Through The Looking Glass

Steve Benen muses on the difficulty the Dems are having in passing their agenda.

It reminded me of a conversation I had the other day with a friend of mine about an alternate universe. Imagine, my friend said, there was a Republican president, working with large, obstructionist-proof Republican majorities in the House and Senate. The Republican president's approval rating was about 60%, and he'd just won a popular electoral mandate on a key issue, which Republicans have prioritized literally for generations.

What are the chances, my friend asked, that Republicans would accept the importance of "bipartisanship" in shaping the policy? What are the odds that GOP leaders would make a series of concessions to Democrats, and tolerate Republican centrists who were toying with the idea of siding with the minority party?

A couple of weeks ago, in response to criticism of the administration from George W. Bush, Robert Gibbs told reporters, "We kept score last November, and we won."

With that in mind, it's tempting to remind Democratic policymakers, as they negotiate with the shrinking minority party and back down on key priorities, "You won."

First of all, Steve's alternate universe there sounds very much like the 108th Congress in 2003 that gave us the Bush tax cuts for the rich. Plenty of Dems went along with that. Let's face it, Republicans haven't given a damn about needing bipartisanship because they can always find Democrats who will fold.

Second, Republicans know they never have to cooperate or compromise, because they can always find Democrats who will fold.

Third, despite the GOP's shrinking numbers, they are confident they can defeat Obama's agenda because...say it with me now...they can always find Democrats who will fold.

Never mind the fact the Dems can go a long way towards winning a long-term majority in Congress by passing smart legislation that Americans want right now. They're too busy figuring out how to fold.

Remember that when Obamacare falls apart. Remember why a public health care option is absolutely necessary. Remember that when the Democrats kill this plan, and youor someone you care about still doesn't have affordable health care, or lose your job, or fall between the cracks and join the one in six of us who have nothing to fall back on, or the other one in six of us who are underinsured.