In which, like many of us, he tries—and fails—to understand why a Democratic supermajority can’t get a public option through even the Senate Finance Committee:

Eli Sanders was The Stranger's associate editor. His book, "While the City Slept," was a finalist for the Washington State Book Award and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. He once did this and once won...

32 replies on “Stewart On The Public Option Defeat”

  2. @ 1, um, the right is the Dark Side… You need to use facts in your cowardly anonymous posts if you want even a sliver of credibility here.

  4. At the risk of sounding teabaggy, I am starting to wonder if anyone in DC is actually looking out for the best interests of their constituencies. Just keep us fat and happy enough to stave off outright revolt…

  5. 2
    Maybe you could use all that credibility to pass Gay Marriage and Single Payer.

    Incompetent.
    Pathetic.
    Losers.

    You couldn’t find your ass if your head was shoved up it.
    That’s a fact.

    In the meantime you would do yourself a favor to STFU.

  6. The problem is not the Democrats. The problem is the Senate. Specifically, the fact that it is newly acceptable for senator to filibuster anything that moves, making 60 votes the new requirement to get anything done. Also, the fact that just 25 senators represent half of the people in the country (because of the constitution’s requirement that each state, regardless of population, get 2 senators). Thus, even if you have the support of senators representing half of the US, you still need 35 more senators to get anything done. The upshot of these rules is that even a Democratic supermajority is much more conservative than the rest of the country.

    Also, the public option is not dead yet– Stewart is wrong to act as though the Senate Finance Committee, a very conservative committee, is the whole kit and kaboodle. A good reform will pass (with or without a public option).

  9. How would the public option interact with state-level insurance regulation? Can a state prevent the public option from being offered, if it doesn’t meet some state insurance criteria? Can a state insurance commisioner investigate the public option, and fine and/or sue it for violating state regulations?

  11. We could always let the few (five) Red States of the South secede and then reinvade them.

    At least that way our troops would be home from Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan.

  12. And of those 35 other senators, roughly 15-20 can be considered “Blue Dogs”, that is, so-called “moderates” (read: much more conservative than the typical run-of-the-mill Dem), mainly from Southern and mountain states who can muck up the works and good (read: Senator Max Baucus (D-MT)).

  13. 6
    yeah…
    the problem is the Senate
    the problem is the Constitution
    the problem is the Founding Fathers
    the problem is the Republic
    the problem is the American People

    don’t for a second wonder if it is a crappy plan that will bankrupt the nation and gut the nations health care system.

  15. @6 is correct, the senate is not democratic, but….we knew that it’s our democratic leaders’ job to get shit fucking passed anyfucking way.

    The public option did not pass out of the finance committee because three democrats, Baucus of MT Lincoln (Arkansas?) and conrad of SD voted no.

    Why did they vote no? Afraid they would not be reelected.

    What should Obama hve done?

    1. Tell Baucus he can either vote yes and become the $1 million a year chair of the new federal health care efficiency reserach board to bel located in Helena MT with funding for 50 years for 3000 high paid doctors and economists and phd’s, OR ELSE see Obama fucking campaigning in Montana for gov. tester to oust baucus next election.

    2. For Conrad, ditto, but he could be ambassador to canada or perhaps ag secretary OR ELSE get fucking primaried.

    3. For Lincoln …ditto, you get the idea, plus send billdawg and hillary all over arkansas to tell weepy stories of the kid in the donut shop who left junior college to pay for uncle’s health care bills blah blah blah.

    And in all 3 states and 47 other Obama should have been building that grass roots e mail list and having mass meetings of activists to support medicare choice for all.

    He knew how to get thousands into meetings to get elected.

    He coulda done it for public option too.

