We lost in Massachusetts because President Obama and Democrats in Congress have not been tough enough in pursuing their goals. Yes, Martha Coakley was a terrible candidate and deserved to lose (just about anywhere but Mass.), but the lesson must be learned that this is not a call for all Democrats to move to the center. It is a repudiation of politics without integrity. It is a statement against politicians who govern to get re-elected. The Democrats have been so paranoid of losing their majorities that they have forgotten what got them there. I am not advocating for Democrats to be extremely ideologically rigid. I am pleading that they do not back down in debates of what is morally just. When we are confronted with "death panels," and the "government takeover of medicine," we need to treat the American people like responsible adults and tell them the truth, rather than caving from fear over being socialists, tree-huggers or anti-war hippies. We need to pick our battles, not over catch phrases like public option, but on what the best results will be for our country. 2010 needs to be the year when Democrats be honest with the American people and put what is best for them in the long term, ahead of what cable news and lobbyists are shouting about in the short term.
