The Primate Press

Does anyone really think Republicans are going to vote for any healthcare reform bill no matter what’s in it? I don’t. While I truly applaud Obama’s above and beyond efforts to invite them into non-partisan cooperation, so far his efforts have done no good. Republicans vote against everything proposed by Democrats no matter what. That’s because it doesn’t benefit them politically to cooperate (or that’s their perception.) It only benefits them to oppose, oppose, oppose. Obama may do an admirable job inviting non-partisan cooperation in Washington, but it doesn’t make Republican voters waver for a second on what they demand of their representatives.

Ezra Klein with something of the same thought in the Washington Post.

So we may disagree about to what extent a Public Option would help — it would help me personally a great deal, being self employed and relying on not getting too sick for fear of testing the arbitrary limits of Unicare’s benevolence — but do any Democrats really think it would hurt? Even just to try?  This argument comes down to, as usual, team politics. Republicans oppose this legislation because it’s from Democrats. Republicans will find a way to oppose it after the public option is off the table.