That would seem to be the case based on a front page Washington Post article with a subhead: "Diverse Ideology Cuts Democratic Edge." The piece is referring to a number of Democrats in the House and Senate who tend to side with the Republicans on many issues. It could be the case that these Democrats side with Republicans on issues like health care because they have carefully contemplated issues and concluded that the Republicans were right. Of course it is also possible that they side with Republicans on issues like health care because they get lots of campaign contributions from special interest groups like the insurance companies, the pharmaceutical industry, and the A.M.A. I don't know the answer to this question, but neither does the Post. It might be best if the Post just gave its readers the information and let them decide for themselves rather than asserting that politicians are motivated by their political ideology. It is worth noting that the views of these Democrats are close to those of the Post (a.k.a. "Fox on 15th). It is of course more desirable for a politician to have their actions attributed to political principle rather than campaign contributions.
--Dean Baker
