Sen. Lincoln on Board as 60th Vote: Enjoyed Her Senate Career

From tonight’s Politico:

Sen. Blanche Lincoln is a yes for debating health reform, but a no for the public option, and she and fellow centrists are making clear they expect Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to scrap his current plan for a government-run insurance program.

Lincoln (D-Ark.) announced Saturday that she’d deliver the deciding vote to push forward with a sweeping health reform plan, ending days of speculation over whether President Barack Obama’s signature priority would proceed to the Senate floor or suffer a debilitating blow.

But Lincoln and fellow moderate Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) also laid down strong objections to the public health insurance plan included in the Senate bill – saying they couldn’t support the bill if it came to the floor in that form.

“I am opposed to a new government administered public health care plan as a part of comprehensive health care reform, and I will not vote in favor of the proposal that has been introduced by Leader Reid as it is written,” Lincoln said.

Lincoln, who is facing a tough-reelection fight in 2010, also put fellow Democrats on notice about the political stakes in her race — saying she’s already faced some $3.3 million in ads trying to sway her vote on the bill, from the left and the right.

And she laid down a laundry list of concerns, most of which also are shared by her fellow centrists – that the bill not increase the deficit, protects seniors on Medicare, makes insurance more affordable for small businesses and enhances competition with private insurers, all without a public option.

The final vote is scheduled for 8 p.m., but with Lincoln’s announcement in hand, Reid has the 60 votes he needs to begin debate on the bill after Thanksgiving and break any Republican attempt to hold up debate. Republicans said they wouldn’t give up the fight.

Read the whole article here.

We had always been under the impression that the best way to signal your opposition to something was to vote against it. If one opposed a public option plan, then the best way to ensure the final bill doesn’t have a public option, presumably, would be to defeat any bill that contains a public option. Silly us. Sen. Lincoln is obviously clever enough to be against the public option while voting in favor of the public option.