That Was Easy
by digby
No biggie. For me the whole Medicare buy-in argument was kind of like purchasing a lottery ticket and dreaming about what you'd do with the money. I never expected to actually win. It wasn't exactly rational to think that something that liberals had been agitating for since the 1970s would pass. Seriously, that's just not allowed:
Senate Democrats signaled their intention Monday to back away from a plan to expand Medicare, in a bid to break a deepening impasse on sweeping health legislation.
The move came at an evening caucus convened just off the Senate floor, where Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) and other party leaders made clear they wanted to head off a widening dispute -- pitting centrists against liberals -- over a proposal that would open Medicare to people below the age of 65.
There you have it. Everyone knows that liberals must lose, so down goes the public option and the Medicare Buy-in. The question remains whether King Joseph will allow the government to help older people with long term care needs or any of the other things that anyone could possibly construe as liberal policies.
I think we have a way to go before this bill is bad enough for him and his cronies to allow the Democrats to commit political suicide with it.
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