Ezra Klein suggests today that a reasonable compromise on the public option would be to let states, by whatever legislative or administrative methods they want, opt out of offering a public health care option to its citizens.

I admit that this has some appeal.  It'd make some red state governors really have to put their political courage behind their convictions and it'd prevent the states from complaining that nationalized health care is being "rammed down their throats" or some such nonsense. This one could score some pretty big political points.

But it's entirely immoral. No governor should be allowed to stand in the way of an individuals who want to avail themselves of the public health care option. The option part of "public option" is supposed to stand for an individual's choice, not for a legislature's choice, a governor's choice or even a referendum.

We've already debased the public option by not making it available to every individual who would rather contract with the government rather than a private insurance company. To allow states to put up ideological road blocks in the way of people who might need or want the public option isn't a compromise we can live with.

That we're even having this discussion is proof of a compromise that's gone too far. Most of us were always happy to say "If you love your private insurer, keep them." That was a fair compromise from single payer. As soon as we compromised again and didn't allow the public option to be available to any citizen who would choose it over another we gave up too much. Let's not make that mistake again.