How Can a ‘Gang of Six’ Member Have No Opinion of the Public Option?

Tough to say if this is good news or bad news for public plan fans. Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) apparently “doesn’t have an opinion on the public option, because he believes the issue is ‘moot,’” according to TPMDC, citing Conrad’s office.

This revelation might be unremarkable, except that the public plan is only the most contentious issue surrounding the most sweeping health reform proposals in decades, and Conrad happens to be one of the Finance Committee’s “gang of six” — the group trying to hash out a health reform bill that would likely be the template for whatever bill passes this year.

Conrad, a key supporter of the co-op model alternative, has repeatedly said that the public option doesn’t stand a chance of getting 60 votes in the upper chamber. What he hasn’t mentioned is whether he’s part of the reason why.