No public option: A trial balloon on health-care reform?

Yesterday I posted a brief e-mail that I sent to Sens. Schumer and Gillibrand and House member Nadler. In that letter I suggested that the administration's TV talk about "abandonment" of the public option may be simply a trial balloon to see what blowback they will get from the liberal members of Congress and their progressive allies. This possibility seems even stronger today as key Democratic Party figures speak up. According to The Huffington Post (which John Nally posted on Facebook):

Richard Trumka, the secretary-treasurer and likely next president of the AFL-CIO, said his federation is drawing a line in the sand when it comes to a public option in the health care bill. Lawmakers who don't support the provision, he said, shouldn't take anything for granted.

'We'll look at every one of their votes,' Trumka said after his speech at the Netroots Nation convention. 'If they're against the Employee Free Choice Act, if they're against health care for that reason, I think it'll be tough for them to get support from working people.'

This os also echoed by 60 members of Congress who sent a message to the White House that they wouldn't support a bill without a public option.

It is important that we keep the heat on wavering congress members and the administration. Write, call or e-mail your representatives, senators and the President telling them that the public option is not an option, if they want our votes.

Without a public option health-care reform will be a joke - on us

I have just sent the following message to Sens. Gillibrand and Schumer and Rep. Nadler. Hopefully you can communicate something along these lines to your senators and representative. It is truly essential for us to put pressure on Congress to put pressure on the administration to preserve, at least, the public option. Without it health-care reform would simply be a joke - on us. For more information on this contact Campaign for America's Future

The Obama administration has indicated that it might be willing to accept a health-care reform package without a public option. It might be just a trial balloon to assess the blowback from the President's constituency - people like me. But whatever their purpose in sending out messages about a public option, we need to make it very clear that the public option (already a fallback position from single payer) is non-negotiable. And we need your support, by communicating to the administration that it is non-negotiable to you also. If the administration wants your support (vote) for the bill, it has to include a public option or no deal. The public option is essential to the two fundamental purposes of health-care coverage reform: (1) Covering everybody, including the 48 million people who are currently not covered and (2) Bringing down the cost of health-care insurance and ultimately the delivery of healthcare.

I appreciate your time and attention to my concerns. Good luck in your next election.