Cooper's Health Care Reform Tap-Dance

Does he or doesn't he? Does Congressman Jim Cooper support a "public option" as he stated in a meeting at the TNDP headquarters? Or does he prefer to have that left on the table as he seemed to state back at the blogger meeting a few months ago, and now more tacitly by his support for the Daschle/Dole health care reform package?

It seems like Rep. Cooper is torn. He wants to be seen as supporting (and helping to drive) the President's health care agenda, but at the same time, he genuinely doesn't think that a health care package with a "public option" will be able to pass the Senate in a way that makes for quality public policy.

Who is right? Not quite sure. All I know is that its quite ridiculous that we are bending over backwards to alter a public health care policy that will ultimately garner a handful of GOP votes at best. They aren't going to support any health care plan (that manages to get broad Democratic support) because they ultimately feel it is necessary to demonize it as big government socialism, or else the Democrats win the day by doing what the Americans want...fixing our broken health care system.

The key for Dems is to put together the best plan from a policy standpoint, and then sell the shit out of it to Americans (polls indicate they are open to a public option). All we need are 2 or 3 Republicans in the Senate to switch our way, and we're in business.