A reader writes:
Jim Webb "caves" to what? Democracy? I support the President's health care reform efforts as much as you do, but come on! They just had an election in Massachusetts. You don't think it should be respected? I'm not saying that the Democrats should give up on health care reform but I am saying that, whatever they do, they ought to do it after Senator-Elect Brown has been seated.
The nobleness of the goal of health care reform has blinded a lot of progressives to the fact that the average voter was becoming repulsed by the (even by Washington standards) grotesque process of getting something passed. While progressives were rationalizing that behavior, Americans were getting sickened by it. (Hence tonight's result in Massachusetts.) Ramming a bill through before Senator-Elect Brown can be seated would confirm Americans' worst beliefs about the Democratic congress — a confirmation they would be unlikely to forget by November.
It's great that you're so passionate about health care reform — every American ought to be. But the Democrats shouldn't drive the Party (not to mention our democracy) off a cliff in order to achieve it. Some things are plainly, demonstrably wrong. Acting as if the voices of the people of Massachusetts don't matter (even if you believe their judgment is terribly flawed) is one of those things.
The Dish 