A reader writes:
Barney isn't reveling in it; he's running scared. Yesterday, Brown and Coakley split the vote in his district right down the middle. He's facing re-election in less than a year, he's saddled with an unpopular governor and endemically corrupt legislature, and now he's facing an emboldened opposition. Barney is, above all, a politician. So he's doing his best to placate Brown's supporters, to signal that he hears their concerns, and to put the kibosh on any bill that can't be sold as bipartisan. It's not that he can't cobble together enough support to squeeze the Senate bill through the House - it's that right now, he figures it would cost him his job.
So give the man a little credit. At least he's doing his part to fight unemployment.