Close Votes Are a Feature, Not a Bug

Interesting political observation from Rafe Colburn:

Every vote over the minimum necessary to secure passage represents compromises that the Democrats as a group would prefer not to make. It’s not that Nancy Pelosi was lucky to pass the bill, it’s that the Democrats wrote the strongest bill they could that would get enough votes to pass. That’s good strategy.

★ Monday, 9 November 2009