Last Call

Blanche Lincoln's primary challenger, Bill Halter, says he's making the public option a campaign issue and supports it completely.

Asked directly if he supported a public plan that would give folks access to Medicare or something like it, Halter answered: “Yes.”

“If you give individuals the opportuinity to voluntarily buy into a system like Medicare, there is broad support for that,” Halter said.

Asked directly whether he’d back a reconciliation vote on the public option — and the use of reconciliation in general to pass reform, which Lincoln has hedged on — Halter answered Yes on both counts.

“Reconciliation has been used multiple times not just on tax bills but on health bills,” he said.

Asked whether Lincoln’s hedging on these issues ill serves her constituents, Halter said: “We have a difference of opinion,” adding: “I think that that’s gonna be an issue of course in this campaign.”

I like this guy more and more and I've only known about him for a week.  More power to you, Bill.