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The American people.
Honestly, I think this is the BEST outcome for the American people!
When I think about the horrible partisanship and emnity that would have resulted from a nuclear option vote tomorrow - however it might have turned out - the Dems slowing things down in the senate, partisan fights, ongoing name-calling and bickering, fights over everything ...
The refusal to work together ... not being able to deal with anything like Social Security, health care, Medicare, finding an alternative energy, dealing with global warming, trying to figure out how to get some job growth going, addressing the issues of gas prices, the mess our educational system is in and all the rest ...
Not only could "they" _call_ us obstructionists, we would actually _be_ obstructionists ...
Deepening division and partisanship ...
Congress' approval ratings are down there below the president's. The public HATES an angry, bitter and bickering Congress. The nuclear option would help NO ONE when it came to te 2006 elections. It would put both parties in a fight that would hold up any progress on the people's work.
No... I don't think so. When taking a look at a bigger picture, I don't think the nuclear option would have helped us, even if we won it (which is doubtful as already 2 of the 7 mmoderate repubs today said that they _would_ have voted for it had in come down to a vote - that left us with a max of 5 and we needed 6).
Escpecially with the country as divided as it is today, a bipartisan compromise where both sides gave something is the best outcome for the country. And for the institution of the senate, where minority rights were protected.
So whether we won or lost today, time will tell. But it is in the best interests of a politically divided country to compromise and work together to get things done so in that light, the American people were big winners today.
Both those who think that we lost and those who think that we won have valid points. It depends on who your "we" are. Is your "we" the progressive wing of the Democratic Party? The Party as a whole? Or the American people?
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