    And btw after getting it out of committee you deal with the 60 vote thing by fucking getting all democrats on baord plus Olympia Snowe make her ambassador to England or else my god how hard is it to get a democrat up in tiny maine, their little AAA league stadium Obama could fill five nights in a row and that’s half the electorate and they elect democrats and independents they are part of new england which has been trending D anyway. Give her the job of being chair of the new Medicare for All agency, all this is NOT ROCKET SCIENCE as hundreds of legislators will tell you you just fucking GET THE VOTES. There are two weapons, carrot and stick. NOT facts, figures, blah blah blah.

  19. @10: No, they can’t but, unlike medicare, the public option is supposed to be just another insurance company. Medicare is not fully (or even mostly) premium-funded, the public option is supposed to be. Medicare does not compete on a level playing field with other firms, the public option is supposed to. Medicare is essentially single-payer, taxpayer-funded insurance (for those over 65), which is what the public option is designed not to be.

  20. you deal with the 60 votes also by making them do an actual filibuster…the opponents to having a floor vote the ones wanting to keep debate open the ones who need only 41 votes…they have to keep talking. these battles used to go on for days. If Obama had balls, he’d force the GOP to do this and go all over the media saying “the GOP won’t let us have a vote.” In the end even the blue dogs who don’t wwant to vote yes on the bill itself will cave in and vote yes to allow a floor vote.

    but if the democrats are such pussies that they won’t even bring it to that they derserve to lose.

    iow make the 41-49 who are preventing majority rule engage in a 72 or 145 hour marathon of talking talking talking on the floor and looking ridiculous, plus use the carrots and sticks etc.

  21. @19: I thought the main reason medicare didn’t compete was actually because no private insurance company wanted to cover those people for reasonable prices.

    The way I see it, the public option is supposed to do the same for people under 65 who can’t get insurance now while also pulling prices downward.

    Which is why I don’t get this hubub over the idea that it’s not competitive when the whole point is that it drive the already high prices lower than the current level.

  22. @7: I disagree. While I am disappointed in the democrats actually doing what the democratic voters want them to do, the republicans sure as hell not going to do what needs to be done.

  23. I think the Senate and house need to have term limits. Maybe then people would be more concerned about going to congress to do something for their constituents, rather than going to congress and doing everything in their power to make sure that they stay there.

  24. Never forget that the Republic Party of No senators wake up each and every morning asking themselves what harm they can do to America and to our President.

    Every morning.

    Except for the ones who sleep in, cause they had too much to drink and eat at the Big Pharma or Big Medicine bribery party they went to the night before, and the free hooker they got is still in the bed with them.

  25. @21: All the current bills (include the Bacus bill that does not include a public option) already include: guaranteed issuance (insurers must take all comers, regardless of pre-existing conditions), community rating (insurers must offer everyone in a region the same price, regardless of pre-exising conditions), and subsides for the poor (which can be used at any insurer, not just the public option). So it’s not clear that, post-reform, those who currently can’t get insurance would be any more likely to want the public option than a newly available private option.

  27. #20: HELL YES.

    The Dems don’t even require the GOP to follow through on a threat. It’s enough that you threaten them.

    “Well, what can we do? They said they’d filibuster.”

    Well, then, make them filibuster everything that moves! You’re already not getting shit done. So call their bluff!

  28. @26 yes but also you can be penalized if you do not have insurance, and there is no incentive (public option competition) to keep prices low enough for low-income and lower middle-income people that can’t afford coverage and aren’t poor enough to get subsidized. You actuall get penalized for LIVING!

  29. @13 Why give all Americans healthcare as good as they have in Europe when you can start more land wars in Asia? You, sir, are un-American!

  30. @23 You have it spot on. I don’t see why there isn’t an amendment that limits House and Senate terms. The President can only do two terms. Many states have similar limits for their governors. Why should the legislative and judicial branches be any different? We need new blood!

  31. I can’t understand people who are OK with spending trillions of dollars to kill foreigners but think it is immoral to spend billions on health care for people in our country.

  32. The Democrats won’t call the GOP’s bluff because they don’t want to. They’re making far too much money dragging their feet. This isn’t complex at all unless you’re under the impression that they feel at all accountable to their constituency.

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