First piece of good news is that this is short-lived. The guy has to run for reelection again in 2010 and the odds of him being able to keep his seat once he has an actual record in the Senate is relatively slim, especially in a presidential year.
The second piece of good news is that it has the potential to wake up Democrats to the fact that they’re blowing this thing.
The third piece of good news is that it completely eliminates any power that Lieberman had. He’s no longer the magical 60th vote. He’s no longer the one who can stop a filibuster. He’s just one more guy who annoys everyone.
The fourth piece of good news is that this might actually clue us in to the fact that absolutely nothing will pass if we allow Republicans to block every single piece of legislation. They will not help us. They will never help us. The best we can hope for is that they will water everything down to the extent that no one likes it and then decide they still don’t want to support it.
The fifth piece of good news is that it is a nice and solid reminder to us that even if you are high up in the polls, it’s not wise to take a vacation in the middle of a very short election season.
The danger: if we decide that the way to win things in the future is to act more like teabaggers, we are screwed. We went down that road after ’94 and it was a big, big (and kind of obvious) mistake. Furthermore, if we use this as an excuse to retreat from a liberal legislative agenda rather than push harder for it, we are similarly screwed. People don’t come out to vote if they’re not inspired.
Maybe this will wake Democrats up and help us remember that even if we have a lot of minority opposition, that we still have challenges that we have to face, and that doesn’t always mean allowing the Republicans to derail the process to get buy-in. There’s already talk going on of using budget reconciliation to get health care passed, and maybe now there’s no choice.
There are times when some crack of sunlight peeks out of the Snow and Arlen camps that lend a little hope to number 4 maybe being harsh. Thankfully, so far, on the state level here that much of a divide is not the case yet. 2 more years of Jim=noJobs and we may have had a different story.
Your last paragraph invites a reality check. I really can’t remember a time when, even with an IN YOUR FACE MAJORITY in the Democratic party- here, there, wherever- the party remains a minority. All of our social systems work based upon being able to express and implement a single purpose agenda. SpotlightJoe from CT is a good example of the issues. The Republican Party has a simple task-less tax, less government regulation, ability to rape and pillage. Pretty much everything else is a no vote. Dems are a huge gang of cats who are off their ADHD meds trying to focus on a goal that everyone likes but they just can’t get there.
A corner stone of the party, organized labor hates the Senate bill. Even Bernie was sucked into the cash for a vote vortex. Taxing healthcare in order to provide health care ??? On the other hand, the house version of taxing folks who have made a killing and have some spare change??
Forcing everyone to buy insurance when it is healthcare you are trying to provide..?? and, the central theme is how much money the insurance companies are sucking out of the system???
This bill was terrible, and is terrible. It was produced by too many fools drinking champagne and singing “happy days are here again”. Unfortunately it has put match to tinder and the Mass fire will spread to other states. Arlen probably has Santorum looking over his shoulder happily again.
So far, Obama has blown too many things. There is still hope, but things better start getting on the right track soon.
That the attitude that manifests itself in the all-too-frequent use of perjorative, dismissive, insulting terms like “teabaggers” when referencing the “other side” also had a lot to do with unenrolled and Democratic voters in Massachusetts abandoning the Democratic candidate in droves.
All said
Most people see the glitz and love it. It’s not about ability or politics. It’s about livin the American dream with a pick-up truck in the garage and an appearance on American Idol.
Brown’s wife is Gail Huff a well-known and well-liked TV reporter.
Brown himself is a former Cosmo centerfold.
According to the Boston Globe, conservative talk show host Glenn Beck has already taken an intense dislike to Brown.
And, one of his two very beautiful daughters has been a competitor on American Idol.
He’s the guy who needs watching!