I question Mr. Brooks rather bald statement that Americans have told democrats they rejected the health care bill. Is this based on polling? Is this based on making broad projections about the meaning of a special election in Massachusetts? That statement is, however, central to the thesis of his four "choices." To paraphrase the President a bit, the special election result could just as easily be read as "We're tired of you all effing around in Washington and not getting anything done."
I say, keep working on passing the healthcare reform, but don't make that your only product. Work on passing some progressive measures to address problems in the economy. An alternative to the approach taken in Brooks's article is one of the articles in this series on bipartisanship.
http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.c...anship-matter/ I rather like the comments of Glenn Greenwald, about a third of the way down the list of articles. Take whatever measures are necessary to circumvent the power of the filibuster, and move boldly forward. Get something done.
Regards,
D-Ray