Abomination

Eighteen Senate Democrats joined the 55 Republicans to pass the heinous bankruptcy reform bill. For the record, here's the 18 turncoats:

Max Baucus, Evan Bayh, Joe Biden, Jeff Bingaman, Robert Byrd, Tom Carper, Kent Conrad, Daniel Inouye, Tim Johnson, Herb Kohl, Mary Landrieu, Blanche Lincoln, Ben Nelson, Bill Nelson, Mark Pryor, Harry Reid, Ken Salazar and Debbie Stabenow.

Reid's vote is extremely disappointing, given his ability to rally the Democrats into a strong opposition on both Social Security privatization and judicial nominations. He should have shown that leadership on this issue - one the Democrats could have campaigned on in 2006.

A clear pattern of Republican Robber Baron behavior has emerged with several bills that essentially steal money from the wallets of millions of middle and working class people and gather this cash into large wads to stuff into the pockets of giant corporations. If the Democrats could have unified to fight against all of these bills, they could have waged an effective legislative battle against the GOP while building a compelling case indicting the GOP for openly waging war on the middle and working class.

Building the idea in the minds of voters that Democrats stand for protecting middle and working class families from predatory credit card companies (bankruptcy bill), reckless pharmaceutical industries (prescription drug bill, FDA oversight), and greedy Wall Street brokers (Social Security privatization) would be an effective way to reach many voting blocs that are not traditionally Democrat. Many conservatives are deeply disturbed by the bankruptcy bill, and some traditional conservatives could be reached by making this issue a centerpiece of a political campaign.

Do Democrats lose to Republicans because people see the GOP as the more moral party, or do GOP candidates win because Democratic candidates fail to make a compelling moral argument for the validity of their beliefs? This is an ongoing debate within the Democratic party right now, but regardless of the correct answer, I think it is clear by the actions of the Administration and the Republicans in Congress that they are neither very moral nor are their moral arguments very valid. Let's quit debating which strategy is correct and attack the GOP on both fronts- they are growing increasingly weak on both.