Now you might think that this post is about the Health Care Reform Bill, or reappointing the Fed Chair, or about a new commission to balance the budget, or about torture at Gitmo, or Don't Ask Don't Tell, or any number of other specific issues. But it isn't. No, it's about the fabled epic quest to find an issue, any issue, on which progressive Democrats in Congress ultimately show less flexibility regarding their bottom line concerns than do centrist corporate blue dogs. It is a quest to find an issue, any issue, over which the left wing of the Democratic Party in Congress rebelled to the point of killing a major Democratic leadership initiative that the centrist corporate blue dogs faction of the Democratic Party had shown a good faith willingness to be flexible on in order to win one for the President.

This thread isn't about any of those above specific issues because specific issues always come and go, while lasting patterns get etched into the bedrock of conventional political wisdom. This is instead about a pattern as old as human history, it's the tale of the soft touch or easy mark, who can always be turned to when times get rough to get whatever it is that you need from them.

Lets update that morality tale to non political modern times. The first of the month is coming and the money just isn't there to pay all of your bills. One creditor, lets say its your fuel oil company, is known to be heartless and you can be sure they will shut you down instantly without loosing a minute of sleep over it. The other is a doctor who is treating you for an ongoing illness, who tends to show some compassion for the plight of others. You know both of these things to be true because your fuel oil company already shut you off once in the past for non payment while your doctor has renegotiated your fee after it was clear to him or her that you just couldn't afford the bill. Which of these creditors will you approach to tell them that they will have to accept less than they bargained for now?

Now you may think that I am about to argue that progressives in Congress should play hardball with the Democratic leadership over this or that specific issue. But I'm not. Reasonable loyalty and team play are positive political virtues that I support. But I am certain of one thing. At some point on some issue the quest for the progressives breaking point in Congress must be met with a loud *SNAP*, or progressives will continually illustrate the tale of the soft touch or easy mark for years to come in Congress, on issues that we haven't even heard of yet.