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Public Option On Its Death Bed

Liberals panic as president, Sebelius, Conrad downplay expectations

By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff

Posted Aug 17, 2009 9:20 AM CDT

(Newser) – The public option is looking sickly, after a weekend in which Obama and Co. seemed to be backing away from it, and liberals aren’t happy about it, Politico reports. “Public Option, Meet Underside of Bus,” read one Daily Kos headline. Over the weekend, President Obama said the proposal was “just one sliver” of the debate, while Kathleen Sebelius said it was “not the essential element” in reform.

Kent Conrad all but called the time of death. “Look, there are not the votes in the United States Senate for the public option,” he said. “There never have been.” By last night the White House was doing damage control, saying Sebelius “misspoke,” and Obama was still committed to the idea. “Nothing has changed.” But liberals aren't persuaded. Rachel Maddow complained that, without a public option, Obama will have “spent a ton of political capital” on something that “won’t do much for the American people.”

[Images (3)]

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Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius speaks at Commercial Maintenance, Inc., in West Hartford, Conn., Monday, Aug 3, 2009. (AP Photo/George Ruhe)

President Barack Obama listens to a question as he speaks about health care during a town hall meeting at Central High School in Grand Junction, Colo. Saturday, Aug. 15, 2009. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

In this Jan. 8, 2009 file photo, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., asks a question during a hearing on Capitol Hill. (AP Photo/Lauren Victoria Burke, FILE)

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Look, there are not the votes in the United States Senate for the public option. There never have been. So to continue to chase that rabbit, I think, is just a wasted effort.
- Sen. Kent Conrad on Fox News

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Public Option On Its Death Bed