Harry Reid To Netroots: We Are Going To Have A Pubilc Option; It’s Just A Matter Of When

House Speaker Harry Reid told Netroots Nation he wished we had a public option for health care, but that the day will come when we do.

“Now I know you wish some of these reforms were even more sweeping and believe me I do, too,” he said. “But we also have to be realists. I wish we had a public option. But we are going to have a public option. It is just a question of when.”

Some progressive activists have questioned why the Senate wasn’t able to do more since Democrats had a supermajority of 60 votes, the number required to defeat Republican filibuster attempts. He answered those critics saying they did not have that threshold as long as some believed citing the dispute over Al Franken’s win in Minnesota and Ted Kennedy’s illness.

“Sixty votes was a fleeting time” in our nation’s history, but “we did a lot,” Reid told them.

Reid praised Republicans who have occasionally voted with Democrats, like Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine, saying, “Don’t badmouth all Republicans.”

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.