Part of a trend, not a result of selling out American workers
Rahm Emanuel believes that by voting against the Democratic base, you improve the electoral prospects of the Democrats:
White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel has been telling Democrats a win on the health issue will reverse the slide in public opinion, just as passage of another controversial proposal, the North American Free Trade Agreement, lifted President Bill Clinton in the polls.
Let’s be clear: Clinton’s popularity did rise after the passage of NAFTA.
It was a part of a trend (see pic). When people finally noticed the passage, a few months later, his ratings fell through the floor, and the Dems lost both houses of Congress.
To be fair, a part of this might have been the collapse of healthcare reform, but NAFTA demoralized labor, and pretty much the entire Democratic base.
A bad bill is worse than no bill, and immeasurably worse than one that passes through reconciliation.
The real problem with Rahm is not that he’s determined to offer succor to right wingers because he believes that it will somehow benefit Democrats, but that he’s wrong, and incompetent.