White House officials and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid have been courting Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)–likely the only other ‘gettable’ Republican on health care–for some time now. With the bill on the floor, though, it’s crunch time for Democrats if they hope to bring her from the “no” column into the “yes” column–or at least into the “I won’t filibuster” column. And they’re not there yet.
Collins has long been opposed to all manner of public option proposals, including the trigger compromise offered by her Maine colleague Olympia Snowe. Today, Collins told reporters she isn’t budging: “I made very clear that I could not support the bill as it’s currently drafted, and that there would have to be substantial changes, but I certainly hope that that will be possible.”
What about a public option compromise–proposed by Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE)–modeled in part on Snowe’s trigger? “I’m not a fan,” Collins said.
