Yesterday I poked my head into some of the healthcare diaries. Wow---they're a bit intense. In the first one, I lost a buttock. In the second, someone stole my shoes. In the third, I was hogtied and roasted over a spit. In the fourth, my lumbago acted up. But in the fifth diary they were passing out free Oxycodone, so it ended well. Over the decade that I've followed politics closely, I've almost---almost---gotten used to the punch-to-the-gut feeling of stunned shock that accompanies a bullshit political letdown. The first one I actually remember vividly is when the Supreme Court stuck their thumb on the scale and gave the presidency to the GOP using the airtight logic that to allow all the votes to be counted in Florida would interfere with the Bush camp's assumption that he was the winner. They sure were snortin' somethin' good the night they came up with that. Iraq, tax cuts for the rich, illegal wiretapping, now health care. The list of wankery is fairly long, and the crappy consequences that ensue are too often a result of misguided Democratic compromise, collaboration and/or capitulation. And it always gives me a knot in the gut that screams, "They screwed the pooch again."

Dailykos   12-16-09