The Democratic leadership on health care and bank bailouts has been so corporate that it has demobilized and demoralized the Democrat ic base and the Republicans have found it easy to play populist

By Norman Solomon

(Norman Solomon is national co-chair of the Healthcare NOT Warfare campaign, launched by Progressive Democrats of America. His books include “Made Love, Got War: Close Encounters with America’s Warfare State.”)

In his triumphant speech on election night, the next senator from Massachusetts should have thanked top Democrats in Washington for all they did to make his victory possible.

For a year now, leading Democrats have steadily embraced more corporate formulas for “healthcare reform.” In the name of political realism, they have demobilized and demoralized the Democratic base. In the process, they’ve fueled right-wing populism.