That's if they even bothered actually to pay attention and respect to the “bar” or restrictions at all.

“Tort reform, opening up insuarnce markets across state lines, reforms in pricing of medical services by hospitals, and a few more areas can be worked on with bi-partisan support.”

Of course. Note that I have deliberately omitted tort reform from the examples I've provided, not only because this is a liberal Web site and I would anticipate ridiculous abuse as I've seen with other issues, but also because, more importantly, I don't believe tort reform has any good chance given the Dems in Congress.

The “public option” is the core of what the lib Dems want — it is the federal expansion strategy that is close to if not 100% of what the Dems really want at this time. (They have paid mere lip service in the House to actual reforms.) In order to get the children in the House to cooperate with the Senate, the public option may have to be retained, even if it's “tamed” by some kind of “trigger” (which is but extra words that few will necessarily believe will constitute any kind of serious constraint, even if the children will howl at anything that resembles the word “no”). Moreover, the real, intelligent details of any legislation involve actual reform elements, totally separate from the public option. What will be traded or offered in exchange for retention of the public option, or what will be demanded or gained in exchange for reducing or omitting (removing) it, is the key negotiation strategy question.

And in addition to all that comes Obama and his increasing problems of his own making, in aligning himself with lib Dems (who alienate the intelligent, moral public) and even with such people in his own administration. Obama is in need of damage control and recovery of his own reputation as well as of the health care effort. Rather than any “trigger” attached to the public option, I believe what's most important is what Obama does this month — not limited to increasingly-untrustworthy words in the speeches he makes, either, but in what he leads people to believe he will actually do. He needs to make the Dems and the health care effort coherent and purposeful, where he and the Dems have been failing increasingly.

The public option is dead dead dead unless the democrats want reconciliation, and a piece of legislation full of swiss cheese, to bring government to a virtual halt during their remaining time in power, and to lose even bigger in 2010 when that swiss cheese automatically expired.

Co-ops have some potential for compromise but triggers are something no halfway intelligent Conservative or blue Dog should support.

Tort reform, opening up insuarnce markets across state lines, reforms in pricing of medical services by hospitals, and a few more areas can be worked on with bi-partisan support. As soon as the administration realizes the liberal wing of the democratic party has neither the Congressional not the public support it needs we will all be better off, and the moderates and pragmatist can actually get something done instead of having to listen to the progressives prattle on about something that independents, conservatives, and moderate members of their own party aren't really buying.

If they can't even convince their own party they aren't going to convince the American people.

Do your research next time.

No, that sounds like a clever spin on a spin to me. You expect me to believe that the dems have organized to such an extent that they're willing to piss off the 70% right now, string us along and somehow the GOP spin machine won't have them spun into losing the next time around for [irony alert] “failing to bring the public option to fruition during their reign?”

I highly doubt Rahm and the gang are up to that “strategy”..lol…

I think they'd better pass the public option now and put it as a feather in their cap. All they have to do when people are LOVING their affordable health care in 2012 is remind them with soundbites how if the GOP gets in again, they're going to lose it. THAT is a strategy I can believe will pay off for the dems..

Why 2013? That's the key to understanding this latest pitch from MedMob. The bottom line is that 2013 keeps us from ever realizing the public option. “The trigger” is on a time bomb set to explode any hope of affordable care once the GOP is back in..