Carl Hulse and Jeff Zeleny report in the New York Times:

Given hardening Republican opposition to Congressional health care proposals, Democrats now say they see little chance of the minority’s cooperation in approving any overhaul, and are increasingly focused on drawing support for a final plan from within their own ranks.

Up to this point, there has been a need in the Democratic caucus for useful idiots. What are useful idiots, you ask? Those are the people who express dissatisfaction with the president’s plan in an effort to gain credibility as cross-aisle negotiators. Put it this way. If Kent Conrad’s co-op plan could have brought over a few Republican votes, it would have made it easy to pass a health care reform and lessened the heat on vulnerable Democrats that vote in favor of the bill. Yes, the bill’s effectiveness might have been harmed as a result, but passing a major reform with bipartisan support would have been worth it.

The Republicans appear to be calculating that they can pick off a not insignificant number of House seats (and a Senate seat or two) if the Democrats are compelled to force through health care reform without any votes from the Republicans to provide them some cover. This became obvious when the Republicans went after even Kent Conrad’s plan.

Even as the administration showed some flexibility, angering liberal Democrats who consider a public plan essential, Republicans turned their attacks from the public option to the health care cooperative idea being promoted by some Senate Democrats.

In what Democrats regarded as further evidence that Republicans were not serious about negotiating, Mr. Kyl and Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia, the second-ranking House Republican, described a co-op as a public option carrying another name.

The good thing is that this kills the logic of the co-op plan. If it doesn’t attract any Republican votes then it isn’t something worth pursuing.

The problem now is in getting 60 Democrats to show up and vote for cloture on the health care bill. That will be a tall order. But it just got a little bit easier. There is no more need for useful idiots and they can return to the fold.