The Whole Delivery

Matty Y : Now that it’s done, Barack Obama will go down in history as one of America’s finest presidents. It’s always possible of course that, like LBJ, he’ll get involved in some unrelated fiasco that mars his reputation. But fundamentally, he’s reshaped the policy landscape in a way that no progressive politician has done in decades. The current President who has already said a number of times that he is a centrist, and basically will sign Mitt Romney's health care bill, has done something that no "progressive politician" has done in decades? When judgement on the bill's true effects hasn't been cast yet? In the process, Yglesias has somehow gone away at times from the usually rational person that he is. From the whole "monsters" thing to this, I don't know what to expect from him next. But it (and this post from Ezra Klein about special interests power possibly waning) really does highlight how there is a shift in the Rational Online Commun...

Seriously, who would take progressives threats to not vote for any future bill seriously on anything after this entire process : But what's not reasonable is to pretend that Emanuel wasn't right in his core assumption about progressive behavior. Nobody likes to acknowledge their own powerlessness, but no good can come from shutting one's eyes and pretending it's not true. It's a genuine problem that the threats and demands of progressives (for lack of a better term) aren't taken seriously at all, and will be taken even less seriously now. Facing that problem is a prerequisite to finding a way to solve it. So on whether it's immigration reform, or a job bill, or a possible second stimulus, or EFCA or anything else, I just wouldn't take any threat serious from the progressive caucus. And it doesn't facilitate the situation for any real, future stand when they are juxtaposed around the word irrational by liberal bloggers. So maybe we should jus...

It has really been highly peculiar and damaging to our process the attack that House Democrats have received this week, especially from highly credible and usually rational sources. And as the week has progressed, the anger directed at them for not giving the 218 votes for the Senate's bull of a bill on health insurance reform has been staggering. But instead of the likes of Paul Krugman and Matthew Yglesias among others placing the blame on House Democrats (specifically progressives) for just being realistic and fighting for the American people, they need to again direct culpability on the damn Senate. If this Hackio report is true (because Lord knows how Hackio is), then I suggest Krugman, Yglesias, and others demanding that the House Democrats wise up and get the 218 to WISE UP themselves: Part of the negotiations center on whether Reid can provide an ironclad guarantee that the Senate will not leave the House in the lurch, aides said. If the House agrees to pass the ...