Reply #224: What happened when the Republicans tried to destroy [View All]

[johan helge]

Social Security? They couldn't, because (I assume) then THEY needed 60 votes in the Senate, and the Democrats wouldn't, because Social Security was popular (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/15/opinion/15krugman.html).

If the Democrats had not passed health reform, the Dems would need 60 Senators the next time to get anything done. But in the next election, the Democrats will probably lose some Senators to the Repubs.

So the history lesson is: Get done what can be done now, because then:

1 The Repubs then will need 60 Senators to destroy rights.

2 It's more difficult to get the voters to accept the destruction of rights they have, than to fool the voters into believing that they shouldn't get these rights.