As I predicted - green shoots of resistance

There are "green shoots" that what I predicted almost a month ago is starting to happen. Here is what I wrote on July 20:

We may get a [healthcare] bill of some kind, but if so it will be a greatly watered down version of the Obama plan. That won't make it better, of course, but it won't be Obama's, either. After that, he'll have not much truck with Dems in Congress, who will enjoy the freedom of running away from the White House, even to the point that in some tossup seats next year, we'll see some Dems running against Obama as much as their Republican opponents.

Now consider:

"White House appears ready to drop 'public option'"

WASHINGTON – Bowing to Republican pressure and an uneasy public, President Barack Obama's administration signaled Sunday it is ready to abandon the idea of giving Americans the option of government-run insurance as part of a new health care system.

Facing mounting opposition to the overhaul, administration officials left open the chance for a compromise with Republicans that would include health insurance cooperatives instead of a government-run plan. Such a concession probably would enrage Obama's liberal supporters but could deliver a much-needed victory on a top domestic priority opposed by GOP lawmakers. ...

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said that government alternative to private health insurance is "not the essential element" of the administration's health care overhaul. The White House would be open to co-ops, she said, a sign that Democrats want a compromise so they can declare a victory.

The idea that the "public option," or government-run health insurance, is not an essential element to Obama's healthcare is simply ludicrous. Obama has been on record for years as not only urging a public option, but arranging things so that there is nothing but a public option, a.k.a. "single payer" health insurance. In the bill that Obama urged and the COngressional Democrats tried to get passed before their August recess, the public option of was the very core of the legislation. And it was written so that someone could get put on the public option without consent, and once there would be forbidden from getting off.

So for Sebelius to say that the public option is "not the essential element" of the administration's plan is for her to spin like a top.

Then we come to this news nugget about "Rep. Mike Ross (D-Ark.), a leading Blue Dog Democrat," who today said this on CNN, according to The Hill's Blog .

I can tell you, I've laid down my set of principles, so I will not force government-run health care on anyone. ... You should be able to keep the insurance you've got today, if you like it, and always choose your own doctor. No federal funding for illegal immigrants or for abortion, and no rationing of health care.

Just yesterday, Ross got a standing ovation when he bragged about standing up to President Obama and Nancy Pelosi.

Is Ross's stance the green shoots of a trend? We'll see.

Update: "What Secretary Sibelius meant to say . . ." The Atlantic:

An administration official said tonight that Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius "misspoke" when she told CNN this morning that a government run health insurance option "is not an essential part" of reform.

Trial ballooning or real backtracking? With these folks it's hard to say. as Gerard Van der Leun has said, "I try to get more cynical every day, but I just can't keep up."