October 21, 2009 Sen. Roland Burris (D-Illinois) has voiced his opposition to any health care reform bill which does not include a public option. Sen. Burris joined other freshman Senators on the Floor today to denounce any health care reform without a public option.
The Senators may have been bolstered by the new ABC News/ Washington Post poll released yesterday, that found a majority of Americans now favor a public plan, with certain limitations.
Read the poll results and the limitations here
In his speech on the Floor, Sen. Burris addressed the question he says millions are asking themselves:
“What can health care reform do for me?”
Sen. Burris insists that health care reform with a public option will be affordable because it will “promote competition among insurance companies and restore choice to the insurance market.”
In an interview with Michel Martin on National Public Radio (NPR) last night, Sen. Burris said he would withhold his vote for any health care reform plan which does not have the public plan option. He called for all his Democratic colleagues to join him.
Unlike many of his colleagues however, Sen. Burris cannot be controlled by the White House or the Democratic leadership because he has already said he will not seek reelection.
Sen. Burris was appointed to his seat by the former Governor of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich. The disgraced governor moved to fill the seat vacated by Barack Obama after his election as President. A bitter campaign to block the appointment followed and it is reported that the Democratic leadership has continued to shun the freshman senator in a most un-senatorial way.
Now they may find themselves in a position to have to deal with Sen. Burris who have very little to lose opposing both the White House and the Democratic leadership that has treated him so badly. Without the control they could exercise if a reelection bid were in Burris’ future, the Democratic leadership has little leverage to force Sen. Burris to conform to the party’s wishes.
While he is not the only Democrat who opposes health reform without a public option, he is possibly the only one who can vote as he sees fit.
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Comments
Oh, like this idiot's opinion matters!
This guy is great. Watching the Dems implode from within is too precious.
Dems are going down. Obama is plummeting. What did they expect putting their faith in someone who hasn't even proven he's legally president? He spends $921 million in legal fees to prevent people from seeing his birth facts, and we're going to put BO in charge of our health? I don't want Obama and ACORN deciding if my grandmother lives or dies!
Great post! My response to Burris on Healthcare Hope, my blog
His opinion matters, but his opinion is based on strategy, not passion. He waited until it looked like the public option was a done deal to say he was for it.
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