I just spent several years in a party in which everything was blamed on “not being conservative enough.” Now I am in a party where everything is to be blamed on “not being progressive enough”:
2. Democratic leaders and strategists, privately disdainful of the netroots, underestimated the influence of progressive bloggers.
Nothing should have been a bigger red flag to the new administration than the growing complaints by established progressive bloggers that Democrats were veering off track on the stimulus, the health care bill, civil liberties, gay rights, and more. But scoffing at the netroots is second nature in many quarters of the political establishment, even though they laid the groundwork for Obama’s victory. The single biggest reason Obama’s hope bubble burst is because of the unintended convergence of left and right opinion-making. The cauldron of opinion that churns incessantly on blogs, Twitter, social networks, and in the elite media generates the storylines that filter across the national and local press, providing the fodder for public opinion. Stalwarts of the left, dedicated to principles not personalities, hammered the administration; couple that with the partisan criticisms from conservatives and libertarians, and the net effect was to alter conventional wisdom and undercut Obama’s image and message.
On the other side of the spectrum, we learn that the problem is that this administration was too progressive:
For Senator Bayh the lesson is that the party pushed an agenda that is too far to the left, alienating moderate and independent voters.
“It’s why moderates and independents even in a state as Democratic as Massachusetts just aren’t buying our message,” he said. “They just don’t believe the answers we are currently proposing are solving their problems. That’s something that has to be corrected.”
Bayh pointed that it’s not just Massachusetts. Independents also rejected Democratic gubernatorial candidates in New Jersey and Virginia in November.
“ The only we are able to govern successfully in this country is by liberals and progressives making common cause with independents and moderates,” Bayh said. “Whenever you have just the furthest left elements of the Dem party attempting to impose their will on the rest of the country — that’s not going to work too well.”
It is almost like political hacks on either side of the debate are ignoring the fact that Coakley (as well as Corzine and Deeds) were terrible candidates and ran terrible campaigns. Coakley went AWOL for weeks, didn’t even see the Brown comeback brewing, and simply proved herself to be an incompetent and lazy campaigner. The gaffes and self-inflicted wounds of just the past week were signs of an out of control campaign, and at one point she mocked the idea of voter outreach and shaking hands. The arrogance of the Mass. party was also a factor and on full display ever since they decided to change the rule mid-stream regarding the seating of Kirk. Corzine was HATED by the NJ voters, and was down 20 points at one time. Deeds was a far inferior candidate to Moran, and everyone here on the night of the primary wanted Moran, but were primarily just happy McAuliffe did not win.
Add to incompetence of these folks, the tough national climate, and unemployment at 10%, and you get the resulting outcome. Not that that is going to stop those with a vested interest in sucking up more oxygen on the national stage from running their mouths.
And as a side note, I am ready to curb jaw whoever is responsible for teaching Democrats the word “Overton window.”
dmsilev
This is true, but it pushes the question back another level: How did these poor candidates win their primaries? (Not counting Corzine, of course, as he was a massively unpopular incumbent, which is a different pathology).
-dms
Dr. I. F. Stone
The Scott Brown victory is tremendous news, not only for the Republicans, but for the country, the world and probabaly the entire universe.
Just Some Fuckhead
Yeah, and that’s exactly the same.
Downpuppy
Its what comes of tossing Shannon O’Brien down the memory hole.
But it will be nice if the DC gang takes this as a resaon to start fighting & get out of bed with the health lob…
As if.
Brien Jackson
I tweeted it yesterday, but might as well say it again; “Overton window” is just the new “spreading democracy in the Middle East.”
Robin G.
Now THIS is a true circular firing squad.
I honestly think progressives have, through some kind of PSTD, blocked out the Bush Administration, and don’t seem to understand what the alternative is. I’d kill to see some practicality here. Just a little. So much good really HAS been done in the last year. But, oh well, I’m sure Kucinich would have done better.
I think Bayh just misses the days where he could sit quietly in the back of the Senate in the minority, take his donations and kickbacks, and never be asked to actually engage in lawmaking.
Kryptik
I’d just like to note, however, John….which of those sides that you highlight actually has…you know, power over policy and legislation and direction of the party?
Yes, we’ve had some serious Manic Progressive moments here, but the difference between the Republicans and “not conservative enough” and Democrats and “not progressive enough” is that the “not conservative enough” mandate came top down. The “not progressive enough” mandate is coming bottom up.
The republicans were already way far out on arch-conservative principles before they even dared whine about having people “not conservative enough”. The Dems, meanwhile, have continued to operate on “run to the center, take everyone else for granted”.
