List of 51 Senate Democrats Who Support a Public Option: What’s Stopping Them Now? The GOP.

Published on Friday, January 29, 2010 by FireDogLake.com

List of 51 Senate Democrats Who Support a Public Option: What’s Stopping Them Now?

by Jane Hamsher

Some day, just for kicks, I’m going to collect quotes from every scold who called upon their volumes of wisdom about Senate procedure to decree that Joe Lieberman must be the ultimate decider on any health care bill, because after all it took 60 votes to pass anything. Because now, as we’ve known all along, that’s a self-imposed limitation that the Senate can surmount if they want to.

But let’s remember that back in August, when Chuck Schumer was pushing to pass health care through reconciliation, here was the guy who was running the health care show on behalf of the White House:

[Rahm Emanuel] acknowledged the political realities that have made the Finance Committee’s still-unfinished cooperative plan a center of attention.

“We have heard from both chambers that the House sees a public plan as essential for the final product, and the Senate believes it cannot pass it as constructed and a co-op is what they can do,” Mr. Emanuel said. “We are cognizant of that fact.”

And then he handed the keys over to Joe Lieberman and Blanche Lincoln to write a wildly unpopular bill that is threatening to take down the party.

When he voted against a public option on the Senate Finance Committe, Max Baucus — who has supported a public option in the past — said he did so because it couldn’t get 60 votes in the Senate. And now they can’t even get 50 votes to agree to change the bill in any way.

So, should we conclude that the 51 Democrats in the Senate who said they support a public option when 60 votes were needed were all full of shit, now that the bar is down to 50 and they’re still not moving?

Here is a list of the 51 Democrats who said they support a public option:

#	Senator	State	Comment
1	Akaka	HI	Signed Oct 8 letter demanding public option
2	Baucus	MT	Said reason for voting against on Senate Finance was the need for 60 votes
3	Bennet	CO	Signed Oct 8 letter demanding public option
4	Bingaman	NM	Voted for Schumer’s “level playing field” public option on Senate Finance
5	Boxer	CA	Signed Oct 8 letter demanding public option
6	Brown	OH	Voted for HELP Committee public option
7	Burris	IL	Signed Oct 8 letter demanding public option
8	Byrd		“In his honor and as a tribute to his commitment to his ideals, let us stop the shouting and name calling and have a civilized debate on health care reform which I hope, when legislation has been signed into law, will bear his name for his commitment to insuring the health of every American.”
9	Cantwell	WA	Voted for Schumer level playing field on Senate Finance
10	Cardin	MD	Voted for Kennedy resolution demanding public option in May
11	Carper	DE	Voted for Schumer’s “level playing field” public option on Senate Finance
12	Casey	PA	Signed Oct 8 letter demanding public option
13	Dodd	CT	Voted for HELP Committee public option
14	Dorgan	ND	I do believe that some sort of public option needs to be part of the proposal, along with a focus on bringing down health care costs and prevention.
15	Durbin	IL	Voted for Kennedy resolution demanding public option in May
16	Feingold	WI	Signed Oct 8 letter demanding public option
17	Feinstein	CA	Signed Oct 8 letter demanding public option
18	Franken	MN	Signed Oct 8 letter demanding public option
19	Gillibrand	NY	Signed Oct 8 letter demanding public option
20	Hagan	NC	Voted for HELP Committee public option
21	Harkin	IA	Voted for HELP Committee public option
22	Inouye	HI	Signed Oct 8 letter demanding public option
23	Johnson	SD	I asked, “What about the bill are you opposed to?” He replied, “That it doesn’t have a robust public option”.a
24	Kaufman	DE	Signed Oct 8 letter demanding public option
25	Kerry	MA	Signed Oct 8 letter demanding public option
26	Klobuchar	MN	“I would prefer a public option that would be a competitive option that would allow people to buy into a Federal Employee Health Benefits Program, which is a series of private plans.”
27	Kohl	WI	Signed Oct 8 letter demanding public option
28	Lautenberg	NJ	Signed Oct 8 letter demanding public option
29	Leahy	VT	Voted for Kennedy resolution demanding public option in May
30	Levin	MI	Voted for Kennedy resolution demanding public option in May
31	McCaskill	MO	Voted for Schumer’s level playing field on Senate Finance
32	Menendez	NJ	Voted for Schumer level playing field on Senate Finance
33	Merkley	OR	Signed Oct 8 letter demanding public option
34	Mikulski	MD	Signed Oct 8 letter demanding public option
35	Murray	WA	Voted for HELP Committee public option
36	Nelson (Bill)	FL	Voted for Schumer’s “level playing field” public option on Senate Finance
37	Reed	RI	Signed Oct 8 letter demanding public option
38	Reid	NV	“I’ve told people, whoever will listen, that I am in favor of the public option.”
39	Rockefeller	WV	Voted for Schumer Level Playing Field public option on Senate Finance Committee
40	Sanders	VT	Voted for HELP Committee public option
41	Schumer	NY	Sponsor of Schumer Amendment
42	Shaheen	NH	Voted for Kennedy resolution demanding public option in May
43	Specter	PA	Signed Oct 8 letter demanding public option
44	Stabenow	MI	Voted for Schumer’s level playing field on Senate Finance
45	Tester	MT	“We need competition, and if we get a public option that will help Montana. I will support it.”
46	Udall	CO	“I support the President’s plan to include the public option as a tool help reform our broken health care system. But above all, any reform must be done in a deficit-neutral way and must provide choice, stability and security for those who have insurance.”
47	Udall	NM	Voted for Kennedy resolution demanding public option in May
48	Warner	VA	“It’s not a make or break thing–he wants to see a health reform bill that contains costs, and if it includes a public option…he would vote for it.”
49	Webb	VA	Told the Huffington Post he is open to a public health care option.
50	Whitehouse	RI	Signed Oct 8 letter demanding public option
51	Wyden	OR	Signed Oct 8 letter demanding public option

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Jane Hamsher is the founder of firedoglake.com. Her work has also appeared on The Daily Beat, AlterNet, The Nation and The American Prospect.