(IMPORTANT UPDATE: the obvious strategy some bloggers are announcing - call up your Representative, if the Rep is Democratic, and tell him or her to pass the Senate health care bill as is.)
With Democrats now having lost their 60th seat in the Senate, we can assess how likely it is that left-wing hopes will come true in 2010 for better bills on climate change and health care. The political left isn't strong enough to be solely responsible for the slow work on legislation, but they played their role.
The right wing view is that the electoral defeats for Democrats are a repudiation of the Democratic platform. The real world view is that the Democratic platform hasn't been tried, and the electorate is repudiating inaction.
Democrats can complete the repeat of 1994 by not passing health care, or they make use of their more limited options they have now, like the House passing the Senate bill without alteration, and moving forward. Similarly, there are a few Republican Senators who don't want to be on the wrong side of history regarding climate change, so there's still a chance there, but on their terms.
Anyone on the left who thinks the 2010 elections will allow for better legislation in 2011 needs to have their head examined. The only semi-logical reason for opposing existing climate and health care legislation is to believe they make things worse than the status quo. It's a completely wrong belief, but that's how far you'd have to go to make any sense out of the opposition from the left.
Finally, for any half-way significant bloggers who wanted the Democrat to win the seat and who felt like getting in recriminations and negative public perceptions in the hours and days before the election finished: you're part of the problem. You should fight for victory when it's possible rather than exude a sense of defeat. Now, on the other hand, is the time for recriminations.
UPDATE: what I should've mentioned is that the moderate-to-conservative Dems are the most at fault, and they're the ones who will lose their seats if the public judges the Democrats to be failures. From their incorrect perspective, there's a risk if Congress passes something too strong, but I think there's even more of a risk if Congress does nothing. They're being idiots.
Effing Obama and the a holes around him are fing completely to blame. They abandoned their base to play patty cake with the Republicans who tossed them down the toilet. they want my vote they can have it. They want my money and work they damn well better move left.
ReplyDeleteI blame Blue Dogs first for being idiots. Unless you really think you can get around the 60 vote requirement, which would be extremely difficult, then your hands are tied and Obama had no choice (he could have moved faster though, or pushed the Senate especially to move faster). The left wing of the Democratic party completely blew it, and they may be continuing it if they don't support the Senate bill.
ReplyDeleteWho got elected President, effing Obama, and he sat on his butt and let the Republicans push him around. Screw him and the advisers he rode in with.
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