Yes, some activists, such as Hamsher, have not done themselves any favors trying to hitch their star to teabaggers in order to demonstrate some flawed attempt at unity against the health care bill. But I still think that the people saying ‘we need to be more progressive’ are more right than those saying ‘we need to be more rightist’. Because I really have yet to actually see any consensus movement of Washington Dems even one iota toward the left. Yeah, we have Franks, we have Sanders (in practice anyways, even if he’s technically Independent). We have folks like Wiener and such. But when the Senate can essentially give a fuck you to the House (which does have a respectable Progressive caucus), the net effect is Dems continue trying to tack to the ever rightward shifting ‘center’ while Republicans tack somewhere right of Father Coughlin, and liberals and progressives get stuck holding a bag of shit as punishment for not following.
John Cole
@Just Some Fuckhead: Yes, it is. Simplistically stating that everything is the fault of “not being conservative/liberal/progressive/moderate” enough without paying any attention to what actually happened is ridiculous.
Of course, now that you are here, I am sure we can enjoy 30-40 comments about “throwing people on the pyre” along with a few weak attempts to troll someone and some simplistic musings about the events of the day, all offered with no suggestions and a clear intent to just antagonize.
Not that there is anything wrong with that.
El Cid
I think non-empirically to assert that this election had everything to do with national politics is unjustifiable. And to allow the ‘conservative’ Democrats like Bayh to use each and every excuse to get their desired pro-business policies for whom they’re their own lobbyists would be foolish.
But to do the opposite, and just think that maybe some lack of criticism or getting ‘progressives’ to shut up would fix things up, would be flat out insane.
NobodySpecial
@Robin G.:
That, and Bayh also hates the fact that he was supposed to be President, what, 4 or 5 times now? Every election cycle he was a big name. Now he’s not even an has-been, he’s just a never-was.
LosGatosCA
Well, John, it’s either ‘Overton Window’ or get some balls to stand against Wall Street bonuses.
Even the voters in Communist Massachusetts get that Obama missed his ‘fire the air controllers’ moment when he re-appointed Bernanke.
Hoocodanode, that having the gubbermint fund Wall Street bonuses while unemployment stands at 10% would not be a winning strategy?
Nim, ham hock of liberty
Amen. I have no doubt that if Brown was a Democrat, and Coakley was a Republican, Brown would still have won – and likely by a wider margin.
However, it’s not a very interesting narrative for cable news gasbags and bloggers to just leave it at “The losing candidate was a lousy candidate,” so we have to endure all the deeper meaning.
Sure, many Republican voters were all riled up and some turned out that might not otherwise have, and Democratic turnout may have been depressed somewhat by disillusionment with the administration/Congress, but…the insistence that every election is a referendum on Obama is getting very annoying. If there’s actual evidence of that, THEN conclude that it was a referendum. Otherwise, stop ignoring the obvious – Coakley, Deeds, and Corzine were lousy campaigners who were just not liked by voters.
Democrats – don’t think so much about whether voters like Lieberman or Sanders better. Just find candidates that don’t suck, on a personal level.
Leelee for Obama
I am so disgusted by this outcome, I am not going to pay attention to much politics for a bit. It’s not just that a Republican now will have this seat, its’ that it gives the asshats on both sides so much to yak about, and I just can’t take it. It seems Coakley was a very lazy candidate, and her people didn’t seem to read the tea leaves, and the national Dems didn’t either, likely taking Massachusetts for granted, and this is the price you pay for that kind of dumb. Everybody needs to take the lesson to heart, and stop pointing at others. They all done fucked up and the piper came calling. Time to get the feces glue out of hiding and get to work.
Honestly, I haven’t even got the energy to be pissed off just now.
I’m more worried about HCR, and am hoping the House will do something to pass what they can without too much BS and then work on fixing what needs fixing.
A girl can dream, indeed!
If you don’t see me posting, I am just trying to get some personal ducks in something like a row, and I need to step out of this political crap for a bit.
Mumphrey
I’m in the minority here, but I don’t think Deeds was all that bad a candidate. He lost to Bob McDonnell 4 years ago for attorney general by about 300 votes, so people in Virginia are willing enough to vote for him that he could have won.
I think the big problem, and it’s one that too many people seem to overlook, is that while McDonnell had nobody who ran against him for the nomination, Deeds had a contested primary against 2 other Democrats. That took money, and when it was over, Deeds’s account was empty, while McDonnell had money to begin his campaign against Deeds. It took 2 months for Deeds to get enough money to run an effective campaign, and by that time, it was too late.
