Back in November, during the heated phase of Senate filibustering,
I pointed out some simple logic:
Given the fact that the Republicans are already going after supposedly "centrist" or "moderate" Democrats, painting them as wild-eyed liberals hell-bent on destroying America, perhaps their penchant for ass-covering and concern for election prospects need a new perspective. The idea that they'll win over "moderates" by supporting a Republican filibuster on healthcare reform is insane. The people who want them to support a GOP filibuster are the same people who will vote Republican anyway. I think that all of the "Blue Dogs" and the center-right Dems in the Senate should do a simple thing: support reform behind-the-scenes by voting for cloture and progressing a bill through the legislative process, and turn around and attack opponents from the left side of the debate.
Attacking Republicans from the right, or, insanely, attacking Dems from the right, will not net these Democrats a single vote. And liberals like me don't want to support candidates who act and sound more like Republicans than Democrats.
We're
now seeing this point supported by evidence:
A conservative group, the League of American Voters, has announced it will be running advertisements in the districts of 13 vulnerable Democrats who voted for health care reform in November. The goal is to pressure them into voting "no" on the Senate bill when it comes up, presumably later this month.
If Democrats who voted for the health care reform bills the first time think they're somehow going to win their election by torpedoing it now, they're
insane. If they change their vote now, do they really think Republicans won't continue to run these ads?
