On a day where the News Sources are feeding us nothing but defeatist type news about the Public Option Sen. Harkin, the new chairman of HELP Comm.replacing Ted Kennedy has a different stronger stance.
Harkin: Public option must be in health bill
While Harkin said he is always open to compromise, he said the proposed alternative to the public option, local cooperatives, seemed interesting at first but ultimately he doesn't see it working. He also isn't convinced by a trigger mechanism that would allow a person to get government insurance only if the private insurance options are deemed unaffordable.
"I think we're still going to see runaway profits by the insurance companies, and it's going to be to the detriment of our families who want health care and want it affordable and want full coverage," Harkin said. "A public option has to be a part of this bill."
Sen. Harkin has not been a BlueDog type Senator for the most part during his long career. In fact when Sen. Dodd decided not to take over for Ted Kennedy and instead gave it to Sen. Harkin I immediately felt our chances for the Public Option went up at least a notch. Sen. Harkin is not one to grasp upon the negative, but instead looks to the facts as this next quote shows us.
Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, wonders how some pundits and politicians can be so sure a public option cannot pass, since the full bodies of Congress have not yet voted on health reform legislation.
"Opponents have spent the summer trying to kill health reform with all kinds of baseless charges, but they've fallen short," Harkin said during a conference call with reporters Thursday morning. "Just one indication, according to a recent CBS poll at the end of August, 60 percent of Americans still support a public option."
I think Tom could use so back-up support so he know we not only support his stance but that we are grateful to boot. What say we send him some love ? Here is his DC contact info and a link to his other offices.
731 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
(202) 224-3254 Phone
(202) 224-9369 Fax
(202) 224-4633 TDD
https://harkin.senate.gov/...
I hope my fellow kossacks enjoy hearing some positive information in this battle as much as I do. We need to stop having nothing but negative news hitting the streets so the Public knows this is not a one-sided fight. Fight on kossacks, Fight On.
Harkin on Ed's Show talking about the Public Option.