I know that Deeds could have done some things better, but then what candidate couldn’t? I really think that if the circumstances had been better, he would have won. I know, he gets no credit for what he might have done, but still, comparing him to Coakley is unfair. Deeds deserves to have a career after this; Coakley does not.
jayackroyd
I do not think you can underestimate the gap between what Obama promised, and what has been delivered.
The wars continue. The US is still a torture regime. Capital holders still bear a light tax burden. (Kravis still pays a long term capital gains rate on his income.) The health care bill is unpassed, and a disappointing bipartisan compromise with no republicans voting for it. The stimulus was inadequate; very little of the infrastructure building that makes sense to borrow money for has taken place. The only real beneficiaries were the banksters.
There was a mandate to fix all this. But the Democrats have chosen not to. At some point you have to conclude that this is because they do not want to fix anything.
SGEW
It’s the economy, stupid.
Quiddity
The following should be noted. With Bush, he delivered at least two unalloyed “wins” with the tax cuts of 2001 and 2003. That is why (plus 9/11-IraqWar, of course) conservatives hung in with him for many years and kept their enthusiasm.
I don’t see an equivalent unalloyed “win” from Obama and Congressional Democrats. Everything (DADT, Gitmo-related, health care, energy policy) gets watered down, delayed, or worse.
Coakley/Massachusetts-machine made a mess of the campaign, but some of that is the result of a sense the White House and Congress are adrift. And it does help to get the base energized because it’s from the base that a party gets its sense of mission. When was the last time Obama got the progressives excited? The last time I can remember was when the White House was calling out Fox News Channel for bias. That’s a while ago and mostly rhetorical. Concrete, base/progressive-pleasing results have been lacking.
shortstop
I think there’s an important distinction to be made between most progressives and many progressive bloggers, like so:
MOST PROGRESSIVES: The country — not just us but centrists and independents and even some disgusted Republicans — elected Democrats to reform healthcare, turn around disastrous Republican economic policies, guard our civil rights, etc. Why are so many Democrats afraid of doing these things?
MANY PROGRESSIVE BLOGGERS: The administration ignores the mightiness of the minute number of Americans who live on blogs to its peril! Since I never venture outside this circle, looks to me like our numbers are legion! How else would Scott Brown have won, huh, huh? Hear my voice, bitches!
glocksman
@John Cole:
There are times where ‘not conservative/liberal enough’ is a valid criticism.
That said, it’s far overused as a defense by the losing party of avoid taking a hard look at exacly *how* they lost.
Blaming a particular candidate as ‘not ideologically strong enough’ is much easier for the pros in both parties to believe than would accepting the share of the blame the ‘pros’ bear for running the campaigns the way they did.
The Village defends its own.
Um Yeah
It isn’t that the Overton Window isn’t a pretty solid concept it is just that people have trouble understanding what it really means. If they wanted to pull it by just constantly saying how much we spend in this country compared to others til it became common knowledge the way right wing lies has that would be good.
But no, it is circular firing squad for the lot.
arguingwithsignposts
Yes, this is deja vu: Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right.
Strawmanmunny
I’m done with being a “Democrat”. I’m not a “progressive”, either. I’m a liberal and by god, I’m an Obot.
With the noises coming from such esteemed “Democrats” as Bayh,Webb,Frank and Weiner, I’m just tired of giving support to weak kneed babies.
This President was handed one of the worst situations in sixty years. He’s the first black President, which just adds to the fire the other side has and what does “his” party do? Turn on him in about 9 months. Brillant.
I knew Republicans were a bunch of idiots that didn’t care how the country was run as long as they got theirs, not I see the “left” isn’t much different. If they can’t have it all, then screw anything. That’s a helluva of way to run a country.
I would say I’m disappointed in this country, but that would be wrong. I’ve BEEN disappointed in this country for a long time. Now, I’m just disillusioned and resigned to the fact that it’s hopeless.
Andrew Sprung(whoever he is) had a question, which I saw on Sully’s blog, “We have one party that has not got the brains to govern. Will we now learn for certain that we have another party that hasn’t got the guts?”
The answer is pretty clearly, YES.
glocksman
@jayackroyd:
I guess my first inkling of it was when Stiglitz and the other progressive economists who were consulted during the campaign were tossed aside for the neoliberal assholes whose glibertarian approach to Wall Street got us into this mess in the first place.
See: Summers, Larry and Geithner, Timothy if you want to know more™.
