It has been only a few days since the upset victory in Massachusetts of Republican Senator-elect Scott Brown and already some of America’s most prominent liberal commentators have opined on its significance.

Most have been blistering criticisms of President Obama for abandoning his popular broad social vision and replacing it with ineffective, patchwork legislation resulting from insider maneuvering. This is most apparent in the health care debacle but appeasing conservatives also explains delaying labor reform, postponing goals of gay equality and shamefully interfering in a woman’s personal right to decide when to start a fami....