Folks in Washington, they like to talk. So Washington is doing right now what Washington does. They're speculating breathlessly day or night. Every columnist. Every pundit. Every talking head. Is this proposal going to help the Republicans or is this proposal going to help the Democrats? The time to talk is over. It's time to vote.But who is to blame for so much talk and so little action? Part of the blame falls on the President's shoulders because he is the one constantly trumpeting the call for bipartisanship. Indeed, he never misses an opportunity to miss bipartisanship (see, e.g., the recent State of the Union address). But when you focus too much on appeasing the other party - you bring upon yourself paralysis and lose the public's trust and confidence.
By the time the President made all the concessions to the Republicans and the so-called conservative democrats, the health care reform bill became such a watered-down version of a truly democratic, equal and fair health care system that it hardly justifies the title "reform." Yes, it's better than nothing, but it's deeply disappointing that it will still leave some 15-20 millions of Americans uninsured. What a shame that Democrats don't have the same motivation and dedication for the universal health care agenda that Republicans have for their social conservative agenda. Why couldn't the Democrats rely on their majority in Congress and pass a truly enlightened bill that would guarantee universal health care? So what if some Republicans would bark and whine and intimidate?
Imagine a reverse situation - a Republican president and a Republican-controlled Congress. Is there any doubt they would storm the Senate and the House. guns blazing, mowing down anyone standing in their way, and pass - by hook or by crook - the bills that implement their agenda?
If you stand for a principle - go for it. As Tuco said in The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly: When you have to shoot, shoot, don't talk.