Wolfman
As someone who knows of people who have voted for Scott Brown (and those who haven’t) I would tell you that a lot of discontent is not necessarily related to poor Coakley campaigning but overall discontent where things are going. Results do matter and even though Democrats/Obama are an improvement and have done couple things they are not addressing what people perceive is wrong. I don’t think health care was the button since we already have the health care reform in Massachusetts that they are voting for in Washington.
Quiddity
@LosGatosCA
I like your point that
Even if that opportunity has passed, Obama could do a better job of showing how he’s working to help the economy. Can’t he go to an event where General Motors is rolling out a new vehicle? Or have the (remaining) Chrysler dealers come to the White House for a discussion on where to go next? That sort of thing.
Obama appears to me to do too many stand-alone speeches. He – and key administration figures – need to get out more and mingle (while also selling the message of the day).
Kryptik
@Wolfman:
That’s the problem, isn’t it? Perception. Republicans have successfully seeded the perception of a simultaneously Dictatorial and Weakling President in Obama, and a Democratic party that wants to skulk around retirement homes with killing needles. And what have Dems done for the most part?
Allow Blue Dogs to ratfuck them and let those perceptions fester They’ve followed the Kerry plan of ‘ignore and work above/around the bullshit’, even after repudiating it in the ’08 election. And instead of working above the bullshit, they’ve left the bullshit rise above them. They’ve let Republicans turn the perception of ‘Change’ into ‘Evil Commie Blackbama!’
Ash Can
@Dr. I. F. Stone: LOL! That hit the spot. Thanks for a much-needed laugh.
@John Cole: Ain’t it the truth? I understand that one of the main purposes of your whole joint here is for all of us to blow off steam, and another is for armchair/Monday-morning quarterbacking. However, a few months from now, we’ll be able to wade through all the professional and amateur MA-SEN commentary, not to mention the HCR commentary, and find only a tiny fraction of it that was even realistic, let alone accurate. For this reason, I intend to do the opposite of what a lot of commenters here are going to be doing for the next few days — I’ll be reading about the politics only, and avoiding the commentary. I’ll probably miss out on a few good laughs by taking a break from the threads here, but I’ll be better off if I wait a little for the post-election smoke to clear.
kindness
John do you really think that is what the debate has come down to? Maybe if all you read is FDL (which I do look over still). Honestly I think it has much more to do with not accomplishing much of anything the voters value and the administrations constant caving to the Republican lite faction of the Democrats in Congress & the largess bestowed upon the guilded corporations and none on the actual voters.
Does that sound like a FDL schpiel? Yea, probably. But that’s my take and I’m stickin’ to it.
How do the Adminstration & Democrats regroup? By tossing that GD idiot Lieberman over the rails now (the repubs don’t want him any more than I do) and running things through reconciliation. If Harry Reid doesn’t show some spine now & start acting like a boss, the whole thing goes south.
I’m actually slightly relieved. Now that the Senate only needs 51 votes (reconciliation) we won’t have to cater to the neanderthals like Nelson & Lieberman & will probably end up with bills that the American people will be able to directly see will actually benefit them, not the oligarchs.
jayackroyd
@glocksman
The idea that the government exists to prop up oligopolies in the finance sector is a very strange one. Just as is the notion of too big to fail. The whole Schumpeterian idea of creative destruction relies on failure of firms.
BTD
Josh Trevino taught it to them, via There Is No Spoon.
At my failed experiment of a blog – Swords Crossed.
BTD
@BTD:
The Overton Window I mean.
Bobby Thomson
Dude, this is the political equivalent of a Rodney King posting. People in the Democratic Party disagree with each other. Always have. Always will.
People like Bayh will win this fight, and the focus of this year will be on bipartisanship and deficit reduction. Look for some cherished liberal sacred cow to take a hit, just so that Congressional incumbents can say they passed something. Most likely Social Security.
Of course, this won’t do anything to solve the real problem, which is unemployment figures, and just make things worse. If we still have double digit unemployment this summer, the Republicans are taking back Congress. Deficit fetishism will do nothing to give people jobs and will just make the problem worse, as it did in 1937.
So, that circular firing squad you hear is people trying to prevent the Democratic Party from entering into a death spiral. They’re too late. That battle was lost when the Obama administration sealed its death warrant with a stimulus package that was four sizes too small.
glocksman
@jayackroyd:
The cynic in me says ‘follow the money’ and see just how many of these officials are ‘ex’ GS alumni who just happen to go back to GS after they leave government ‘service’.
Of course I could be wrong and they honestly believe crony capitalism is the way to go.
Fwiffo
You’re in the governing party, you stupid fucker. You’re not running a campaign, you’re running the country. You shouldn’t be proposing policies, you should be MAKING policy. Get your thumb out of your ass and fucking do the job you were elected to do.
