How Obama, Reid, and Pelosi Stopped Republican Extortion : Three reasons the Democrats won

[TrollBuster9090]

4. I'd add one more item to point number 1:

Also, the Democrats who broke ranks and voted against the gun control bill got hammered by the DNC. I was pretty happy to see that happen at the time, and I think it payed dividends now. If it weren't for that, I could have envisioned a few Blue Dog senators demanding to cut or delay the medical device tax, or something like that, just to give them something to talk about at home in the next election.

But as soon as you get those kind of cracks forming, the coalition shatters. Don't forget, it was Republicans who invented WEDGE ISSUES. They're good at hammering wedges into cracks.