I’ve finally figured out what’s wrong with the Democrats’ position on health care, as exemplified by Matt and Jay: They think that they are merely playing politics, log rolling, compromising to get what they want. They think that if they do that, they’ll come away with part of what they want, and we’ll all be better off.
Problems with this approach:
1) If only one side is willing to compromise, then it’s not really compromise, is it. It’s more like, what’s the word – car salesmen have a word for this – they call them “marks”. Someone is being fleeced. It’s hard to watch.
2) If your own leadership is not with you, if your own leadership wants to sell you down the road, if your own leadership has taken millions of dollars from the very people you are supposed to be reining in, then it’s not really compromise, is it. It’s more like, what’s the word – Dick Morris had a word for it – triangulation.
Honestly, we are in deep trouble. The people who have appointed themselves the ‘fixers’ of our problem do not understand the rules of the game they are playing. The best we can hope for at this point is that it all blows up, and that we come away with nothing. That will be better than any of the “compromises” that are being worked out. The idea that we have to get “something” will be our undoing. The Republicans know how to play this game, the Democrat leadership knows how to play it. The followship? Not so much.
PS: In answer to the inevitable “What would you do in our shoes?”, I have two answers: 1) If the only possible outcome is a loss, do nothing. Die another day. 2) Listen closely, Democrats – I will only say this once: Try being clever. Giving up incrementally is not a strategy – it only slows down the losing process.
Piece of Mindful 