If there’s a sign that one faction is winning the tug-of-war between House progressives and conservative Senate Democrats over the public option, it may be coming from the Speaker’s office.
Last Tuesday, when Nancy Pelosi emerged from the White House after a meeting with President Obama, she said that the fate of the public option would be determined in the legislative process, and she suggested that if Congress goes for a “trigger,” it would be affixed to a Medicare-like public option.
On Thursday, she said “This is about a goal. It’s not about provisions. As long as our goal of affordability and accessibility and quality, meeting the four…goals that we have in the legislation, then we will go forward with that bill.”
But not two weeks ago, Pelosi insisted that a health care bill without a strong public option would not pass the House. That statement was of a piece with similar statements she’d made for weeks, which were based on the progressives’ insistence that health care reform’s passage depended on the public option.
In other words, since meeting with Obama–who’s been notably solicitous of Senate moderates, and notably dismissive of House progressives–her public language has softened notably.
Today, Pelosi’s Communication’s Director Brendan Daly says “The Speaker remains firmly committed to the public option and will continue to fight for its inclusion.”
There’s a lot more wiggle room in there than there is in saying ‘no public option, no bill.’ And it comes as other members of leadership, most notably House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, have begun to suggest that a robust public option may not survive.
It would be easy to overdetermine her change in language, but it’s worth pointing out that it mimics the rhetorical shift Pelosi has had to undertake more than once over the last several months when conservative Democrats have prevailed over progressives in legislative fights. Which is to say, pay close attention to House progressives this week. If they’re going to budge, the time for it is now fast upon us. And if a critical number of them insist once again this week that they’ll oppose any legislation without a public option, Democratic leaders will have to figure out a new game plan.
