Bulldozing the opposition: Advice for Obama from across the pond

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Obama still has his BlackBerry. Maybe he should transmit some images of heavy equipment to the mobile phones of Democratic Senate balkers like Delaware's Tom Carper, Nebraska's Ben Nelson, the Arkansas tandem of Mark Pryor and Blanche Lincoln or Indiana's terminally ambitious Evan Bayh. Then, when the senators ask what's up with the pictures of road graders, Obama could invite them to over to the White House for a little "explanation".

Or maybe Louisiana's Mary Landrieu should start thinking about how she is going to explain to her oil and gas masters that since she is bowing to the ignorant rage and racism of her most benighted and irrational constituents, the administration will no longer pay any attention to her tireless efforts to shelter the petroleum industry. Offshore oil producers will no doubt agree that paying higher federal mineral royalties is but a small price to pay to forestall imaginary socialised medicine.

Merely acknowledging the existence of Joe Lieberman is a loathsome act, and endeavouring to speculate as to what specific project or policy might be used to leverage his position is probably fruitless. Fathoming what might motivate a perverse, mercurial, untrustworthy changeling can be so difficult, no? Why, even the threat of removing him from his greatly undeserved chairmanship of the homeland security and government affairs committee, which serves as a standing affront to dignity and decency, might not be enough to prompt Lieberman to budge on healthcare reform – it would just give him something else to cry about on Sean Hannity's show.

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Kent Conrad modestly plays down his attendance at the exclusive Exeter Academy, preferring instead to remind his constituents that he is just another "fifth-generation North Dakotan". And given his heartfelt love and regard of farmland custom and culture, perhaps Conrad could be persuaded to end his crusade against the public option if he woke up one morning next to the head of a large farm animal. It's just an idea.
Granted, basing a legislative strategy entirely on threats, cajoling and intimidation in the form of beheaded ungulates might be ill-advised. But some indication that even a little bit of that was going on would be encouraging.

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But Democrats should also know that while compromise may earn the support from timid, wavering colleagues in their own party, America's forces of ignorant outrage aren't going to stop hurling hare-brained lies and hate-driven distortions just because Democrats pull back from a public option. In fact, compromise won't even stem the criticism from the conservative Democrats. They will scurry back to their constituents and boast that if not for them applying the brakes to those darned "liberal" Democrats in Washington, there would have been a "government takeover" of the nation's healthcare system.

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August 13, 2009

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK GRASSLEY ®, SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE: If I had not been at the table, there would have been a bill through-committee the week of June 22nd and it wouldn't have been through the Senate by now because of 60 Democrats. So I think that I have, by sticking my finger in the dike, I have had an opportunity to give the grassroots of America an opportunity to speak up and as you are seeing every day on television and I think that-I think that that's a-I think that that's a good thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

OLBERMANN: Stick your fingers somewhere else, Senator, and see if your honesty is stuck there.


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