Most Americans are not that ideological. They’re pissed off because even with control of the White House and huge majorities in both branches of congress, Democrats haven’t done shit. Jesus Christ, how long did the Senate sit around with Max Baucus trying to polish Chuck Grassley’s knob? Sure could use some of that wasted energy right now!
Bobby Thomson
@kindness: That would be nice. It would also mark a complete reversal of the administration’s approach to legislation.
Won’t happen. We’ll be watching “Chasing Olympia” the rest of the year, only without Jay and Silent Bob lightening the mood.
Sarcastro
Now THIS is a true circular firing squad.
I honestly think progressives have, through some kind of PSTD, blocked out the Bush Administration, and don’t seem to understand what the alternative is.
No, what that is is a negative feedback loop.
Voting for the lesser of two evils actually strengthens the greater of two evils because you have made the lesser evil dependent upon the greater evil in order to secure the non-evil votes. ie, Why do what is right when you can simply not be batshit insane and still get the votes?
Which, granted, does secure a government that is not batshit insane. But it pretty much ensures that nothing unpalatable to the center will ever get passed and that when the Dems do lose their replacements most certainly will be batshit insane.
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
In a major shock to your system, John, there are posts at GOS saying that Coakley ran a lousy campaign, that the worst thing we can do is to sit around playing the blame game, and that we’ve got to deal with the loss and move on. And they are even being rec’d.
Bobby Thomson
@El Cid: This.
General Winfield Stuck
@Leelee for Obama:
I’m with ya Leelee. Things are on autopilot right now. And it looks like we’re heading straight for Magic Mountain and everyone is buckled up tight. Thanks for flying Clown Air, and all that there.
I did bring my parachute however.
jwb
On the other hand, this is three straight major races for which the Dems have put up lousy candidates (and they simply got lucky in that NY house seat). That suggests to me that the Dems also have a systemic problem: the system is generating lousy Democratic candidates.
bystander
So, John, what will be your take on the inevitable confirmation of Ben Bernake who has apparently decided that the sole function of the Federal Reserve is to control inflation?
Very Reverend Crimson Fire of Compassion
Overton window is so last decade. Now “curb jaw”, that’s a phrase I can believe in.
John Cole
@bystander: I’m opposed to Bernanke getting another term.
Quiddity
I like what Josh Marshall wrote.
Excerpts: (my emp)
One aspect that’s been overlooked is time. The health care bill, whatever you think of it, should have been finished months ago. That’s what good bill management is all about. Congressional leadership and the White House could have done better. With the slow-pace of action, we were treated to soliloquies by Lieberman and assorted Blue Dogs, tea-leaf reading the Gang of Six statements, multiple health care bills (!) in play at the same time, and other things that caused people to lose interest, and later, get angry at the state of affairs.
Sly
I clicked the link without reading everything. Luckily my browser was maximized and I caught the Overton Window diagram before any damage was done to my brain.
If you want a simple analysis: The results of the election are being used to confirm contradictory biases that existed before the election. This is proof enough, for me, that almost everyone is completely full of shit.
Demo Woman
Below is the petition that was sent to me by Bold Progressives last night.
PETITION: “The loss of Ted Kennedy’s seat — due to a lack of enthusiasm among Democrats and Independents — sends a clear message to Congress. The Senate health care bill is not the change we were promised in 2008, and it must be improved. The Senate must use ‘reconciliation’ to pass a better bill with a strong public option.” Sign here.
some guy
It seems to be that part of the problem is that Democrats are more of a splintered coalition of interest groups than Republicans are.
Republicans just have to appeal to social conservatives + fiscal conservatives + moderates. Tax cuts are easy to pass (relatively speaking) and broadly popular.
But what do the Dems have that can satisfy the gay rights activists, the abortion activists, the civil liberties activists, the feminists, the civil rights activists, etc.? And if you do get something done for one group it gets you little to no credit from the others (see, for instance, the Ledbetter fair pay legislation, or the Matt Shepherd hate crime legislation, the credit card reform legislation, the first Latina SCOTUS judge). Heck, if anything, passing legislation is often used as proof by the other interest groups that (paraphrasing) “the Dems are capable passing [X] so the fact that they’re not also passing [Y] proves they’re selling us out!”
The only thing close to a unifying issue is health care reform which for whatever reason is apparently so huge and complicated a slog that it’s become an albatross around the Dems neck.
This is not to completely excuse their failures, but I do understand that trying to leading the Democratic Party is very much like herding cats.
bystander
@John Cole:
Okay. You’re opposed. But my question has more to do with how you will interpret that confirmation.
