The Hill reports on Tom Carper's continued efforts to capitulate to Olympia Snowe:

Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), who has been tapped by Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to come up with a Plan B approach to the public option controversy that has divided Democrats, has been working closely with liberal and conservative Democrats, as well as Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine). [. . .] Recently, he has touted a so-called hammer public option that he believes answers centrists' criticisms that the public option in Reid's bill is government-run and government-funded. The public option would kick in for states where insurance companies fail to meet standards of availability and affordability of plans. Unlike Snowe's trigger proposal, which would give insurers at least one year to satisfy those requirements, Carper's public option would start the first year the bill goes into effect. States might be permitted to opt into the public option even if the benchmarks are met.

All in all, a pretty silly proposal. But I think there is one thing from it that can be used - make the opt out provision subject to a trigger. In other words, states can opt out ONLY if they meet "standards of availability and affordability of plans." A trigger for the opt out. I like that idea. And I'll give Carper the credit for it.

Speaking for me only