There are a lot of Democrats in the House who favor a public option but would be willing to compromise it away in favor of passing the rest of the package (the gateway, guaranteed issue, community rating, individual mandate, etc.)
Markey, however, I'm not sure is one of them. IIRC he said he wouldn't commit in public to voting No without a public option, because he heads a committee that was working out a bill and wanted to be a fair arbiter, or something like that. However, his committee has finished their version of the bill, with a public option, so that reason doesn't hold true anymore. I'm not sure why he's not signing the letter. As a constituent of his, you could call up and ask to speak to someone who might explain to you what he thinks of this letter. I'd be curious to hear what you find out.
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momijizukamori
Markey
Date: 2009-08-24 19:41 (UTC)Markey, however, I'm not sure is one of them. IIRC he said he wouldn't commit in public to voting No without a public option, because he heads a committee that was working out a bill and wanted to be a fair arbiter, or something like that. However, his committee has finished their version of the bill, with a public option, so that reason doesn't hold true anymore. I'm not sure why he's not signing the letter. As a constituent of his, you could call up and ask to speak to someone who might explain to you what he thinks of this letter. I'd be curious to hear what you find out.