Graeme
This is not the last scalp the recession is going to take.
Everyone on both sides is frustrated, as is everyone in the middle.
They’re going to take it out on anyone they can. The Donks need to play offense.
Like John, I am new at voting Donk. The lack of discipline is fine at a cocktail hour, but I’m afraid it won’t cut it in national politics. Too effete. Pathetic.
glocksman
@Demo Woman:
Sorry, but unless the compromises the WH and labor agreed to are somehow inserted into the bill, I’m opposed to it and I’m sure I won’t be the only union rank and filer (not to mention Rich Trumka) to feel that way.
I already have the snail mail letter to Brad Ellsworth written and I’m just waiting to see what happens before I send it off.
socraticsilence
Well on the plus side Jane Hamsher wont have to see any icky poor people when she goes to the Doctor.
Quiddity
For all the talk and finger pointing in Democrats-land, can anybody tell me what the Republican’s national message is? As far as I can tell, it’s “do nothing”.
I share the view that the mood of the electorate is sour and that incumbents of both parties are in trouble. The Democrats more so, since they are (allegedly) in power.
I cannot see what the Republicans are going to run on. Bring back the policies and economy of Bush Jr.? Let’s have another war, only this time in Yemen?
About the only popular thing Republicans stand for is beating up swarthy Arabs and members of Al Qaeda – preferably while in detention. That’s a short term thrill (for those who enjoy that sport).
I don’t see a Republican resurgence. Yes, they will use voter dissatisfaction to pick off a Democrat here and there. But what’s the national agenda? Gingrich at least had something resembling that with the Contract with America. But today? Nothing.
NobodySpecial
@socraticsilence:
Speaking as an icky poor person, you’re about the last person we need on here representing icky poor people.
Seriously, you need to drink a gallon jug of Shut Up Juice and let it soak into your tissues. You’re about as good representing as Martha Fucking Coakley at the minute, and her voice is slightly less annoying.
kindness
C’mon BTD….your experiment was noble even if it didn’t work. Don’t kick anyone including yourself. It’s much easier to agree to disagree than find any common ground. That’s the problem….the easy road is always the one most go to.
Rick Taylor
I agree with most everything you’re saying. It’s human nature to look for evidence supporting our views in events, not particularly conservative or liberal.
__
I’ll just repeat, I think the DNC and the head of the DNC also bears a portion of the blame here; nothing much happened until a week or two before the campaign. They knew this election was coming up; they should have known the importance of it. Just because Coakley was incompetent doesn’t excuse them.
Quiddity
@some guy
You raise good points. You reminded me that tax cuts are a simple one-dimensional policy that is easier to get through Congress than other, more complex, legislation. So maybe using Bush’s tax cuts as a metric is unfair to Obama.
You cite a number of accomplishments from last year and I agree that they are worthwhile. But for whatever reason (lack of promotion by the White House?) they have dropped off the radar. As recently as three months ago I would quickly cite that list, but I’m sorry to say that nowadays I have to work to recall that stuff.
I don’t think it’s all that bad if some groups get legislative goodies while others do not – as long as there is at least one overarching accomplishment that everyone feels part of. Health care could have been it, but not the way it was done last year (delays in getting it through Congress; delays in when it kicks in!).
FlipYrWhig
Said principles being “Everything Sucks!”, “I Told You Everything Sucks!”, and “Because You Didn’t Listen To Me, Everything Still Sucks!”
jg
Why the surprise? Massholes listen to rush too. The only reason that seat was still dem was because of kennedys name. Hell I voted for romney to unseat him back in 92. Mass ain’t really a blue state. Only cambridge newton and wellesley are. The rest is blue collar tax cut lovin yet supply side misunderstanding reds like the rest of the proles in actual red states.
Anyone else notice the liberal media used to speak about nuclear options regarding filibusters but now speaks that the dems must maintain 60 seats? Who’s side is the liberal media on?
General Winfield Stuck
@SGEW: Yes. Thank You for this simple truth. All the other stuff is just inside game parlor pissing matches.
edit – beautiful coat of fresh wet snow on the ground. With more on the way. Nature in her wonder. charlie wants to go play in it, the lovable little rascal.
liberty60
I read the Daou article, and while I didn’t agree with everything he wrote, there is truth to his analysis- explaining the loss as being attibuted to the Dems being “too far left” are absurd.
Yes, a bare majority of voters put Obama into office.
