Pelosi Says She Can’t Pass Bill Without Public Option

By GottaLaff

It's good to see some Dems keeping the pressure on:

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she won’t be able to pass health-care legislation in her chamber if the measure doesn’t include a government-run insurance plan to compete with private insurers.

“There’s no way I can pass a bill in the House of Representatives without a public option,” Pelosi, a California Democrat, said at a press conference in San Francisco today.

The idea, a central component of President Barack Obama’s effort to overhaul the nation’s health-care system, has emerged as a flash point in his party. Suggestions by administration officials in recent days that the White House might be willing to give up on the public plan drew protests from some House Democrats.

Obama today reiterated his support for the proposal.

“If we have a public option in there it will help keep insurance companies honest,” he told a group of community volunteers in Washington.

From the little I saw of President Obama's live event on the Internets Machine today, he seemed to be emphasizing the public option more, as he also did on the Smerconish simulcast.

His base needs feeding. Hopefully, he's been playing the Rushpublics, making them look like the negative fools that they are, and he'll come in with a strong finish.

However, on Twitter, I'm hearing that during the livestream event, he was preaching to the choir and a bit same ol', same ol'.

Your thoughts?