I think Markos is getting a little rough with Max Baucus. In my opinion, the biggest part of the problem with the Finance Committee is that there are Dems serving there like Kent Conrad, Tom Carper, and Blanche Lincoln who don’t support the public option. Baucus has said that he supports it. But he can only afford to lose one Democrat and still pass a bill through the committee. Moreover, the Dems would like to get 60 votes and they only have 59 members. Part of Baucus’s charge has been to find one or two Republicans to support the Finance bill. That he has failed in that effort isn’t necessarily his fault.
I don’t like watching Baucus drag his feet and I don’t really trust him to stand up for real health insurance reform. But I don’t think he’s going to become more cooperative in response to verbal abuse from the Left.