But the fundamentals of the progressive positions- a desire for action by government, a distruct of big business- are popular, and what is hurting the Dems (and helping the Tea Party) is the perception- no, the REALITY- of the “Wall Street Liberals” like Dodd.
Every time we go on the attack against the Dick Armeys who cynically manipulate the Teabaggers, we get reminded of Dodd and his cynical relationship with the banks.
Its not a matter of moving farther to the left- its a matter of standing up and proudly declaring your principles.
When I was a conservative, we proudly wore the title; progressives and liberals are terrified of it, and people react with disgust and scorn. If you can’t stand up and be firm in your convictions, then you have no business representing the people.
I no longer want to be “conservative”. I don’t care if someone labels me a liberal, progressive, or whatever; I am proud to support health care reform, the Consumer Financial Protection Act, and so on.
People reward and respect conviction and confidence.
Running into the hideyhole and trying to be “Teabagger Lite” won’t get anywhere. Lieberman is more rightwing than half the GOP- and yet in his state, 55% of the Republicans hate him. Obama could enact every item on the GOP wish list, and they will still hate him. I respect Alan Grayson but wouldn’t waste spit on Ben Nelson if he was on fire.
As others have pointed out, the Republicans never had a “supermajority” and yet they got a lot done. We can do the same, but not by fooling ourselves into thinking we can make peace with the Tea Party.
Rick Taylor
I’ll also add that I think the administration has taken progressive support for granted, and done a poor job of cultivating it. Whether or not this was a factor in this election, I think it’s important; it’s the base that does much of the work getting out the vote and it needs to be kept motivated.
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Now you may say progressives are being immature and should take the long view and so on, and maybe that’s even true. But that doesn’t change the above facts. People have egos, they can only take so much shit before they revolt, and whether that’s right or not, the leadership has to take that into account. Booman said it best.
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libarbarian
Dr. Cole threw the Overton Window under the bus!
some guy
@Quiddity
Agreed. I really do think Harry Reid needs to go as majority leader. We need someone who isn’t constantly getting rolled by Republicans and Lieberman. How many times does he have to get burned before he realizes that they’re not interested in good faith negotiations on any issues of import?
I do understand that the rules and traditions of the Senate make it virtually impossible to get anything done these days*, but as many others have pointed out, the GOP had a smaller majority a few years back and they still managed to push through a significant portion their legislative agenda. Hell, Reid hasn’t even managed to have confirmation votes on something like 1/3 of Obama’s nominees yet! That’s just incompetence.
*(yeah, it’s a link to an AEI-affiliated site, but Norm Ornstein is one of the rare intellectually honest conservatives in that outfit.)
Quiddity
@libarbarian
It’s true. In addition, the O-bot powered bus was sporting a Fire Dog Lake bumper sticker and was being driven by Jonathan Gruber. (That doesn’t make sense, and it’s not supposed to.)
glocksman
@some guy:
It’s somewhat early but if the polls in NV are correct, then Reid won’t even be in the Senate next year, much less Majority Leader.
Who’d make a good replacement?
NobodySpecial
@glocksman:
A moderately warm plate of leftover spaghetti. It would also have the benefit of being mildly tougher.
Quiddity
@some guy
Thanks for the link. I get the feeling that we might, just might, we witnessing a fundamental change in how the Senate does business. Republican obstructionism combined with Senate rules and traditions means something has to give. In a PolySci class I once took, the teacher was telling us that the change in cloture from 66 to 60 was a big deal. I didn’t understand why at the time. Now I do. Perhaps another step away from tradition will take place.
I’ve tended to like Harry Reid from way back when he convinced Jim Jeffords to switch parties in 2001. Reid was very patient with that, and I got the impression he knew how to read and deal with senators. Maybe it was a special case and now that he’s Majority Leader (which he wasn’t in 2001) his skill set isn’t right for the job.
Rick Taylor
The more I think about this, the more it seems to me the DNC was guilty of political mal-practice. I mean we don’t hear a word about this race, and this suddenly it dawns on them weeks before the election that ohmigod, Coakley might lose, and if she does health care is in trouble, and they run around like chickens with their head cut off and the President has to make a personal appearance to try to save her. The optics are just horrid for the party, and if the DNC chair, Tim Kaine, has to resign over it, it will be just.
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Sure Coakley was incompetent. But is the DNC’s job really limited to funneling money to candidates and leaving them to sink or swim? You say Coakley acted as though she had the election in the bag? So did the DNC. You say Coakley didn’t even do tracking polls? Well did anyone at the DNC give her a call and a ask her what her numbers were? And when she said insisted was doing fine but wasn’t doing any polling, did they say that’s great, but we want to see some hard numbers?
