Dodd sees US Senate showdown on health care option

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http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N18346973.htm

A key Democrat voiced confidence on Sunday that Senate leaders will include a government-run insurance plan in the healthcare bill they bring to the full U.S. Senate for consideration -- and suggested it might even pass.

Senator Chris Dodd acknowledged that there is plenty of opposition to the so-called public option from Republicans as well as fiscally conservative Democrats.

Yet noting what has happened to other embattled legislation over the years, Dodd said, "when you end up on the floor of the Senate, you find, sometimes, you get more" support than earlier anticipated.

"I haven't given up," he told NBC's "Meet the Press."

(snip)
Dodd said, "My hope is that when we bring these two bills together over the next number of days that we will present to the Senate an option that includes that strong public option."

"I'm still confident when we get to the floor ... that we have a good, good chance of including the public option in the bill," he said.

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1. I just don't trust Dodd

I know he favors the PO, but he's a Let's Make a Deal type of guy, and I don't trust that right now.

I think the way to get the PO is for the House liberals to demand it as a litmus test for their votes. They can't pass a bill without them. The White House wants any bill that they can claim victory with, and don't want to invite comparisons to the Clintons of 1994, who came up empty-handed. So if the WH has to choose between giving the liberals what they want and no bill, they will go with the liberals.

I think that's the way to get the PO.