Ricky Nelson Democrats

I hope the Democratic Party learned a lesson with the loss of the Senate seat in Massachusetts,(I don't want to call it the "Kennedy Seat" because I don't believe in royalty). The lesson I hope they learn is the lesson of the Ricky Nelson song "The Garden Party" where he sings "you can't please everyone, so you've got to please yourself". The Democratic Party tried to be everything to everyone for the sake of a filibuster proof health care bill. By worrying about the threat of a filibuster, they formulated a bill that went against their own principles of being populists,by putting women's reproductive rights at risk, by basically selling out to the insurance companies and by not pushing for a public option. There was ambivalence to the issue of doing away with the exemption of anti-trust status for the insurance companies as well. (Of course the multi-million dollar lobbying by the insurance companies framing the message with their adds also skewed the process.)
By trying to please Ben Nelson,Blanche Lincoln,and Joe Lieberman the promise of Obama and the promise of real health care reform was lost. The goal of 60 votes distorted the whole legislative process.(Medicare was passed by just one vote by the way) The result was worse than the threat. Its important for the Democrats to not lick their wounds now but to develope a health care bill with competition for the insurance companys,dealing with the issue of pre-existing conditions, and cost containment-which the current bill does.
First its important to keep the message simple: expansion of medicare for those 55-65; no denial of coverage for pre-existing conditions and the doing away of the exemption of insurance companies from anti-trust laws. Its also important that the Democrats not be afraid of the reconsiliation process so that the issue of majority rules does not get distorted as it has with the blackmail of the fillibuster.
Working with the republicans or Blue-dog Democrats has proven to be a waste of time due to their obstructionist attitude about changing the status quo. Compromise I heard once is the art of neither party getting what they want. The art of leadership is having a position,a specific agenda and sticking with it and leading from a position of moral and political authority and standing for something. As Ricky would say "you've got to please yourself".