Joanne Kenan subscribes to the advice of Al Hunt, saying what previous posts here and other bloggers like Nate Silver, Ezra Klein, Cohn himself, and Yglesias have all said, in some sense the Blue Dogs are running against the prevailing wind.
What is most interesting is that Kenan does seem to think too that this could lead to a better bill. Undoubtedly so. The Blue Dog "resistance" while annoying to me, has led toward including something regarding an independent commission with binding recommendations on Medicare payment policy. Such ideas that they put forward in this regard may actually help us bend the curve, and may actually give the President what he wants.
In the end, the Blue Dogs, while not someone you want to get too angry, may be more bark than bite. What may need to happen again is to see some signs of life out of the Senate. Should they have a complete inability to do things, Pelosi may decide not to anger them further and force them into a tough vote. Then again the results of not pushing forward could have disastrous outcomes for the party, and those Blue Dogs in particular.
I dunno if the Blue Dogs are so much saying no to the health care proposal as they are taking a "wait and see" attitude, which is pragmatic considering the areas that they represent. Unfortunately, the way health care reform is playing in the media is not one of information, but one of scare tactics.
ReplyDeleteI think the Democratic party needs to hold on to that fiscally conservative constituency if they want to hold on to the majorities in the House and Senate- they can't turn into what some people have characterized them as- spend spend spend on more government programs; regardless of ignoring the GDP equation.