Doug Henwood wrote:
>
> On Jan 21, 2010, at 10:02 AM, Michael Smith wrote:
>
> > The Republicans were threatening to do it back when they were the
> > majority -- the slang phrase was "the nuclear option." At that
> > point, of course, all the Dems (and The Nation magazine) were
> > desperate to "save the filibuster!"
>
> Idiots.
The Nation magazine editors, probably. You would know better than others on this list what the actual motives of the editors were.
But I don't think you can call the Dems in Congress idiots -- for all the reasons given in this thread. If the filibuster hand been eliminated, they would be in a pickle now, with no excuse for not passing a decent health bill. From this perspective they were the reverse of idiots.
And this is so either from the point of view of the DP leadership and from that of individual legilators. The latter can go back to their constituents and blame everything on the obstructinist Republicans. "We fought, but...." And the Nation magazine will buy that, will they not?
Carrol