The public option: how many of us remember when and why it died?

[cui bono]

120. "it was too late"

It most likely wouldn't have been too late - if it even was - if there was ever any real effort to get the public option.

There was zero talk of single-payer. Basic negotiation tactic is that you ask for more than what you want then you settle for what you can get. No one asked for single-payer. Not only that, single-payer advocates were never invited to the table. Or to any secret back room meetings. But guess who did get secret back room meetings? The insurance companies. The WH denied these secret meetings until they could no longer, then they had to finally admit it. Do you think the insurance companies wanted the public option or did not want it?

Secondly, the public option was barely even fought for if at all. Neither Obama nor the house Dems took to the people to explain the public option, not even to explain most of the ACA, leaving the R's to frame the issue and keep the Dems on defense. Dems just don't know how to play offense which has to make one wonder if they really even want to.

Then you have Rahm Emanuel telling the left to fuck off.

We'll never know for sure if the votes were there for the public option because the people were never rallied about it. Had Dem leaders spoken out about it and informed the people about it most likely there would have been phone calls and emails pressuring their representatives to demand the public option be in the bill.