I could write 5,000 words about this, or I could write about 50.
According to this story from USA Today, we are in for a first class thumpin’ in the midterms. Because people hate us. They may hate Republicans more, but it’s a binary system.
So here’s my immodest proposal: for the love of God, let’s fight for DEMOCRATIC issues. Not the ones the professionals want us to fight, the real guns vs. butter, workers vs. management, quality of life vs. casinos, safety vs. NRA issues. We are the centrist party of American life, let’s stop pandering and be ourselves.
I wish I could read this post by Atrios to every Congressman. I want an election about something.
If we’re going to lose, let’s lose fighting FOR something. Then maybe we win next time.
You are welcome to open this thread if you like.
JimC says
This was retweeted by someone I know. How do we answer this? He/she is right.
We’re supposed to be the ones who believe in process.
SomervilleTom says
This is not corruption, it’s sanity.
What’s next, another full-fledged “investigation” into Mr. Obama’s birth certificate?
JimC says
And they have powers.
Sorry, but they do.
SomervilleTom says
Of course they “exist”.
If Americans are foolish enough to see this as anything more than the McCarthy-style grandstanding that it is, then we’ve already lost the war.
JimC says
Serious question — what war are you talking about?
If you mean “the war for votes from independents,” I would say, the burden of proof is on us. We can convince ourselves Congress is on a meaningless witch hunt, but there’s enough there — four dead, at least one stretching of the truth — for them to muddy the waters.
My take, the Presidents needs a four-hour, “all questions answered” press conference on Benghazi. No one really believes he’s come completely clean on this. But if he does, that would help.
And yes, I know the GOP is overplaying its hand. But we are overplaying our hand, and we’re in charge so we have the burden of answering. The president needs to be presidential.
SomervilleTom says
I think this is an episode where the President and his administration DID come as clean as any administration will come. Whatever confusion happened was, in my opinion, legitimate disarray coming from a rapidly changing information.
In my view, Mr. Obama is acting presidential. I think Bill Clinton would have gotten more accomplished if he’d done more stonewalling against the Ken Starr “investigation”.
I think a desperate GOP is frantically turning over every rock they can find hoping to somehow distract the public from the predicted reality that the centerpiece of their campaign — the attack on Obamacare — is backfiring as the program succeeds.
Whether intentional or not, the popularity of Obama care is surging just in time to play a significant factor in the mid-terms. THAT is why these bozos are trying to find witches to burn, and I think the best strategy is to expose this investigation for the lie it is.
JimC says
We don’t get to decide whether subpoenas are legitimate.
SomervilleTom says
I have confidence that the subpoenas will be handled. No doubt there will be a lot of squealing from the GOP pigs about HOW they’re handled.
This whole thing really IS just a replay of the birth certificate absurdity.
danfromwaltham says
I wouldn’t worry about polls at this stage of the game.
jconway says
People are, rightly in my view, tired of the incompetent Obama administration which is always reluctant to fight for them or their families. He isn’t creating good jobs, his health care system is finally working but it’ provides way less than what most Americans actually want , he hasn’t rolled back the security state-a priority that has now been co-opted more successfully by the right, he has mismanaged our foreign policy, he hasn’t done anything for immigration reform, and I am 100% positive he will be cave in on Keystone and the TPP.
Now granted, a good chunk of these problems are the fault of the most obstructionist Congress in history, and I strongly disagree with the tired Broderism that it’s because he isn’t sufficiently wining, dining or golfing with this guys enough.
So there are two choices that have to happen soon. Plan A would require Obama going on a whistle stop tour clearly blaming Congress, clearly blaming the GOP, and excoriating voters to throw the bums out and replace them with Democrats-no more of this “both sides play politics” or “I’m just as sick of Washington politics as you!” bullshit. Actually go for the jugular and get the Congress back. But seeing how often he blames his ow base, let’s face it-Plan A ain’t happening.
My Plan B is for the Landrieu’s and Mark Begich’s of the world to stop running to the President’s right and start running to his left. Good for them blocking Obama’s nominee who has been a lead drone advocate (and incidentally is the husband of Juliette Kayyem). Perhaps they can join our senior Senator in bashing Eric Holder’s soft glove approach to Wall Street, maybe they can join her and Sen. McCain in reinstating Glass-Steagall or Brown and Vitter on breaking up the big banks. Maybe they can join Bernie Sanders fighting to protect our veterans from cuts, and maybe they can join Rand Paul not just on drones but on our stupid war on pot, which the administration keeps waging in spite of it’s own pronouncements on the subject.
