Like many DKos readers, I believe that the current health care debate and legislation is the most important domestic policy issue that has faced the nation in years. And there have been many suggestions on how to advance the ball politically, such as using the reconciliation process to avoid cloture in the Senate.
While I am not discounting any of these options, the time has come to address legislative deal-making. Like Obama, I have lived most of my adult life in Chicago and let's be blunt: You do not survive in that political culture without knowing how to cut a deal.
The question then becomes: what do the Blue Dogs/Repubs need and desire legislatively that they cannot get without support from the Democrats and President. This is always a problem in dealing with the Conservatives, for most of the time they do not want anything from the legislature. Sure, they may want to increase a criminal penalty on a drug-dealer or buy a new bomber, but they are perfectly happy to ignore most of society's problems, believing that their root cause lies in governmental action.
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