Who would have thought that this extortionate scumbag would turn out to point the way towards public option heaven? Having received the (totally proper) assurance that the expansion of medicaid eligibility would not redound to the fiscal detriment of Nebraska, Nelson should be a beacon to his fellows—there is no rationale for burdening the already bankrupt states with the costs of anybody’s medical care. Jodie Rell thinks so, and she is a Repugnant Governor, This is an idea with legs.

Fully nationalize medicaid, expand it to 800% of the poverty cut off, forgive 95% of medical school debt for doctors who accept medicaid patients, open branches of the Ben Nelson Autobody Repair and Medical Academy in each state. Problem solved.. We arrive, at last, at single provider.

There is more than one way to stuff a spliff, as they say.

We’ll call it the Ben Nelson Back Door Option Act in his honor (pace, Larry Craig).

PS to Ben: If you back down under the bad publicity and relinquish the bribe, you are a worthless punk and you get no bill named for you!

UPDATE The Times joins the chorus fully to nationalize Medicaid. Alas, they call it “not apt to happen”. Query: Why the fuck not?

”. So far the Senate has provided extra money to win the votes of key senators, most notoriously by granting Nebraska full federal funding in perpetuity for all newly eligible people it enrolls. Ideally, that should be done for all states, as Senator Ben Nelson, under fire for his special deal, has recently suggested…That is not apt to happen”

*Senator Nelson & Times editorial board obviously read TPM.