Howard Dean: Democrats' key to winning the midterms

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3. Actually... passing legislation isn't a matter of willpower; it's a matter of raw math.

To pass a single-payer system or a public option, you need 60 votes in the Senate to beat a filibuster. In 2009, Democrats had to drop the public option not because they "backed down," but because conservative Democrats like Joe Lieberman refused to vote for it, and we couldn't pass the ACA without his 60th vote.

Blaming the entire party for 'backing down' when they simply don't have a filibuster-proof majority ignores how a bill actually becomes a law.

It's just a sad (but frustrating) fact of life that governing requires 60 votes in the Senate to clear a filibuster. When majorities are razor-thin, a single holdout can derail an entire bill. Passing the most progressive bill that can mathematically get 218 votes in the House and 60 votes in the Senate isn't 'backing down' ... and characterizing it like that, just to smear Democrats, serves no good purpose.

What you're looking at is is the literal definition of constitutional governance. Incremental progress beats a pristine wish list that can't pass every single time.