STAFF ED: Public option inclusion reflects public opinion

Last Thursday, the House Democrats introduced a new health care bill that can be considered a blend of the three different health care bills passed through the congressional committees. The new 2,000-page document includes many sweeping changes, foremost of which is the inclusion of the extremely controversial — at least according to some — public option. We, the Daily Nebraskan editorial board, support the inclusion of the public option.

Our reason is not a sinister one. We don’t want to undermine American health care, increase the national deficit (the new bill is supposed to reduce it) or ruin jobs, as right-wingers might like people to believe. We support the public option because the majority of Americans support it.

Polls have continually shown a large margin of support for the public option; an Oct. 20 poll by The Washington Post-ABC News showed that 57 percent of respondents supported the public option. This is surprising as the same poll showed the support of the current progress on health care is more split, with only 48 percent supporting it.

This divergence in opinion is a testament to the public’s strong support of the public option. And, in reality, the public option is relatively mild. It essentially allows the public to receive health care at a rate that is 5 percent higher than the rate offered by Medicare. The plan aims to extend coverage to 96 percent of Americans, which is essential if the United States ever aims to provide the sort of health care coverage that is common in other industrialized countries.

The bill is an excellent step in the right direction, and we commend Democrats for finally taking a confident step forward on the health care debate, even if it means giving up on garnering Republican support. According to an Oct. 2 Research 2000 poll, 52 percent of Americans supported a public option even if it meant no Republican support while 39 percent didn’t want a public option if it meant bipartisanship could not be reached.

The reality of the situation is that Democrats currently hold a majority in both houses of Congress by a wide margin, and that could largely allow them to act unilaterally on the issue. We feel that the health reform and the public option are extremely important changes that must come to America, and we urge Democrats to continue with their steadfast support of their plan, especially when the public support is on their side. Because, at the end of the day, we are a country ruled by the people, not the medical industry lobbyists.

Comments

7 comments

Justin

Tue Nov 3 2009 22:19

" Take a look at this past weekends Rasmussen poll "

Let me just stop you right there. Rasmussen "polls" are meaningless, they're nothing more than an arm of the Republican party. They dramatically oversample Republicans - they've admitted it, repeatedly.

"Quit defending these non-thinking nitwits."

I'm not. I have my own problems with the DN's editorial board, particularly in how they allow their contributors to use the opinion column to promote faulty science and avoid obligations of fact-checking.

But on this particular claim, they're correct to note that a majority of Americans support a public option in health care reform. Politicians who were elected to reform health care in this way - and the last election was certainly a referendum on health care reform, as it was the central issue of the campaign - should fulfill the will of their electorate.

"So if the DN is now taking positions based on the opinions of the American people, can we expect it to shift toward conservatism?"

Hasn't it? Every day it seems like we're treated to the conservative ramblings of Fischer or Harbison, and the DN website comments are a cesspool of right-wing nonsense and hatred. If that wasn't enough we have the conservative "Student Newspaper" to paper our birdcages with. Conservatives have one entire newspaper and half of the DN. UNL students who want an actual liberal newspaper are completely unrepresented.

Andrew Lacy

Mon Nov 2 2009 23:45

So if the DN is now taking positions based on the opinions of the American people, can we expect it to shift toward conservatism? After all, a Gallup Poll dated Oct. 26 shows that 40% of Americans identify themselves as conservatives vs. just 20% liberal and 36% moderate.

Rock Hudson

Mon Nov 2 2009 18:36

This editorial writer is a liar. He knows the public is against the government "option." The government can't even get the flu vaccine out or guarantee its effectiveness, despite all the grandiose promises it made about how it would manage the situation. People stand in lines for hours only to be told, "Oops, we're out. Try again some other time." If you like how the government is handling H1N1, you'll love government rationed healthcare. Sometimes I think people like this DN writer are miserable human beings who just want everyone else to be miserable too. Its as good an explanation as any why the DN spews these lies.

Tom

Mon Nov 2 2009 17:22

Justin - go crawl back under a rock. I was referring to the DN editorial board as spineless. What kind of crap is it that they just support the public option becuase they say the American people are for it? Take a look at this past weekends Rasmussen poll on the the for/against position on the Democrat's plan for governemnt run healthcare system. 54% oppose the Democrat's plans versus 42% who favor it.

Should they now run an editorial that states their position as "We are for the public option, however, on the whole we are entirely against government run healthcare.........because that's how the American people feel"

What would they write if there was a poll that showed the majority of students thought that the editorial board should jump off a cliff? Would they agree with it because the majority of people thought they should?

Quit defending these non-thinking nitwits.

Open Minded

Mon Nov 2 2009 16:15

Justin,

Where did Tom indicate that he was conservative? It's debatable as to whether our elected representatives should simply follow opinion polls or if they should vote their conscience. I'm sure that the DN board was against the Nebraska Civil Rights Initiative even though it was overwhelmingly supported by the people of Nebraska. Therefore, they are lying about their motivation for their position.

Justin

Mon Nov 2 2009 15:52

Good to know that the conservative position, now, is that enacting the will of the people is "spineless."

Tom

Mon Nov 2 2009 10:56

"We support the public option because the majority of Americans support it." - Spineless

DN Editorial Staff - clueless

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