The Option of Conscience Idea Is Spreading

Posted on 09/08/2009 at 8:43 pm by Bob Cesca

For several weeks now, I’ve been beating a drum (here and here for example) about how the public option is the option of good conscience — an escape hatch for those of us who don’t want to be forced by the federal government to buy private insurance from one of the various mafia families. And as we’ve seen in the Baucus plan, the penalties are punative enough to coerce us into keeping the cartels well-fed.

But I’m really glad to see that this “Option of Good Conscience” idea is spreading.

Paul Krugman:

Third — and this is where I am getting a very bad feeling about the idea of throwing in the towel on the public option — is the politics. Remember, to make reform work we have to have an individual mandate. And everything I see says that there will be a major backlash against the idea of forcing people to buy insurance from the existing companies. That backlash was part of what got Obama the nomination! Having the public option offers a defense against that backlash.

Backlash understates the impact. But there’s also a core values and morality component here that feeds the backlash. The politics are bad, yes. And the backlash will be significant. But the Democratic Party and the White House will be asking us to do something that is morally impossible for many of us. A compulsory corporate giveaway is unthinkable.

Josh Marshall is also hitting this idea, too:

Am I the only one who thinks that if the Dems pass a bill with mandates and subsidies for poor and moderate income people to purchase it but no public option or competition with the insurers, that it will be pretty much a catastrophe for the Democrats in political terms?

You’re definitely not the only one, Josh. And with the Baucus Plan on the table, we all need to watch its progress very carefully and ramp up the mobilization in support of the public option.

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  • Jan

    If this happens-individual mandates with no po:I will NOT buy ins. from the current companiesI will NOT work for democratsI will NOT give any more money to the democratsI will NOT vote for democratsI will take every opportunity to publically diss any democrat that isn’t for a po or who voted for this outrageousness-and I have a big mouth so the media likes me.I will take any punishment the democrats think they can lay on me for not buying into their bogus plan-but I won’t go quietlyThis is my litmus test, my waterloo so to speak.Put a fork in me I’m done if this happens to the American people.

  • http://www.osborneink.com Matt Osborne
  • kansasdem

    What Jan says pretty well sums up my thinking!While I’d never vote for a Republican I may very well just sit on my ass and watch things happen rather than get involved at all!Although, if Maxie boy’s proposal, or something close to it, were signed into law by this POTUS I would go all out providing support to any Dem primary opponent in 2012! Even if it were a true “blue-dog”!My message is: “We worked our asses of to get Obama elected and I’m just not seeing the results”!Nomination for morning awesome:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeEYQOy4oQ4Couldn't find a better recording!

  • kansasdem
  • http://demskippy.wordpress.com/ Skippy

    I’m convinced Baucus and co. are Republican plants on top of being corporate whores.

  • Jan

    Lawrence O’Donnell just said on Keith that if the mandate thing goes through without a po there will be an explosion on the left blogs.He also says a po bill will not make it in the House and that if Pelosi rallies her troops to vote for a bill that has no po they will come around and pass it with no po. A few progressives have already said they’d think about the trigger.Figuring this reform will take years and years to implement I’m sure the dems think all of this will go away in a few months and people will forget about it.Until we get our letters ordering us to sign up for our wonderful new insurance with BCBS.

  • eljefejeff

    I don’t see this conscience idea finding any sympathy in congress. Since when have they sided with the people over corporations?As far as the fine, isn’t that what is necessary to make this work in the first place? It’s my understanding that the only way health care reform will take place is if those who are uninsured, particularly the young and healthy, buy insurance that they will never use, so that money can be used to pay for expensive operations for older sick people. If you require everyone to have insurance and they don’t get it, how are you going to force them? Fine them or arrest them?This is part of what makes reform itself so sticky. This is why single payer makes the most sense. The government covers everyone, no one gets fined.

  • kansasdem
  • kansasdem

    Errrm, don’t know what that won’t stick but:/home/lance/Pictures/Screenshot.pngMaybe that will be better, although it opens me up for a major hacking!

  • kansasdem
  • kansasdem
  • Rogect8

    >>>Backlash understates the impact.Hell yeah it does. If I am forced, by law, to buy insurance from a company like BCBS…..well, I think Jan already summed it up pretty nicely. If something even remotely resembling the Baucus bill passes, anybody voting for it can kiss a whole lot of supporters goodbye.