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luxembourg casements
+ 0 - 1 | § ¶Thoughts on the Special Election and the Senate
I think a big part of the reason Coakley lost is that the left is mad at Obama that he wasn't able to get everything the movement wanted when he had the supermajority. Perhaps the worst thing that happened for the Democrats this past year was getting this 60th vote. It gave the appearance of complete power but not the reality of it. Because of Franken/Coleman, the supermajority was in place for only four months, and the Senate was in recess for half of that time.We on the left are blaming Obama for not giving us everything the progressive movement wants when he had only a short time it was even possible (and enough moderates in the Senate that perhaps it wasn't ever possible). Obama is a progressive pragmatist - he's not going for the home run on every issue, and he realizes that (if that strikes you as odd, consider that the current health care reform is more conservative than what Nixon proposed). Unfortunately, we have a purist fringe on the left that doesn't accept anything short of liberal purity, and a purist fringe on the right that has taken over the entire opposition party to the point that no compromise is possible.
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