In comments to the post on pragmatic evolution of US health policy on Monday, The Question raised a point that I want to respond to:
on health care why do we always have to pre-negotiate with ourselves and have ourselves primed to accept half a loaf? I am so tired of being sensible when there is no gorram reward. If loudly shouting the most extreme thing we want gets us even half what the republicans have gotten out of it why the hell not??
I want to raise an empirical point and then a broader political/policy point that explains my thought process.
First, empirically, what has “shouting the most extreme thing” gotten Republicans?
It has gotten them power.
What have they done with it so far? In 2009, Democrats at this point had a smaller functional majority in the Senate and a slightly larger majority in the House than the Republicans have today. Democrats had passed and signed into law the stimulus, CHIP re-authorization, Lily Ledbetter, and the Dodd-Frank CARD ACT by now. They were grinding their way through what would become the ACA.
What have the Republicans accomplished as of today?