In The End, She's Still A Republican, Folks

Which is the major problem with Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine.

Snowe, R-Maine, said she's working with Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to establish that kind of a framework in the bill expected to emerge next month from the Senate Finance Committee.

In an Associated Press interview in Portland, Snowe said it would be unfair to include a government-run health insurance option that would take effect immediately.

"If you establish a public option at the forefront that goes head-to-head and competes with the private health insurance market ... the public option will have significant price advantages," she said.

Now, understand that the esteemed Senator from Maine considers a competitive public option health insurance plan that would compete with private plans and have the buying power of the government behind it allowing it to offer health care coverage at a lower cost to the American people to be a serious problem.

This is because Olympia Snowe is a Republican. She understands very clearly what passing a plan like this would do to her party, which is crush the holy hell out of it for the next generation or so. Ergo, she is resorting to telling the truth. It would indeed give the public option a significant price advantage, which is indeed the entire point of the public option.

Republicans don't want you to have that option. Period. It would be wonderful for the country. It would be a political disaster for Republicans. Ergo, you can't have a public option on health insurance.

Thus endeth the lesson.