Pelosi: Though Robust Public Option Is Still The Goal, The Atmosphere Has Changed

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
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After a rough and tumble start to the day, the House’s public option predicament remains mostly unchanged. Speaker Nancy Pelosi still wants a robust plan, pegged to Medicare, but she’s finding it difficult to round up the necessary votes. Undecided Democrats are being put on the spot and are doing everything they can to slink away from the discussion. In the face of this predicament, Pelosi is acknowledging that the more progressive public option may not happen.

“The atmosphere has changed. When we were dealing with the idea that the Senate had nothing, it was really important, again, to go in with the most muscle for the middle class with a robust public option,” Pelosi said at the news conference.

“This is about the endgame now,” she said.

Though the push is still on for the robust public option, that seems about as clear a sign as any that leadership is at least preparing for the possibility that their monumental push might not succeed.

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