It is not just unlikely that current health care reform bills, without a public option, will fail to provide millions of more people with quality affordable private health insurance–I fear such reform will make it impossible to them to get quality affordable health insurance.

Karen Tumulty and Michael Scherer wrote a very depressing story about how the pharmaceutical industry got its way in the health care debate. While the public has focused on the insurance industry’s fight against reform, the drugmakers have actually spent more (about $600,000 a day), and gotten more for their money. Their deal with the White House and the Senate Finance Committee will give them extended patent protection on the most expensive drugs (12 years for biologics, rather than 5), while ensuring that past deals not to have the government bargain for lower drug prices or import cheaper drugs from foreign countries remained intact.

Somebody let that crazy old coot Cheney out of his undisclosed hiding place again. You can guess what kind of stuff the former veep had to say about the Obama administration; emptywheel points out some highlights.

ABC is reporting Reid is leaning towards putting a national, weak, “level playing field” public option with an opt-out provision in the merged bill. The move could be a result of real leadership, terror at the thought of losing his election, courage, profound personal conviction, incredible pressure from inside the caucus, necessity, or a combination [...]

Nate Silver says that momentum is shifting in favor of some sort of public option, and lists his reasons why. At the top of the list: The tireless, and occasionally tiresome, advocacy on behalf of liberal bloggers and interest groups for the public option. Whatever you think of their tactics — I haven’t always agreed [...]

Proving yet again that not only do taxpayer-bailed-out CEOs have no shame, word has it that they plan to flaunt their taxpayer-fueled wealth in our faces, the ABA is sponsoring its Roaring ’20s party in conjunction with its Oct. 27–29 meeting.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka will lead thousands of mad-as-hell Americans in a rally outside the ABA meeting on Oct. 27, demanding financial reform and re-regulation that will allow us to rebuild our communities, our lives and our economy.

  The House Financial Services Committee approved a controversial amendment, opposed by Chairman Barney Frank, to exempt auto financing from independent dealers from the oversight of the Consumer Financial Protection Agency. The vote was 47-21, with a large number of Democrats joining with Republicans. I’ll have the full committee breakdowns for you when I get [...]

  Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) told Poltico that he felt Harry Reid (D-NV) and the White House were leaning toward a national public option with an opt-out:   Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) briefed Nelson and other Democratic centrists on Thursday morning. “I keep hearing there is a lot of leaning toward some sort [...]

Yeah, all that’s holding the Republicans back is Glenn Beck and El Rushbo. Many top Republicans are growing worried that the party’s chances for reversing its electoral routs of 2006 and 2008 are being wounded by the flamboyant rhetoric and angry tone of conservative activists and media personalities, according to interviews with GOP officials and [...]

The FDL Action phonebank is live now. You can start calling progressive Nevada Democrats now and ask them to contact Harry Reid and tell him to put a public option in the final Senate bill. Slinkerwink is up on DailyKos and says “Let’s go deliver the cure for the spine flu to Senator Harry Reid!” [...]