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11/21/2003

David Broder doesn't read this blog

But if he did, he might be a day or two ahead of himself

GOP: Masters Of the Grand Finale (washingtonpost.com) November 21

As this is written, Democrats are debating among themselves whether to go along with the Medicare bill; they already have conceded defeat on the energy legislation. If they allow Bush his Medicare victory, they will once again look feckless. If they try to stop Medicare with a filibuster, they will be labeled as obstructionists.

It is not a comfortable place for them to be. And it is certainly no accident that the Republicans -- smart devils that they are -- have put them there.

Over the weekend, I wrote,

So the calculus for Democrats is deadly. If they block the bill, they're blamed for it's failure (which was the set-up all along), and there can't be a backlash against a bill that never passes. All seniors will hear is that they might have had prescription benefits but for those bad Democrats. On the other hand, if Democrats help pass the bill, they are collaborators and can't stand apart when the backlash hits. The third option, which seems to be Daschle's approach, is to stand aside, criticize the bill sharply, let the Republicans pass it with a few Democratic votes, and be able to say "we told you so" when it's an unpopular disaster.

Assuming the Republicans can reach a deal among themselves, the third option is probably the only politically sound choice. But it's a $400 billion choice (at least), and the backlash may mean that it is another dozen years or more before anyone will be willing to pick up the cause of real change in Medicare.

This administration is good at one thing: Creating ugly choices between bad policies.

This isn't the first time this has happened with Broder:

http://markschmitt.typepad.com/decembrist/2003/10/mccain_and_iowa.html

If it happens again, I don't care if he's the dean of the Washington press corps and probably doesn't even use the internet -- he's getting a letter from the Decembrist's legal team!

Posted by on 11/21/2003 at 03:43 PM in Decembrist archives |

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