Again, why is this a surprise? After the stimulus bill, did anyone expect any Republican help? This is about the Democrats, and I hope they got the message by now.
Key senators said Sunday the "public option" favored by House Democrats for healthcare is all but dead, but a pivotal Republican said it's not dead enough.
President Barack Obama "should take it off the table," said Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) on CBS's "Face the Nation." "It would give real momentum to building consensus."
Build consensus? What have the Republicans done to build consensus? Absoulutely, NOTHING. But it is ok, for Democrats to continue to cave? Please. We have had enough of that. And this from Susan Collins of Maine.
And Snowe said she could support a so-called "trigger" that would enact the government-run plan to compete with private insurers if the private insurance market fails to become more competitive.
"It is a possibility for bridging the gap at some point in the process," Snowe said.
Snowe's comments and the remarks of other officials Sunday left unclear the direction that the Senate healthcare debate is headed, but put the Senate on a collision course with House Democrats and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
Snowe is a crucial vote, but the Senate bill she supports includes "cooperatives," not triggers. Other Republicans show little support for the trigger concept. Other Democrats, such as Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), flatly oppose the public option. And Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) said there's no way it can pass the Senate.
"It's not gonna pass ... the only thing that has the prospect of passing is in the Senate," Conrad (D-N.D.) told "Fox News Sunday."
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