Finally, a Democrat who calls “bulls**t”:

[Jim Lane]

21. Yes, Hillary really said it, according to TPM. I agree with you that it's a disappointment.

Talking Points Memo ran this story on the Social Security debate. The full paragraph from TPM:

"So part of what we have to do is say 'look, let's everybody take a deep breath. Let's figure out what works and how we build on what works and let's not get into arguments about ideology and rhetorical attacks and claims," Clinton said. "Let's just take a deep breath here as a country and say 'okay, we're going to have a retirement issue and people who've worked hard deserve to have enough security when they retire so they can have a good quality of life so I'm a hundred percent committed to that."

She's trying to appeal to voters in the mushy middle. There are people who see "ideology" as the great villain. In their view, the way to govern is for elected officials to put aside partisan politics, reach across the aisle, and work together to get things done. To that train of vapid cliches, perhaps "take a deep breath" will be the next addition.

If one side refuses to talk about ideology, then the result is to reward extremism on the other side. These mushy-middle types tend to think that the right answer must be approximately halfway between the two competing positions. The result, as often noted on DU, is that Republicans stake out extreme right-wing positions and thus move the center toward the right. That's what happens when you say "take a deep breath" instead of "their ideology is bullshit."