Conrad: Votes lacking to pass public-option healthcare

[Joanne98]

Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) said on Sunday that Democrats won’t have enough votes to pass a White House-endorsed healthcare reform package that includes a government-run option.

President Obama is not likely to garner the support needed by his former Senate colleagues to overhaul the nation’s healthcare system if he insists on including a public option, the Budget Committee’s top Democrat said on CNN’s “State of the Union."

“In a 60-vote environment, you’ve got to attract some Republicans as well as holding virtually all the Democrats together, and that, I don’t believe, is possible with a pure public option. I don’t think the votes are there,” Conrad said on the morning talk show.

But the adminstration remains insistent that healthcare reform include a government component in order to create more competition and lower costs for medical treatment.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos that “having some competition and having some choice for consumers is a good thing. I don't think it's any surprise that insurance companies would rather have a system where everybody must buy coverage and there are no competitors.”

The former Kansas governor made the case for a public option a day before the president is set to address a major medical society on the issue in his ongoing campaign to rally support for the controversial measure.

Republicans however remain opposed to government run healthcare, arguing that its sole purpose would be to drive out private insurance companies.

Continued>>>

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/conrad-votes-lacking-to-pass-public-option-healthcare-2009-06-14.html

[Juche]

1. Link doesn't work

Budget reconciliation could get this done with 50 votes plus Biden as a tie breaker. You don't need 60 votes to get things done.

Furthermore, the GOP is painting themselves into a corner. Their entire argument against public healthcare is that it is cheaper and more efficient than private, and if given a choice the public will freely choose the public healthcare plans. Not a very good argument for a party that claims to support competition and claims the government is naturally inefficient.

If healthcare dies because of these GOP screwups I hope 2010 is an even bigger landslide than it is currently predicted to be. But even with 64 or so senators (and a real democrat to replace Specter) I worry the dems will still find a way to not get healthcare with a public option passed, claiming that 5 dem senators will not support the public option or something.

The reality is again, if they wanted to, they could do this with 50 senators.

[DesertFlower]

2. do we have 50? it's my

understanding that many dems are against it too.

[Juche]

7. I'm fairly sure, yeah

After Franken is seated there will be 60 dems in the senate. After losing people like Nelson, Specter and a few others the dems will still have 50 who support a public option.

[Joanne98]

3. Works now thanks,. Yes Dems need to be stronger. They are bending to lobbyists

But Republicans will lose in the end!

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

4. Conrad doesn't want a public option.

He also is one of the Senate's top recipients of campaign contributions from insurance companies and the health care industry. But I'm sure that's just a coincidence.

[LiberalFighter]

5. Then what the hell is he doing to get the votes? Nothing?

[DCKit]

6. See if we have enough votes to kick your ass out of the Senate in the next round, Kent.

Your constituents aren't as stupid as you might think.

[xchrom]

8. kinda like the missing votes to put mousavi into his seat? nt