Health care battle between cost and universal care for Dems

The health care battle in Washington has three major players. They are

1. the Progressive Democrats who want universal national health care,
2. the Republicans who desperately want to regain power, and see their route back to power being through defeat of the Democratic Health Care initiative as it was in 1993-94, and
3. the conservative Democrats (known as the Blue Dogs) who are concerned about the cost of a health care plan and about local business and financial interests that are critical to their reelection prospects individually.

The story of the Progressive Democrats and the whacked out desperate Republicans has been rather well described. But we don't see much on the motivations of the Blue Dogs.

Here's an excellent addition to the overall discussion - it's a good article on Kent Conrad from the Huffington Post. It'll provide a better understanding of the third major issue group in this great 2009 political battle.