White House Backtracks on Public Option in Health Care Reform

Let's be honest. Obamacare is tanking with the public and the President's approval rating of his handling of the debate is at 41% now. Yet, the Democrats have hit the panic button and are now publicly mentioning that they are seriously talking about jamming reform legislation through with only the 51 vote in the Senate. The nuclear option is back with a vengeance.

The panic intensified over the weekend as both Obama and his HHS Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius said that the public option was not a deal breaker. Both floated the trial balloon that perhaps reform would be passed with it. Liberals went ballistic. Howard Dean said, well, why bother? That's no reform at all and just a waste of resources already in place in the system.

Immediately the backlash caused capitulation from the administration. As is his habit, Obama allowed his people to throw Sebelius under the bus. She spoke in Washington honoring senior volunteers who monitor Medicare and Medicaid fraud, according to The Washington Times, and said, "All I can tell you is that Sunday must have been a very slow news day because here's the bottom line: Absolutely nothing has changed." "We continue to support the public option that will help lower costs, give American consumers more choice and keep private insurers honest."

When all else fails, blame the media.

On Sunday, Sebelius stated on CNN's "State of the Union" that a government run plan was "not the essential element" and Obama said in Colorado on Saturday that "The public option -- whether we have it or we don't have it -- is not the entirety of health care reform", according to the Washington Times article by Joseph Weber.

Oops.

Also, an op-ed appeared in The Wall Street Journal penned by John Mackey, co-founder and CEO of Whole Foods Market Inc., in which he stated in no uncertain terms that health care is not a right - any more than food or shelter. He sounded quite Republican in his suggestions. He offered up the same that Republicans have but are not being utilized by the administration - allow insurance to be purchased across state lines, tort reform, Medicare reform, revise tax laws so that health insurance provided by employers and individually owned policies produce the same tax benefits, all free market solutions. The liberals went nuts. Now they are calling for a boycott of their favorite grocery store.

The best part is that you may remember that Obama used Whole Foods and purchasing arugula there in a speech in Iowa as he campaigned for the Iowa caucus last year. And, by the way, Iowa doesn't have any Whole Foods there. It was an example of his liberal elitism on display but the folks didn't mind. Next time, maybe they'll pay closer attention to the undertones of a speech.

And, there is the problem with the lobbyists dollars in the mix. Though the Obama administration pledged they would be the most transparent and ethical -ever- all indications imply it is business as usual in Washington. Bloomberg News reported "that an army of no less than 3,300 registered lobbyists is working the halls of Congress, twisting arms on health care reform. That's about six well-paid lobbyists for every representative of the American people. And an average of three more a day reportedly are signing on for the fight."

We already have the stories of the Big Pharma and the hospital deals cut with the Obama administration - behind closed doors and without a list of those present released - and now the insurance industry is the villain. Remember in the beginning when Obama stood on a platform with health insurance industry CEOs and proclaimed they were all on his side of the argument? Then they shifted and war was declared by this White House. Chicago style. And, now reports of the personal financial coffers of top Obama adviser, David Axelrod, are being enriched by his association with the PR firm he prospered from back in Chicago, all thanks to health care reform. What would have happened if such a story had broke about former Bush adviser Karl Rove during their time in the White House?

Many from the left insist other countries do health care better using socialized systems. Here is an interesting blog post: http://www.50somethingmoms.com/2009/08/my-experience-with-the-french-health-care-systemrtp.html for those who insist France has the world's best health care system and should be imitated here. This is an excellent glimpse into it from a woman's first hand experience.

Most people want our system to be reformed. Republicans know that free market solutions will work to the benefit of all, not the big government solutions offered by the Obama administration. Forcing a plan written by the far left in Congress will not serve the American people well - and the administration will pay a heavy cost for it.