Will you support a public option, available to everyone, on day one?
It's a great question. It's an important question. But it's a political question, and political questions beget political answers. Like,
"I would support this, but I'm not sure we have the votes."
"You know, this is an extreme position. We are going to have to be willing to compromise."
"People love their system. We have to build on this. I'm not sure that I can support an option which will destroy our competitive system."
"We've seen the horrors of government run systems in other countries. So we have to be very careful not to make the same mistakes. The public option is government run health care."
"Have you seen the price tag? Where is the money going to come from? How will the public-option hold down costs?"
Recognize these answers?
It's time for us to reframe the debate, before it's too late. It's time to return to the most fundamental question of all when it comes to health care, to make this our battle cry, and the essential measure by which ANY AND ALL health care reform proposals, and the positions taken by our elected officials, must be judged.
