Caution with the Co-Ops
Please. Don't spit on our legs and tell us it's raining. The White House has abandoned the "public option" for one reason, and only one: Because it lacks the votes to pass what the President really wants -- and has no hope of securing them.
Republicans need to resist the impulse to collapse with relief into the "bipartisan" arms of Democrats eager to set up cooperatives. Remember: First, above all, the Dems (and the President) want "reform" at almost any price so as to be able to claim political victory. Second, and no less important, they are willing to accept less than a full loaf if they can cobble into place the first step in ultimately establishing a "public option."
Conservatives and Republicans need to watch with skepticism the efforts to railroad a health care "compromise" that will simply delay, rather than prevent, the downward slide into nationalized health care.