Chait to Democrats: take a deep breath

In the face of Martha Coakley's apparently dire situation in today's special election in Massachusetts for U.S. Senator, Jonathan Chait at TNR urges Democrats not to panic:

The difference between the parties is that Republicans ignore the establishment’s advice. After Obama’s election, conventional wisdom insisted that the GOP would have to move to the center. Instead the party moved further right. And whatever the policy merits, it has worked politically. If Republicans had cooperated more with Obama, it would have given him bipartisan accomplishments and made him even more popular.

The GOP’s ability to ignore establishment nostrums in the face of defeat is its great electoral strength. Democrats, by contrast, have a congenital tendency to panic. Abandoning health care reform after they’ve already paid whatever political cost that comes from voting for it in both houses would be suicide. Even if Coakley loses, the House could pass the Senate bill as is, avoiding the need to break a filibuster, and tinker with it in a reconciliation bill that can’t be filibustered. The only thing preventing the Democrats from following through would be sheer panic.

Remember the classic scene in It’s a Wonderful Life? Facing a run on his building and loan, George Bailey tries to explain to his frantic customers how to look after their self-interest. “Don't you see what's happening?” he pleads, “Potter isn't selling. Potter's buying! And why? Because we're panicking and he's not.” President Obama’s great challenge right now is to be his party’s George Bailey.

One thought I have is that, if the Democrats are going to be harangued endlessly for not being able to pass their agenda despite having a "filibuster-proof majority" — when it is painfully evident by now that having 60 senators caucusing with them does not automatically translate into 60 votes on any given substantive or procedural vote — then they might be better off losing a seat or two so that some of the attention can properly return to GOP obstructionism.

Another thought is that, if Coakley loses tonight (or whenever the final result is known), Scott Brown only has the seat for two years before he has to run again. His telegenic b.s. will look a lot less compelling after his true colors are displayed in office. That, along with a lot of reawakened Democrats, could make for a big difference in 2012. And a setback in the congressional midterms could end up helping President Obama, just as it helped Bill Clinton after 1994. In any case, Chait is right: the worst thing the Democrats can do is panic. I have been wanting for some time to order an emergency airdrop of surplus spines onto the U.S. Capitol grounds, but I seem to have misplaced the go codes.