Burlington, Vermont - November 30, 2009
The Senate is poised to debate health care reform Monday, and former Governor Howard Dean says if there is no public option the Senate shouldn't pass the bill at all.
Dean said such a weak bill would be costly to Democrats in 2010...because the party's base will not support lawmakers who do not hold out for true health care reform.
"The worst thing to do is to pass a bill that doesn't do anything or that just gives a trillion dollars to the insurance companies. If you took the Senate bill minus the public option you'd just be shoveling money out the door so fast it would make the AIG bailout look like a bargain. We've got a tough time in the Senate and this is gong to have a big effect on the country and a big effect on the democratic party," said Dean.
Republican Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona told Fox News Sunday there's no way to fix the current bill and urged Senate Democrats to start over.
