The tactic of escaping to another state to avoid a vote you’re likely to lose has got to be one of the dumbest PR moves in the history of American politics. What better image could there be of the Democrats’ unwillingness to face the facts of our fiscal situation these days than their literally running away from these votes? The next time Democrats in Washington complain about a Republican use of the filibuster—a legislative tactic that, for all its problems, is actually part of the rules of the Senate—we should be sure to check if they had anything to say about this act of obstruction through coordinated cowardly dereliction.