Adam Serwer on the Democrats:

The fact is it is the job of elected officials to pass legislation, not to get reelected. The Democrats are waving a white flag three feet from the finish line in the hopes that they might keep their seats. It’s one thing for Republicans to oppose it–many genuinely believe it will do more harm than good. But Democrats know how many people this bill will help, and they are now refusing to pass it out of a misguided sense of self-preservation. This is an unconscionable act of selfish political cowardice–it’s disgusting, and it won’t help them one bit when the base stays home in November because Democrats are too scared to legislate even when they have the largest Senate majority since the 1970s. Greg Sargent says there’s still a chance the Democrats could get it together and pass the bill–but if they don’t, they shouldn’t expect Democratic donors or voters to turn out come election time.

Fucking pass the fucking bill already.