You want independent downscale whites to vote for you? Take on Wall Street. Millenials-take on the war on drugs and the drones. Latinos-take on immigration reform. If you stop taking your base for granted you might be surprised if you win an election now and again.
jconway says
Stop trying to out Jesus, out gun, and out Big Oil these losers.
Christopher says
…provide us with a coherent argument for why you should try to simultaneously “out gun” and “out Jesus” the other side. They seem mutually exclusive to me.
jconway says
The party that believes torturing Muslims is a form of valid Christian baptism has a multitude of bizarre religious interpretations. Apparently sharia law is bad, but they can’t wait to implement the Christian equivalent.
kbusch says
I’m not sure I’d be so quick to conclude that her sentiment was universal. Ms. Palin has become an entertainer of sorts, an Ann Coulter who packs heat. Also the Rand-style isolationism seems to be spreading among Republican ranks. So I’m not so sure we should take her comment universally.
jconway says
She was nominated overwhelmingly by her party as it’s Vice Presidential standard bearer and has been the keynote speaker at the NRA, CPAC, and a host of other events. Her endorsement has elevated once unknown politicians like Nikki Haley and Susana Martinez into governorships and now the 2016 Presidential and Veepstakes. Obviously the woman is not qualified to be President, but unlike Ann Coulter, she is more than just an entertainer and a true force within her party. We dismiss her at our own peril. It shows how far the mainstream GOP has gone that it has embraced most of her ideas.
Have you watched Game Change? Tell me who is closer to the center of the actual GOP these days, her or McCain. The film reminds us that McCain backed stem cells, campaign finance reform, climate change, immigration reform and evolution as recently as 2008. His healthcare proposal had elements of Obamacare in it. They were horrified at the positions she had, even the neocon foreign policy advisors. The GOP of 2016 is far closer to the barracuda than it is to the maverick. She is their mainstream.
kbusch says
Looking at polling, Palin scores very high favorables among Republicans. Favorable is something like 70%. I find that utterly astounding. To me she’s all resentment all the time. The appeal escapes me.
Nonetheless, even Republicans are not as enthusiastic about having her elected to office. My characterization of her as an entertainment figure is not just true figuratively (as it were). She has shown up on reality television.
On the other hand, New York Times editorial page writer David Firestone has an excellent posting titled “There Are No Mainstream Republicans Left in North Carolina” that points out just how radical the “mainstream” Senate candidate is — you know — the one that just one the primary.
sabutai says
-Raise the minimum wage
-Expand Social Security
-Welcome DREAMers to American citizenship
-Tax Big Finance
-Shift tax rates to ensure a fair burden for all
There are two reasons it’s hard:
-40% of Americans believe that they’re one lucky break from being multi-millionaires, and if they get that break they don’t want to pay their fair share, and
-Large elements of the Democratic Party are owned by Wall Street and afraid to do this. Which is why they’re so afraid of Elizabeth Warren.
Tough to gear up for a fight your leader are ducking.
fenway49 says
A few more years of the current economy and that traditional American optimism will start to fade. People are feeling the squeeze and not even the lottery fairy seems likely to help.
ryepower12 says
Are you arguing we should be centrists in this election, or liberals?
JimC says
But I was also (probably inadequately) making the point that our positions are much closer to the center than Republican positions.
SomervilleTom says
It looks to me as though the Obama administration is playing the Benghazi game just about right.
I think the primary effect of the “story” is to fire up the 17 people who still believe there was a nefarious plot and turn off everybody else. I think the primary effect of stonewalling the “investigation” is to keep the story alive — and I think that works to advantage of the Democrats.
When the time is right (perhaps when the media shows signs of tiring), I think an extended, somber, and entirely credible statement from the Oval Office, during prime time and broadcast on all the major networks, will drive a silver stake through the heart of the bizarre witch-hunt. Part of that statement will include a directive to Mr. Holder that will do whatever needs to be done to either kill or respond to the subpoenas.
The same 17 people will be aghast, and no doubt folks like Mr. Limbaugh and Mr. Hannety will valiantly drive the remaining stragglers into the Democratic camp.
All in all, I think this latest hail-Mary pass is being intercepted and returned for a score by the guys in the blue jerseys.
kbusch says
This is going to require a bit of a trip into the weeds on the Benghazi stories.