ObamaCare Must Pass With Public Option : Liberals Mislead Voters

Here again the Heritage Foundation has their finger on the facts as they point out Pelosi and Reid will say or do anything to get this past, including misleading the public with false facts on the bill - they do not care what the public wants, this is about keeping the liberal left base as a strong point in the 2010 elections.

This has nothing to do with real health care change. It all about getting and keeping power. The public be damned!

Left pushes Obamacare 'by any legislative means necessary'

The more Americans learn about the Left's big-government health care takeover, the less they like it. According to the latest NBC News/ Wall Street Journal poll, 42 percent of Americans disapprove of the proposal altogether, and 47 percent reject the creation of a government-run health insurance "option."

» Why the "public option" is bad, no matter what its form

"Facing this cratering of public support, the left in Congress is now considering abandoning moderates and independents to pass their narrow partisan ideal of health reform," Heritage's Conn Carroll writes in Thursday's Morning Bell.
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Why the rush? Andy Stern, a Big Labor ally of President Obama's, warns that the failure to pass this health care reform legislation may hurt the Left in the next congressional election cycle. "I think we're talking losing control of Congress… [The failure of health-care reform] would totally empower Republicans to kill all change."

Since there appears to be little chance of bipartisan support for the liberal proposal, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has promised to pursue "any legislative means necessary" to pass the bill. This could involve the use of reconciliation, a legislative tactic that allows the Senate to pass legislation with a bare majority.

However, the process of reconciliation is designated for budget-related measures, which is why the Democrats now propose splitting the health care bill into two parts: one for new taxes and spending and one for new rules and regulations. And the Left argues that the big-government insurance "option" is a budget item and thus eligible for reconciliation.

This "public option" may be a deal-breaker. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said Thursday that "there's no way I can pass a bill in the House of Representatives without a public option."
In the meantime, "some congressmen and senators will say whatever it takes to calm things down," writes Heritage Distinguished Fellow and former congressman Ernest Istook. "Even if it's misleading."

"Don't believe it," warns Istook. These members need a serious "dose of reality." Get your dose of reality from The Heritage Foundation's FixHealthCarePolicy.com.