I don't think you're fairly summarizing the Politico article. It does cite trial lawyers as a key reason:
> One of the biggest friction points was over fee shifting, the idea of making the losing party in patent lawsuits pay the winner’s legal fees. Republicans on Senate Judiciary and pro-reform groups made it a top goal, but some Democratic members and trial lawyers warned that fee shifting could keep companies from pursuing legitimate lawsuits.
But it goes on to say:
> Earlier this month, Senate negotiators began to coalesce around compromise language from Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) that included milder litigation reforms. That effort, however, frayed as universities and other major patent holders argued the measure would have negative consequences for the patent system.
It's Politico saying that universities and other major patent holders also argued against the measure, not Democrats.
> Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) played a decisive, behind-the-scenes role in the legislation’s fate, according to sources on and off the Hill. Reid told Leahy he could not put the bill on the floor given the opposition from trial lawyers, pharmaceutical companies and biotechnology giants, the sources said. Reid’s office did not comment for this story.
You characterize this as Reid simply trying to "spread the blame" but it wasn't the trial lawyers that sent a letter to Leahy the morning the bill was killed. From the ArsTechnica article linked above:
> Early this morning, several groups opposing the bill denounced those provisions, promising they would be united in their opposition to any bill that included them. "Many of the provisions would have the effect of treating every patent holder as a patent troll," read a letter sent out by the Innovation Alliance, which was signed by the American Association of Universities and the biotechnology trade group BIO.
Your point about fee-shifting is absolutely wrong. Universities and small patent-holders oppose it, because litigation is always uncertain even when you've got a good case overall. You can never be sure what'll happen in a Markman hearing, or what a jury will do, or whether all your claims will hold up in light of developments that arise over the course of litigation. This is particularly true because the law requires you to bring all your claims at once, or forfeit the ones you don't bring. The plaintiff ultimately bears the burden of proof, and just because he can't meet that burden for every claim doesn't mean he brought any of them in bad faith.