Liberals may have to swallow hard and accept a deal without a public plan in order to keep the legislation alive.

Trouble is we are broke - no health-care bill should be considered at any time in the future. Republicans must assume they are doing a great job if they just try to spend less than their brain-dead counterparts. It must be a requirement that members of Congress have to be dumb as dirt to occupy that position.

should have read
....no health-care bill should be considered at any time in the NEAR future.

There are health care reforms we can make that would cost us little or nothing.