"Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid announced Monday that he will include a government-backed insurance plan in the chamber's health-care reform legislation, a key concession to liberals who have threatened to oppose a bill without such a public option."
I'm just past 8 hours of carpentry and 4 hours of computery, so not much good here. But this was 17 minutes ago on Google News.
And I really like it. Really, really like it.
A bit more over. Please fill in in the comments, and I'll delete as soon as I'm awake enough to see a real diary about this. Because this isn't.
This is just the shot over the bow.
Excerpts from WaPo:
Reid's decision was a reversal from two weeks ago, when the Nevada Democrat appeared inclined to set aside the idea -- among the most divisive in the reform debate -- in an attempt to avoid alienating party moderates. Doubts remain about whether he has the votes to guarantee passage, but he said he concluded that in the interest of bringing the strongest possible bill to the Senate floor next month, adding a public option was a risk worth taking.
"We've spent countless hours over the last few days in consultation with senators who've shown a genuine desire to reform the health-care system," Reid said. "And I believe there's a strong consensus to move forward in this direction."
Do you think all those calls, like the 300,000 plus from Obama's website, actually worked?
One can only pray. For the good. Not "The Family".
OK, another excerpt:
Despite the uncertainty, Reid said that omitting a public option would leave too few guarantees that the health coverage Congress would require Americans to buy would be affordable.
Bingo.
He's a Mormon, but he seems to be on our side. Enough to piss off those Utahn's around me about his "liberalism". And that is good.
Signing off, I need sleep. Keep up the good work, all you progressive folks :)