By GottaLaff
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid closed in on clinching 60 votes for a public health insurance option Friday as two key moderates signaled they wouldn’t stand in his way – clearing a path for Reid to finish work on a bill as early as Tuesday, Democratic officials said."The public option is not the question." And yes those pro-public option polls are passed around among Congress members, said Rep. James Clyburn just now on Countdown.
"It's not what will it be, it's what form it will take," he went on to say. "By the end of next week, the House will roll something out with a public option, I'm just not sure which of the four it will be."
And Reid’s efforts got a boost Friday when two key Senate moderates signaled that that they were not inclined to block him.
"I conveyed to Leader Reid that a number of moderates still were extremely concerned about a government-run, taxpayer-funded, national public plan," Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) said in a statement after meeting with Reid. "However, I am encouraged that the conversations taking place over the past week among Senators who back different versions of a public option could potentially lead to a compromise. I believe this compromise should happen sooner, rather than later, so we can get to work on other critical aspects of heath care reform."
An aide to Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) said that, while the senator does not favor a public option with a state exemption, he would not vote to filibuster the bill. This would put Reid closer to the 60-vote threshold.
On Thursday, Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), another key moderate, said he was undecided on the state opt-out but remained to open to a public option. "It depends on the way it is structured," Pryor said.
Sen. Ben Nelson is still being a stick in the mud. And don't even start me on the Snowe flake.
.jpg)