By Philip Klein,American Spectator
Howard Dean is one of many unhappy Democrats
As President Obama and Democrats in Congress continue their push to overhaul the nation’s health care system this year,it’s turning out that their biggest obstacle is not Republicans,but each other.
The dilemma is simple:moderate Democrats see the need to scale back legislation,but liberals yearn for something bolder. The evolving dynamic is similar to the one that ultimately killed comprehensive immigration reform during the Bush administration when Republicans tried to compromise to win over Democrats,but incurred the wrath of conservatives in the process.
The key sticking points on health care involve whether at a time of unprecedented debt,the nation can absorb the massive cost of insuring everybody,and whether Congress should create a new government-run plan,which proponents call the “public option.”
In recent weeks moderate Democratic Sens. Mary Landrieu and Joe Lieberman came out opposed to the government-run option,while fellow Democratic Sens. Kent Conrad and Dianne Feinstein have publicly said that there aren’t enough votes in the Senate to pass such a plan.