Calling BS on Markos

Because somebody has to.  Might as well be me.

Markos, today:

No one is arguing that Democrats shouldn't turn out. We're terrified that they won't. And whether they vote or not is dependent on what Democrats can deliver in DC. Right now, it's not much of anything, and if this keeps up, Democrats are in deep shit.

Markos, yesterday:

Insurance companies win. Time to kill this monstrosity coming out of the Senate.

You can't have it both ways, Markos.  With 40 filibustering Republicans in the Senate, and another half-dozen 'centrist' Dems, each looking for a reason to kill one bill and water down another, the best the rest of the Democrats can do is pass a bunch of half measures.  It sucks, but that's the best we can do in this Congress.

So you're either for the Dems' passing a bunch of half-measures, or you'd prefer to get nothing at all instead.  You've chosen nothing.

Then you, by your own admission, are advocating the circumstances that will discourage Democratic voters from voting.

I guess it doesn't terrify you that much after all, or you'd be encouraging the Dems to pass what they can, rather than go into next year's elections empty-handed.

Because whatever else the Dems do or don't pass, it's going to look a lot more meager without a health care reform bill in there.  Then our folks really won't show up next November, we'll lose some Senate seats, and that'll be the end of Obama's domestic agenda altogether.  We won't even be able to pass the half measures that we're able to pass now.

We'll still be in the majority in Congress, so people will still wonder why the Dems can't pass anything, and we won't have anything to run on in 2012, 2014, or 2016, so even that majority will just slowly trickle away.  Boy, won't that be fun.

Look, you've put in a lot of work over the past several years to advance Democratic and progressive prospects.  I personally believe it's made a big difference: we wouldn't even be in as good as a position as we're in (such as it is) without your having done as much as you have to turn the lefty netroots into a political force.  And you're right - Dems need to produce some results between now and next year to get people to go out and vote.

But you can't say that, and then turn around and tell people that we should kill health care reform.  Because if we don't have that, you're right: they'll stay home.  And the work you've done over the past few cycles will be so much dust in the wind.