Happy Public Health Insurance Option Amendment(s) Day

The Senate Finance Committee markup kicks off again in less than 10 minutes, and if you're interested, you can watch it on C-SPAN online. We expect votes today on the Rockefeller and Schumer public health insurance option amendments. Remember, we probably won't win the amendments, but we will get at least 7 or 8 solid votes.

And as we go into the day of media spin, the press would be smart to keep the following from Media Matters Action Network in mind:

More Americans Believe In UFOs Than Oppose A Public Option

More Americans believe in UFOs (34%) than oppose a public option (26%). The debate is over.

The Truth Is Out There

As health insurance reform makes its way through congress, it's easy to observe the partisan fighting in Washington and believe the country is deeply divided over a "public option."

Luckily, that is not the case. Americans love choices. They want the opportunity to choose to purchase a public health insurance plan.

A recent New York Times/CBS News poll found that 65% favored a public option, with only 26% opposed to it.

To put that number in perspective: a 2007 Associated Press/Ipsos poll found that 34% of Americans believe in UFOs.

It speaks volumes about the status of the health care debate among the public when it is more mainstream to believe aliens are flying around in spaceships than to oppose the public option.

The people of this country have spoken. It's time Washington listened.