Now that the full Senate is close to having a debate about major health care reform, Senators now seem to be making their preferences undeniably clear about certain parts of such a plan. This week, for instance, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid went public with his preference for bringing a government option to the floor of the Senate and Senator Joe Lieberman went public with his opposition to that government option. Yesterday, adding to the debate, the unelected Senator from Illinois made his feelings about a public option clear also and those feelings are likely to displease moderates in the Senate.
According to ABC news, "First Roland Burris became the first Senator to say he wouldn't vote for a health reform bill that didn't include a public option. Now, according to the Chicago Sun-Times, Burris's vote may be in question even on the compromise public option." That article was aptly entitled "Could Roland Burris Block Reid's Health Care Bill?" The answer to that inquiry is simple: yes, Burris can block it if he is set to be the 60th vote during an integral part of the debate. When those on the left, like Burris, decided to push for massive liberal health care reform that did not address some of the key concerns of moderates and members on the right, they alienated themselves from those groups. Now, those liberals are left with a finite number of members who will support their plans and they are also left with major disagreements with moderates like Lieberman.
Even if Burris went along with a bill with a limited public option in it, there are still a lot of Senators on the left who have not agreed to support that. Politico.com recently had a piece about the tough votes that Senator Reid is trying to get on board with his plans for massive health care reform. Five of the main Senators mentioned in that article are from Reid's own party, one of them (Lieberman) was the vice presidential nominee from that party nine years ago and the last one is a moderate from Maine who voted for a major health care reform bill during an important committee vote a few weeks ago. Senator Reid is fighting an uphill battle here and as more Senators become clearer about where they stand, Reid is facing more and more obstacles from within his own caucus.