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We’ve known for months we couldn’t even lose one Democrat in the senate. We’ve known for months this election was coming up, and yet it came as a complete surprise.
NR
Look. You may not like this argument because of who is out there making it, but you really need to think about this:
A little over a year ago, GW Bush and the Republicans were so hated by the public that Obama and the Democrats were able to win a massive electoral victory. And yesterday, the Democrats lost the Senate seat that Ted Kennedy held for 46 years to a right-wing Republican.
In just one year, Obama and the Democratic leaders have brought the Republican party back to life. That would be an impressive feat if it wasn’t so fucking scary.
And the reason this happened is very simple. The people handed the Democrats a tremendous amount of power and said “We want change.” And the Dems responded by saying that they like the status quo just fine so long as they’re in charge. It’s not surprising that they’re suffering consequences for this.
And for those of you hating on the left, what you need to realize is that it isn’t the left that lets the right back into power. It is always centrists who let the far right regain power by depressing the base and alienating swing voters. It happened with Carter, it happened with Clinton, and it’ll happen with Obama. If he keeps on his present course, he’ll get beat in 2012, and by a Republican even more conservative than GW Bush was.
The Raven
Otherwise they’d have to admit they were at fault.
kommrade reproductive vigor
No offense to any blogger, but I don’t want a government that is influenced by 1,000 monkeys banging away on keyboards. And frankly, any S.O.B. who wants to play king-maker and needs his ego stroked by acknowledgement from on high, can bite my shiny metal ass. We’re supposed to go from dipshittiness from the print media to THIS?
I don’t think so.
CT
@Quiddity:
I think you put your finger on something here. The size of the mess Obama inherited is such that he can make progress on a lot of fronts and still have a big mess on his hands, and not appear to have accomplished much.
Jason B at Work
What an utterly awesome phrase.
The Raven
A Research 2000 poll gives some support to the progressive position here.
On the other hand Steve King (R-ΓQ) claims that Brown’s victory was divine intervention.
mattH
Yet not teaching them what it is, and how it works. It’s not like yelling “Obama sold us out!” is going to shift it back.
mey
@shortstop: What shorty said. Stop conflating the two, JC.
Nuance. It’s what’s for dinner.
Chris Andersen
Re: Overton Window
John, I understand fully your frustration at the use of this term. But I think your term stems primarily from the fact that so many who use it haven’t a clue what it actually means. People who talk about “pushing” the window by pouting and staying home when Democrats need their votes are the worst sort of idiots. The window has nothing to do with changing the attitude of elected officials. It has everything to do with changing what the *voters* consider to be “normal”. So many activists who blather on about the window completely miss this point and focus all their attention on the politicians.
The politicians are extraneous to this. Moving the window is all about changing the minds of those who *elect* the politicians. If you can’t educate them to see gay marriage (for example) as acceptable, than you will never get politicians to stick their necks out on it.
So, please, don’t compound the sin of those who misuse the term by ragging on what is actually a very useful tool for planning strategy.
(btw, I’ve turned off the news and stopped reading most political blogs for the next couple of days. If you want to preserve your sanity I suggest you all do the same.)
Something Fabulous
@Jason B at Work: Yes! I was wondering if it’s anything like “doorknob-shouldering”?
onceler
equating these two points of view is just dumb (ie giving Evan Bayh equal weight with the idea that people are frustrated at huge giveaways to banks, drafting a terrible health care bill, and failing to address unemployment). not understanding the applicability of the overton window is just dumb. I think I have no choice but to conclude that you are dumb.
onceler
@NR: yup. exactly. clapping harder was never the answer, obviously. but watch these fools keep beating the same drum over and over, yelling at “the left” about how “everyone needs to focus on the Republicans” (as if that’s what they themselves were doing!), and saying endlessly that pointing out the Dems’ flaws is the reason that other people can see them, rather than the obvious answer – that they are obvious to anyone paying attention.
johnny walker
“The single biggest reason Obama’s hope bubble burst is because of the unintended convergence of left and right opinion-making.”
Maybe in general. For me the single biggest reason has been Obama’s behavior. Just once I’d like to see Cole just flatly state that Obama’s choices have left room for valid criticism without turning around and dropping a “But…” afterwards. Am I the only one who ever got the “If you end an apology by saying But… then you didn’t really apologize” talk from mom?
@onceler @NR
Yes, this. You both said it better than I did. I continue to be amazed that so many people think the Dems’ problems are solely a matter of framing/etc. That’s an important part of it but I have to think their actual failings are pretty significant too.