TPMDC Morning Roundup

Two meetings, three meetings or four. The Obama administration is a success!

Round up these kids. The blue states moving towards a higher dimension. It's all together for a minute by minute account of the media.

Oh dear. Obama's bank proposal is supported by "Europe." That'll be enough to gin up fevered opposition on the right.

Krugman is right on the money today:

A message to House Democrats: This is your moment of truth. You can do the right thing and pass the Senate health care bill. Or you can look for an easy way out, make excuses and fail the test of history. . . . the Senate bill is much, much better than nothing. And all that has to happen to make it law is for the House to pass the same bill, and send it to President Obama’s desk. . . . politics is supposed to be about achieving something more than your own re-election. America desperately needs health care reform; it would be a betrayal of trust if Democrats fold simply because they hope (wrongly) that this would slightly reduce their losses in the midterm elections.

Obama needs to show leadership and courage -- so far he's failing both tests. House Democrats -- including progressives who have every right and reason to be furious with the Senate -- need to sublimate their anger and deliver for the American people.

The only viable alternative that I can see is the one proposed by "JB" -- to fight for the compromise House and Senate negotiators worked out, call out Senate Republicans for being the heirs to the southerners who filibustered civil rights legislation, and force them to read the phonebook while the American people see what they're made of. At least that would prove Democrats have the courage of their convictions.

Still, I'd rather see real results than make a statement. We're inches away -- failure to bring it home would be a catastrohpe of epic and historic proportions.

I think we all agree that paring down the health care bill stinks. I really hate how things have turned out. However, the larger bill has become so hard to define that we're starting to lose the argument. I think that if we're serious about creating change in the system, we have to pass something that's clearly understood by the public, whether they agree or not. If it means raing down the bill, let's do it and not be stubborn about pushing the larger bill.

There is zero "political cover" for any Democrat in Congress. The only possibility of avoiding a massacre in November is to pass a healthcare bill.

All of these calculations about taking out bits of the bill ignores the assessment of what can be passed in the Senate with 60 votes now that we have 59 votes. There is zero reason for any Republican to concede anything; there is every incentive for them to stall the process on healthcare and obstruct any changes on any other issue. Wait for the fall campaign and bask in the ads about the "do nothing" Democrats who can't govern when they have the HUGE majorities.

There's simply no reason for political stupidity right now by the Congressional Democrats.