There’s an old expression about “snatching defeat from the jaws of victory,” and we hope practical politicians in Augusta will not allow that to happen.

Maine needs to pay its hospitals and it can provide health insurance to its working poor — but only by reaching a sensible compromise.

It’s safe to say Democrats didn’t come back to Augusta in January with the idea of paying old hospital bills at the top of their list.

But Gov. Paul LePage did.

And he was right in assuming this might not get done unless he found a way to force Democrats to do it.

We started with two separate issues, the need to negotiate a new liquor contract and the need to pay $480 million we owe our hospitals.

The governor’s idea was to link one to the other. He would negotiate a new liquor deal, sell bonds based on anticipated liquor revenue, and use the money to immediately square things up with the hospitals.

And he made clear that one thing wasn’t going to happen without the other, at least not without his cooperation.

He sought public support, and received it. His plan even received an editorial endorsement from the Sun Journal.

Another governor might have done things differently, like using the windfall liquor revenue to fulfill the state’s obligation to fund 55 percent of local educational costs.

That one is required by law, although no governor or Legislature has yet met that obligation.

The governor chose paying back the hospitals as his top priority.

But Democrats have their own priorities, and extending Medicaid benefits to the working poor under the Affordable Care Act is one of them.

People without insurance do not get complete health care and are often saddled with impossible-to-pay medical bills.

We supported that idea last week, arguing that this would benefit the working poor in Maine and that it would be fully funded by the federal government for three years and then 90 percent afterward.

All of the other New England states are working toward this goal. LePage, however, has joined a group of tea party-minded Republican governors in refusing to accept the federal help.

This is partly their anger over “Obama Care” and partly a half-baked plan to kill the ACA by withholding cooperation.

The governor says he needs time to negotiate with the federal government to get a different deal than other states have accepted.

That is unlikely to happen. Maine has only 1.3 million residents and LePage is bargaining with a Democratic administration in Washington.

His clout, in other words, is almost zero.

His past efforts to get exceptions to federal rules for Maine have not been successful.

But the governor should not be surprised that Democrats in the Legislature would like to link their support for his hospital plan to his approval of the Medicaid extension.

If the governor can play hardball, he should expect Democrats to do the same.

We hope members of the Legislature, Republicans and Democrats, can see past all the posturing and strong-arm tactics.

We have two ideas that would benefit our state, paying our hospitals and providing health care insurance to more people.

These are two worthy goals, and we can accomplish both in order to strengthen our work force and economy.

Politics is the art of the possible — at least outside of Washington.

We hope the governor and the Legislature see that compromise is both possible and sensible.

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The opinions expressed in this column reflect the views of the ownership and the editorial board.

Committee passes bill linking hospital payment to Maine Medicaid expansion