And Don T, as you point out, you are 3,000 miles away.   I'm concerned with actually getting good legislation passed--and painfully aware that politics is the art of the possible.   There seem to be many ideological warriors on Mudcat--especially on the Left.   "My way or the highway" is not really a good approach to getting a program through Congress.

I'm not concerned with whether the behavior of one group or the other is "fair." You may be aware that is not the way politics works.

By the way, I have never pushed for including any Republicans in a negotiation unless that person has indicated a desire to come halfway.   It happens that Olympia Snowe came more than halfway--and should have been treated better--from a purely pragmatic stance. Her "trigger" idea was excellent--and deserved more consideration. Especially since it very likely would have resulted in the "public option" so devoutly wished by large numbers of people--including me, by the way.

It's also true that with the Democrats in the "big tent" situation, many--sometimes painful--compromises have to be made just within the Democratic party.   Those who refuse to compromise are, I believe, responsible in large part for the current impasse. It's also true that not all political figures have the same amount of power.   The "Blue Dog" Democrats seem to have outsize clout in the current Congress.   But that means the rest need to adjust to them--if they actually want to pass legislation.

Main point however at this stage is that the Senate has passed a health-care bill. To avoid sending the bill back to the Senate, the House must pass it exactly as is.

Somehow I think we are now off the track of the thread. But I said in the other post what I thought Americans ought to do to counter the recent Supreme Court decision.