She's keepin' it gangsta ladies and gentlemen.

I don't know how to feel about this. On the one hand of course I'm miffed at any bill in general and any bill with a 'public option' in particular. On the other hand though, doesn't it seem that the more Madam Speaker tries to strong-arm the extreme parts of the bill the greater chance any bill has of dying?

Making the public option more robust could potentially prompt a number of moderate Democrats to vote against the bill, but it would also save the government money, since Medicare generally pays cheaper rates than private insurers.

No, it won't "save the government money". But that aside, this is what I'm talking about. God Bless useful idiots and their Queen, Nancy Pelosi.

Baucus' bill is going to look nothing like Pelosi's bill if she gets her "robust" P.O. and direct taxes on the "wealthy". Is there a gang out there that could reconcile those two?

Let's hope not.

We don't even get to reconciliation if identical bills aren't produced. So how best to go about ensuring Madam Speaker stays on message and pushes her version to the bitter end?

How 'bout a little subversion. I'm inclined to call Pelosi and tell her staff that I will do everything in my power to see that she's ousted from her seat if there's not the most "robust" public option available in the bill. Half of us should just call Pelosi every day and demand the strictest public option and half of us should call the Blue Dogs and tell them their jobs are on the line if they vote for any public option.

Don't you just love politics?

Russ