111th Congress: Democrats paid a high price, but they chose wisely

Steve Benen, evaluating the recent two years of the 111th Congress, quoted the following from Rachel Maddow:

"Democrats had a choice when they became the governing party. When they won those last two elections and they took control of the two branches of government that are subject to partisan control in our country, they could have governed in a way that was about accumulating political capital with the primary goal of winning the next election. They could have governed in constant campaign mode. Or they could have governed in a way that was about using their political capital, not accumulating more of it, about spending the political capital they had to get a legislative agenda done, to tackle big, complex, longstanding problems that had languished."

The Democrats have really gotten a lot of stuff done that has languished for a long time. The Affordable Care Act is only one element, and it was a really big one. And the process has really exposed the warts of the American political system. (I strongly suggest that the U.S. Senate be simply abolished.)

But America is going to look back at what the Democrats did in the most recent Congress with pride. Republicans are going to whine, cry and lie.