Epic We Passed The Damn Bill Win

Echoing the sentiments of Tim at Balloon Juice, I don't think that Steve Benen has gotten nearly enough credit for his famous "Pass The Damn Bill" memo back at the end of January.  I lamented then that there wasn't any action on the bill at the time.  Almost two months later, the plan outlined in Steve's memo not only reached the desks of Dems in Congress, but the plan Pelosi, Reid, and Obama followed is basically what Steve laid out, and the ten points he made were the ones that Pelosi and Obama were talking about last night.

But Benen's best and most prescient call was the GOP response to HCR.  They too have gone right down Steve's path, walking into what he called "the repeal trap":

It often goes unstated, but it's worth remembering that the success of comprehensive health care reform puts Republicans on the defensive in ways they don't like to talk about. When GOP members urge Democrats to abandon their commitment to this issue, it's not because Republicans have Democrats' best interest at heart.

The GOP realizes that they are poorly positioned to argue in support of insurance industry excesses and against consumer protections. There is also little upside for Republicans fighting tooth and nail against a package that cuts spending and reduces the deficit. And if given a choice, the GOP would certainly prefer to run against the failure of health care reform than a majority party that delivers on the promise of a historic victory.

Also note, the Republican base has already begun demanding that GOP candidates run on a "repeal" platform — vowing to scrap reform if Republicans claim congressional majorities. This creates the potential for what I call a "repeal trap." Because some of the most popular measures of reform would kick in almost immediately, giving consumers all kinds of new protections.

It puts Republican candidates in a box. Democrats can ask GOP candidates, "Are you really going to fight to repeal protections for Americans with pre-existing conditions?" If Republicans say "no," they alienate the GOP activists who will settle for nothing but a full repeal. If Republicans say "yes," they alienate the mainstream electorate.

But the only way to set the trap is to pass the bill.

And walked into the trap they have.   They now have no choice but to run on repealing the popular provisions of the bill that will kick in now when Obama signs the legislation tomorrow.  They will look more and more like they don't care about the American people, only power.  Meanwhile, the Democrats can say "If you re-elect me or not, I accomplished something real in office.  What did the Republicans do?"

In the end, the Dems passed the damn bill.

EPIC WIN.