Franken Double-Dares Coburn On Public Option

As we reported earlier this week, Senators Tom Coburn (R-Okla) and David Vitter (R-La) have cleverly upped the ante in the health care standoff by challenging members of Congress to sign onto the proposed public option health care plan. Their assumption being that, since socialized medicine is so plainly evil, no lawmaker would have the audacity to inflict such a horror upon themselves. Though some conservatives might see this as a chance to bemoan the perils of government-sponsored health coverage, Dan Carter noted that "by the time the new health care proposal is in full effect around 2013, Coburn will be 65 and--you guessed it--basking in the warm glow of a government run, publicly funded plan called Medicare." A perfect example of a seamless transition to a public health plan.

On Friday, Sen. Al Franken said he was willing to take Coburn up on his offer. NewsOK reports:

Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., said in a speech on the Senate floor that he wants to join Coburn’s effort to force senators to join any public plan created by Congress.

"I will have no problem at all enrolling in this plan,” Franken said. He said he recently told his wife that they should enroll in a public plan if Congress creates one and that she wholeheartedly agreed.

"So, yeah, I’m perfectly serious about this,” Franken said.

Will Coburn show he's every bit as serious as his colleagues across the aisle and walk the talk on health reform? By the time the final vote is cast, we'll know who was bluffing.

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