It strikes me that what we are witnessing is Democrats’ version of the iconic I-am-Spartacus moment from the 1960 film.

One by one, Democratic senators are standing up to say: “I am the one who is prepared to kill healthcare reform if my idiosyncratic demands are not met.”

Sadly, this is the only type of I-am-Spartacus moment Democrats seem to be capable of.

(In the spirit of bipartisan generosity, I am willing to include Republican senator Olympia Snowe in this group. This lady, at this point, doesn’t even seem to have any real objection to the content of the bill. The public option is dead, Medicare expansion is dead, and she has not brought any other concerns to life. But she’s prepared to kill healthcare reform only because, in her opinion, things are moving too damned fast. In its current incarnation, there has been an extended debate on the specifics of healthcare reform for more than 2 years, since campaigning for the last presidential election picked up steam. In one incarnation or another, there has been an extensive debate on healthcare reform for decades. But this lady — rumored to be a reasonable, moderate Republican — wants to slow the debate down so that there’s more time for … what exactly?)