Getting the Moderates Onboard

I am someone who is pretty stubborn in his principles and self assuredness, so I can appreciate the continuing holdout by folks like Blanche Lincoln and Ben Nelson on health care. But if I were Harry Reid trying to whip up the last of the democratic votes for the impending bill this is how I would approach it.

I think a commitment to bipartisanship is important. But it must be shared by both parties or it become a case of bargaining against oneself and gamesmanship. The republicans in the gang of six - except possibly olympia snowe, but I'm still not even sure of that - have spent the past few months mocking kent conrad and max baucus. Despite his giving them every opportunity to participate to the point of excluding democratic voices, they were in front of cameras making a mockery of the only man willing to give them a voice and a pen.

Why were they able to do this?  Because they assumed that a hand outstreched in friendship is incapable of being retracted. And in doing so they took that goodwill and dedication to doing the right thing for the American people - the most sacred task of those wise men and women we send forward - for granted. Rather than participate, they have abdicated.

And thus, with the cecession of the republican party from our governance, the only remaining partner for moderates to negotiate with is senators rockefeller, schumer, and the progressive wing of their own party. Within that dynamic the end result is much further from ben nelson's beliefs than our traditional orientation.

So, participating in the republican ruse on health care may better align the outcome of this bill with their moderate beliefs. But enabling them to walk a path to irrelevance may be even more dangerous to achieving their vision on the great work that is still to come.

Posted via email from dmaten