Senator Brown: Rahm is "wrong" about the votes for the public option in the Senate

As John reported below, it looks like White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel has already thrown in the towel when it comes to passing the public option in the Senate. Amazing. Rahm is supposed to be so tough and aggressive. Funny how lately that side of Rahm only shows up when he's yelling and swearing at liberal groups.

Tonight, via TPM, we learn that Senator Sherrod Brown said Rahm is "wrong":

Emanuel is "wrong, because of this: Not every Democrat right now would prefer the public option in the Senate ... but no Democrat in the end is going to vote against a procedural question to kill the health care bill," [Senator Brown] said.

"The 60 Democrats will stay together on procedural questions and then, on final passage, some may vote against it because it's got a public option. But I don't see that," he said. Brown added that at least 50 Democrats in the Senate support the public option.

Senator Brown knows Senate procedure and how to count votes. Now, if only Rahm read AMERICAblog.com, just yesterday he would have seen Senator Brown say quite clearly that the Senate would pass the public option in response to our questions:

Here's the key part of Brown's answer on the public option:

I believe that when I see surveys like 70% of Americans doctors, a recent Robert Wood Johnson survey, support the public option, I think the President supports it, he continues to advocate for it. I think an overwhelming majority of Democrats in the House and Senate support it. I expect that come October or November, December at the latest, when we send a bill, a healthcare bill to President Obama’s, to put it on his desk, I sincerely believe it will include a strong public option.

I'm sticking with Senator Brown on this. Who knows where Rahm Emanuel is getting his info?

UPDATE: Senators Schumer and Rockefeller, both Senate Finance Committee members, announced tonight that they are going to fight for the public option:

Liberal Senate Democrats on Friday will push to add a government-run insurance program to the health care bill in the Finance Committee, setting off a potentially explosive debate with Republicans who view the idea as a step toward “socialized medicine.”