One thing Democrats are especially good at is setting up circular firing squads after a political debacle, and some evidence of that quickly flared as the party tried to deal with the fallout from the loss of a Senate seat in Massachusetts.

The crux of the argument was basically what direction should the Democrats take in response to the win of Scott Brown.  Should they give up on health care altogether?  Aim for a drastically slimmed down plan?  What about focusing on jobs and the economy?

The answer for many liberals and liberal blogs was to be more aggressive and not give in to Republicans on a variety of issues.

"Democrats know they need to change course to win back voters' confidence," said an email to the faithful from the group MoveOn.org.

"For the last year, most Democrats in Washington have let lobbyists and corporate interests run roughshod over the people's business."

The goal?  "It's time to demand that they start truly fighting for working families.  Pass real health care reform.  Rein in Wall Street.  Take on the banks and special interests that stand in the way of change."

The Village Voice jabbed at Democratic leaders with an Onion-like headline:

"Scott Brown Wins Mass. Race, Giving GOP 41-59 Majority in the Senate" it read.

The point, liberals said, was that Democrats are too meek, even with big majorities in the Congress.

"Wheels Coming Off?" said an internet headline, as Democrats struggled to figure out what to do next on health care, climate change and more.

Most Democrats seemed to be in Stage 1 of their Legislative Grief, which is often described as "shock and denial."  Shocked that they lost the seat of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, in denial that it really means anything.

One thing is clear - if they aren't careful - the Dems will come away from this health care debate with nothing to show for it, just like in 1994.