[No Elephants]

33. Bingo.

[No Elephants]

32. Can't she force the Senate to vote on a public option? Get those ayes and nays on the record?

I bet she can. But the name of the game is "Protect the Incumbent." aka "Pin the Tail on the Donkey's Primary Challenger."

It's all now about K Street, C Street and incumbents who can spend lots on re-election. Voters/taxpayers became almost irrelevant somewhere along the line, while we were busy making other plans.

[belpejic]

43. No Elephants: She could.

But she has a choice: make a principled stand that plays well with the base or pass legislation that sucks on many levels but still advances the cause of tens of millions of people who don't have insurance. I advocate paying attention to the latter, because it's morally and ethically right. And I'm uninsured. Once I get a good job and can pay my fair share I'll gladly help people who are in my position now. And I'll hold people like Pelosi accountable if they don't make the system better.

Oh, and by the way, replace Reid, disenfranchise Lieberman, and remember who brought you to the party, Barack.

[defendandprotect]

22. I think the Democrats are sliding right "off the table" . . . ????

[Jefferson23]

24. Nancy got that jab just right, and Obama earned each word.

"As far as the White House's enthusiasm for it, you're just going to have to ask them."

[veganlush]

27. this is not her fault, she's saying whose fault it is..

..with her subtle barbs at the White House and Senate. If you're blaming her, you're not paying attention and shouldn't comment at all. She's about the ONLY one this IS fighting!

[Barbara2423]

28. Nancy did a good job, the House Bill has a Public Option

It's time for Reid to go as Senate Leader. Are there any Democratic leaders in the Senate? When it comes to the Senate I feel hopeless.

[xchrom]

34. My vote is getting harder to come by.

Somebody wants MY goddamn progressive vote -- then I
expect progressive fuckin action.

Kiss my ass Nancy.

[tinrobot]

35. Medicare for all would be a nice public option

...and it can be passed with 51 votes.

Just freaking do it.

[wordpix]

59. dream on

[DebbieCDC]

39. Ya think things might be different if our eloquent president got out and showed some LEADERSHIP

on this issue? Kicked some congressional ass?

Nah, just leave it up to congress and its corporate owners to do their job right so Obama can go make another nice speech somewhere while nothing changes.

[lobodons]

40. What about Bob: "Baby steps"

Just think if we could have had baby steps back in 93'. Just think of the lives that would have been saved. Granted, it is not what we want in totality, but pass this and in 17 years when this comes back again, we will not be at ground zero but will be at the next step which could be public option, but hey, it might be Universal one payer system!!!

[Zavulon]

41. "And yet we still want to force people at gunpoint to buy insurance without that public option."

And some people wonder why so many DUers are so disappointed these days.

[Javaman]

44. Meh, are we really surprised? Come on. nt

[Earth_First]

45. So which is it, Nancy...

Every other week it's: "We have the votes secured necessary to pass a public option."
The very next week: "It doesn't look good.: and then: "We have the ability to invoke a procedural vote to pass a public option."

I'm a little worn out from the emotional roller coaster, Nancy...

[wordpix]

60. whatever the biggest campaign donor$ want, I think we'll get. Desafortunadamente

[w4rma]

46. Then there won't be a health reform bill. It's going to have to be done state-by-state. (nt)

[Zorra]

47. Logic: If the bill has no public option, then Democrats will sustain heavy losses

in the upcoming elections. This is why we lost the Massachussetts Senate seat.

And the Bu*h Dog DINO traitors are happy about it. Their agenda is to destroy the Democratic Party so that it is ineffective in challenging corporate governance.

Fucking republicans in our party have to go.

[fascisthunter]

49. well gee....really?

[New Dawn]

52. The "health" insurance industry just wants the fascist Individual Mandate.

The "public option" was just a ploy to get progressives to forget about single-payer and support the fascist Individual Mandate.

[Green_Lantern]

54. Nancy wants a brain for Valentine's day..

Republicans are going to filibuster any Democratic health reform bill even without the public option. The difference is that with a public option it'll get public support.

If the GOP filibusters a bill the public supports it'll kill them in 2012. Nancy listens to what her fellow politicians want before what the American people want.

[wordpix]

61. she may be listening to her corporate donors, too. Any big insurance co. donors there?

BigPharma, maybe?

[Mari333]

58. god I cannot stand her.