From 60 to 59: One less excuse.

Now that Democrats, through their hubris and inaction, have lost their in-name-only "Supermajority" in the Senate, they may think they have one more excuse for dragging their heels on the Progressive domestic agenda: meaningful health care reform, responsible regulation of the financial sector, environmental management, etc...

But in reality, they have one LESS, because the plain fact is Democrats NEVER needed a Supermajority to accomplish the goals of an effective public option. Because while creating a government organization from scratch IS vulnerable to a filibuster from Republicans (who, on a side note, I always felt were bluffing), expansion of existing programs, such as Medicare, is NOT and can be accomplished through reconciliation with a simple majority.

The lesson of the Massachusetts election is clear - Democrats need to get off their asses and get this accomplished before the midterm elections or they really WILL be in trouble.