As Let Tingles says, you can’t demand an up-or-down vote in the US Senate and then deny one in the House of Representatives. Not only is it hypocritical, but it looks awful. And any political damage averted by not having members actually vote for government-run health care will be dwarfed by the damage done by throwing away the Constitution.

So yes. We’ve reached the point where Democratic strategy has become too corrupt and hackish for a man who admits to getting tingles up his legs when he hears Barack Obama’s voice. It’s come to this.