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Campaign Spot has a brilliant piece today that concludes that perhaps the Democrats will pass an unpopular health care bill and sacrifice their political futures in the process, saying of the opponents of socialized medicine:

Yet all of that may not be enough. This may be the legislation that Democrats are willing to sacrifice their congressional majorities over.

The life blood of the Democratic party is absolute power.  Unlike most Republicans that serve to provide less government, Democrats live and breathe for more government intervention.  Democrats, it should be said live and breathe for the continuation of government-run programs such as social security and medicare, for the exact reason that they benefit their political friends and they know that whatever happens, the programs will never die. 

For fifty years, the Dems have pushed for nationalized healthcare and now is their best time in generations to pass such a bill.   With huge majorities in both Houses and a socialist in the White House,  it is now or never for government-run healthcare.  However, if the cost is a Republican takeover in 2010, will they pass the bill regardless? 

The easy answer to this is we actually don’t know, although perhaps we have a clue.  Whether or not the liberal wing of the Democratic party wants to admit it, their congressional majorities are largely because moderate-to-conservative Democrats were courted for and elected to office in 2006 and 2008.  Without their support, their power would be weakened, if not erased all together.  However, those same office holders are in a catch-22.  If the moderate-to-conservative Dems vote for health care legislation, those lawmakers will likely be ousted from office next year, which could actually give the House back to the GOP.    However, if these representatives say no to their leaders, the liberal wing of the party will not get what they want (and have wanted for nearly a half of a century), although their power on the Hill would likely be secured.

So it all boils down to the Blue Dogs in Congress.

One caveat is this, however:

Unfortunately, for our nation, if a healthcare takeover is implemented, regardless of its affect on future elections, it will likely be around forever.  For example, while large majorities of GOPers have historically been against medicare and medicaid since its inception forty years ago, the programs remain and in George W. Bush’s case, benefits have been expanded.  Therefore, even if the GOP takes over Congress next year,  the die might be cast for continued government-run healthcare, if it is passed this year.  Besides, regardless of what happens next year, Barack Obama will remain until at least 2012 and would veto any GOP-sponsored bill that would do-away with a single-payer system.

Therefore, while politically it might not be feasible to see Dems fall on their swords in the interest of government health care, perhaps they would in the interest of expanding government for future generations, something that might make them happy regardless.   But maybe not.

What can we do?  More of the same.  Since it looks like the more conservative Democrats hold the key to any legislation,  crashing town halls is the best forum to get our opinions heard.

But like Jim Geraghty of Campaign Spot concludes, it still might not be enough.