| A lot of progressives and bloggers have gotten fired up in the past few days about Creigh's comments on the public option. I am a strong supporter of the public option, and Creigh's comments (saying that he's not taking the possibility of opting out of the public option off the table) don't upset me. Here's why.
When asked for clarification, the Deeds campaign responded by saying, in part, "He'll examine all of the proposals on the table and choose the option that provides Virginians with the most affordable and quality coverage."
I've got no problem with what Creigh said about the public option. I personally strongly support it, but I think it's healthy to examine all the choices that we have before us. I've always known Creigh to be a politician that looks at the facts before him, considers them, and makes a decision. I am confident that if we elect him to office, he will make reasoned decisions and good choices to reform our healthcare system. Yes, it may take a little bit of lobbying, but that's nothing we can't handle. It would be a shame to write off Creigh just for saying that nothing is off the table at the moment. I see taking all the options into consideration as a sign of strength, not weakness, and though I have strong feelings about health care reform, I also am not frightened by looking at additional facts. In fact, I believe that when the facts are examined, the public option remains very strong.
I encourage those who are concerned by Creigh's comments to stand by what they believe in, but not to be scared of the idea of taking everything into consideration before making a decision. |
