That makes 1

For those of you counting at home, Nancy Pelosi has made it exactly one Democrat in a position of power who has decided to say that a public plan is the best option going and that any bill that doesn't have one in it is a non-starter in the House. Even more surprisingly, she didn't even bother to coach it with a bunch of "maybes", "you never knows", "broad consensuses", or paeans to the concept of bipartisanship and holding hands over crafting a bill that helps people. Calls for her to walk that statement back or claims that she doesn't speak for all Democrats in 4...3...2...

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said legislation to revamp the U.S. health-care system won’t get through her chamber unless it creates a government-run insurance program to compete with the private industry.

“There’s no way I can pass a bill in the House of Representatives without a public option,” the California Democrat said at a press conference in San Francisco yesterday.
...
Pelosi yesterday said lawmakers have to pass a comprehensive bill rather than a watered-down compromise.

“Frankly, I don’t know when we’d do it if we don’t take that giant step now,” she said.

Judging by historical standards, if you don't do health care now you'll have to wait around two decades before you're allowed to take another crack at it. At which point we'll be in the midst of the horrid throes of some awful dystopian future where the Hobo Council of Elders will have to engage in negotiations with the Robo Health Collective in order to knock our health premiums down from two rations of hydro and one ration of petrol, down to a 1/1 ration. You try negotiating with the RHC for better health coverage, Nancy. It just won't work, so do it now.

Sadly though, we live in a world where the Speaker of the House has little say in this debate. For some reason we have decided that 6 conservative senators on the Finance Committee from the least populous states in the nation should be given total autonomy to craft health care legislation. With the main goal being placating industry and showing the country that people are working in a bipartisan manner where Republicans say "jump" and Democrats negotiate over the height, not covering Americans. I just hope Nancy knows how to feign shock when, yeah, she is forced to support a bill without a public option. I'm thinking go with an audible gasp, and then slowly sit down, like you can't believe what just happened.