If You're a Liberal and You Read One Thing Today... - The Treatment

by Jonathan Cohn - ...then please read Michael Tomasky. His analysis of the political situation is spot-on, as is his advice for the ambivalent left: liberals have to fight hard for something they're not terribly excited about. A health bill will likely have a very weak public option or it won't have one at all. But liberals will have to battle for that bill as if it's life and death (which in fact it will be for thousands of Americans), because its defeat would constitute a historic victory for the birthers and the gun-toters and the Hitler analogists. In the coming weeks, building toward a possible congressional vote in November, progressives will have to get out in force to show middle America that there's support for reform as well as opposition, even though they may find the final bill disappointing. Read More