Democrats unnerved by Mass. Senate race

NY Times:

With their party’s candidate struggling in Massachusetts in a race for what should be the safest of Senate seats, Congressional Democrats are growing increasingly unnerved about the political consequences of the health care overhaul even as their leadership closes in on a final agreement.

Many Democrats say they still believe the best course is to forge ahead and enact sweeping health care changes, allowing them to claim the party has conquered a domestic issue that has long defied a legislative resolution.

But they also say the health fight has dragged on for far too long, denying Democrats the opportunity to concentrate on issues that are foremost in the minds of many Americans, jobs and the health of the economy.

Now the prospect of Attorney General Martha Coakley of Massachusetts losing on Tuesday in the special election to fill the seat of the late Edward M. Kennedy — the longtime champion of a health care overhaul — is intensifying anxiety among Democrats who were already worried about the 2010 midterm election environment.

Democrats warn of panic in the ranks should the Republican candidate, Scott Brown, prevail. Highlighting the sense that the political climate is shifting rapidly, the White House announced Friday that President Obama would travel to Massachusetts on Sunday to campaign for Ms. Coakley, hoping to generate Democratic enthusiasm in a contest that will hinge on turnout. The decision to put the president’s political prestige on the line after the White House initially said he would not make a trip was a gauge of how seriously the administration was taking the threat.

A victory by Mr. Brown could cause the fragile Democratic coalition behind the health legislation to unravel and put approval of the measure itself in jeopardy. Were he to win and take his seat before final consideration of the health legislation, Democrats would be one vote short of the 60 needed to get the bill through the Senate.

Senate Democrats say that in the event of a close race, getting the required election certification and seating a new senator could take up to two weeks. Democrats were considering whether to try to hold the final health care vote before Mr. Brown took his seat if he won, so they could use their 60-vote majority for one final victory — a move sure to inflame Republicans and pose political risks for Mr. Obama and his party.

But top Democratic officials said it was unlikely they would try to jam the measure through if the Massachusetts election went against them. Other options would be to try to persuade the House to pass the Senate version and avoid another Senate vote or to employ a procedural shortcut that would negate the need for 60 votes but limit the scope of health changes Congress could consider.

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Said Representative Xavier Becerra of California, a member of the Democratic leadership, “We are on the verge of doing something that most Americans did not believe we could accomplish.”

The are on the verge of doing something that most Americans do not want, and they are too delusional to accept that fact. They have this strange belief that people who are really angry with them for trying to pass this legislation will like them after they have done what the voters told them not too. They still believe that failure to pass something people do not want will be bad for them, but passing it might be good for them? Go figure.