You guys want no bill? Then there will be no bill

Liberals revolt over public option - Jonathan Martin and Carrie Budoff Brown - POLITICO.com

I'm actually quite pleased with this -- no bill is MUCH better than a bad bill.


The White House’s signal that it’s willing to back off support for a public health insurance option has sent congressional liberals into full revolt, bluntly warning the administration that no legislation will pass without a government-run plan.

A group of left-leaning House Democrats tells POLITICO that a bill without a public option simply won’t win enough votes in their caucus — a sentiment that raises fresh questions about the prospects to enact sweeping health care reform this year.
“A bill without a public option won’t pass the House,” said Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.), a member of Energy & Commerce Health subcommittee. “Not only are they weakening their proposal, but they are also weakening their hand. This is legislative subtraction by subtraction.”

Privately, the leaders of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and Congressional Black Caucus sent the same message to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who said Sunday that a public plan is “not the essential element” of comprehensive reform.
“To take the public option off the table would be a grave error; passage in the House of Representatives depends upon inclusion of it,” wrote Reps. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.) and Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) in a letter to Sebelius on Monday.Read more:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0809/26203.html#ixzz0OaGD4kla