How will House liberals react to no public plan?

The big story out of today's Sunday morning shows is the willingness of administration officials and key Senate Democrats to back off a public plan.

But how many liberal House Democrats will balk at passing a plan with no government option?

In July, at least 50 House Democrats pledged only to vote for a bill that includes a public plan. If they all were to defect, at least a dozen Republicans would have to cross the aisle and support the plan in order for it to pass.

Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Tex.) summed up the progressive demand for a public plan today on State of the Union.

"It would be very, very difficult," for liberals to support a plan with no public plan, she said, "because without the public option, we'll have the same number of people uninsured."

Johnson continued:

If the insurance companies wanted to insure these people now, they'd be insured. The only way that we can be sure that very low-income people and persons who work for companies that don't offer insurance can have access to it is through an option that would give the private insurance companies a little competition. The private insurance companies have been in charge so long that I think they feel that nobody else ought to be able to do it.

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