Kamikazi Democrats

I have not been following the minute details of the health-care bill, since I assume the Obama brownshirts will come and beat me to shovel-readiness before I actually need any real health care.

What's interesting about the process is the use to which the administration is putting the "majority maker" democrats that got elected in otherwise Republican districts when the Republican base stayed home in a fit of pique last election. These folks make up a good number of what are being called the "blue dogs" on the theory that they were, in fact, as moderate as they said they were. Believing any democrat on anything is an iffy proposition at best, but one can safely assume that these folks want to get re-elected.

The administration, on the other hand, doesn't seem to be worried about re-election as much as getting the important parts of the agenda passed. To this end, they seem to expect their new members to vote against the wishes of their constituents, and against their own interests in getting re-elected. What this resembles is the behavior of the WWII Japanese or the modern Taliban. Recruit newbies, tell them what a difference they're going to make for the cause, then tell them they're going to do this by committing suicide. Presumably they will, at some point, promise them an eye-catching memorial.

As of today, the trend is toward a Republican-majority in the house after 2010. The big hope on the left is the knowledge that nothing that is passed ever gets repealed.