Without the public insurance option, the healthcare reforms passed last year just don't make as much sense - especially the requirement that we all carry a plan. In response to these otherwise important reforms, the insurance companies simply redistribute their lost profits to the ever-rising average premiums.
It's clear that free-market insurance is bad for the people. We have the most inflated market in the world. And how many miracle drugs are neglected right now because they're not patentable or continuously profitable? The public option can address these issues directly, as well as provide an affordable means for real people to get decent care, without adding entitlements.
Buck the politics: show us a reasonable, regulated, functioning healthcare market for a change. We all need it.