The Game of Chicken

Is being fully played now between House Progressives and the White House sadly beholden to corporate interest thanks to Rahm Emmanuel, with President Obama allowing it

I guess the White House has figured that support for a public plan will only get more entrenched if they let it pass the House on the first go-round. Per Brian Beutler, they're now telling "reform groups" (aka the veal pen) that the public option is a goner:

Low-level White House officials have reached out to certain reform groups that have staked their ground on the need for a public option, I'm told, and warned them not to spend any more money advocating for the policy--that it's just not worth it.

The New York Times says that "It's so important to get a deal [that Obama] will do almost anything it takes to get one." To say that this is an inadequate response to this deeply moral issue, and perhaps the defining moment of his Presidency, is the most charitable response I can think of.

The veal pen orgs have obliged the White House and stopped advertising against Blue Dogs since Rahm Emanuel called them "fucking stupid" and ordered them to in early August.

Well, we've been telling people since June 23 that in the end, it will all come down to the House. And here we are.

The game of chicken is being played.

But most importantly, this isn't just a game ladies and gentlemen. It is much more than that.

It is meaningful health care reform for a broken system of moral decline and fiscal embezzling on the line. And that means some people's lives are seriously at stake.