One quip doing the rounds in Washington is that last year’s elections and their aftermath show that “Republicans can’t get elected and Democrats can’t govern”. In fact, this is too fair to Republicans. One of the reasons Republicans lost so badly in 2008 was because of their appalling record in the previous eight years.

But the quip is not necessarily unfair to Democrats. In contrast to Republicans, who become more homogenous and therefore more disciplined with each electoral cycle, Democrats remain a diverse coalition of often clashing interests. Nowhere is this better illustrated than in the painful battle to push through healthcare reform.