Reality Check

I truly love this post by Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo.  I get very frustrated with all the "experts" who know what the Democrats should or shouldn't do to improve their political situation.  They all seem to have this view that the Democrats on the Hill, both House and Senate, are a bunch of dummies.  Having worked there, I know that there are very smart, well-motivated people running the Congress.  And those of us on the outside can't possibly know the problems they confront, both in terms of policy and politics.  Yes, it is clear that Republicans are more ruthless and more cynical in how they conduct themselves.  I'm fine with us being less ruthless and less cynical.  Josh is truly an adult who keeps things in perspective when he writes:

But I don't think anybody with half a brain (and maybe that excludes more people than it should) doesn't realize that the Democrats problems are overwhelmingly tied to the fact that we're in the midst of the worst recession since the end of the Second World War. Whether it's 75% of the problem or 80% or 90% I sort of go back and forth on in my mind. But clearly this is overwhelmingly the issue.

That said, for the life of me, I can understand why they haven't passed the Senate bill with the reconciliation fix on healthcare.