You don't need Teddy

Geoff Garin, whining in the Washington Post:

The problem is not that there is no Ted Kennedy among the Democrats who understands the art of compromise. The problem is that there is no Republican willing to provide, for health reform, the kind of bold leadership that Kennedy provided to help pass controversial legislation when George W. Bush was president.

Heartless bastards. But there's more:

Democrats did not get their way on the creation of the Medicare prescription-drug benefit, but on that, too, Kennedy decided that something was better than nothing, even though seniors were required to buy their coverage through private companies and Medicare was prevented from negotiating with the pharmaceutical companies for the best prices.

Kennedy gave Bush a victory rather than sending the Republicans to their Waterloo because he believed the result was more important than short-term politics. If Republicans really want to honor the senator's memory, they should stop using him as an excuse for the failure of health-care reform and instead start living up to his example.

A few very brief thoughts:

• Help me understand why the Republicans should want to honor the memory of Sen. Kennedy. I'd love to know why that's so important. Someone must know. I think Rick Kahn tried to provide a similar rationale a few years ago, but somehow it got lost in translation.
• The prescription-drug benefit was hardly something that all Republicans wanted. Most Republicans I know opposed the effort. It was instead another example of George W. Bush's efforts to reach across the aisle. And when the history of the Bush administration is written, it may very well loom larger than the GWOT as a debit on the ledger.
• Anyone who says opposing Obama Care is about "short-term politics" is blowing smoke at you. If this dog's breakfast is passed, there will be nothing short-term about it, of course.
• As always, it's time to remind everyone of a simple reality. The Democrats have the votes to pass Obama Care at any time in the current Congress, if they are willing to muscle recalcitrant members of their own caucus. If Obama Care is that important to the future of the republic, and the Democratic Party is so confident that their view of things is correct, they should just pass the damned thing and be done with it. The potential loss of a few Blue Dog districts should be transitory as the wisdom of this decision becomes clear.

It's time for the Geoff Garins of the world to stop whining. You guys won. Barack Obama said so. You wanted the power. You have it. You told us that you were ready to govern. Well, get to it. If you are right, the Republicans will be out in the political wildneress for at least another generation. You don't need the Republicans.