9/1/10
Been going through a major computer upheaval (oh do let me bore with you the details of SSD drives!) so must content ourselves with a traditional CODE WORD question again today:
Concerning the fall 2010 elections, would you say the Democrats are facing...
A) a major frickin' disaster that will swing power back to the people that made the last decade so enjoyable, leading most progressives to wonder why the fuck we gave so much away in the name of bipartisanship when all it did was make us look weak, pathetic, and neutered
B) a minor disaster guaranteeing both houses enough pieces of the pie to ensure no piece of legislation ever gets passed, even as millions suffer
C) a weird stalemate that turns some seats Republican but not the groundswell Our Media Elite® predicted, making many pundits blame the Tea Party for cramming their kookoo kandidates into the ballot
D) a blistering comeback by the Democrats that proved Obama's cool, sanguine, bizarrely-detached legislating style was ultimately a stealth weapon all along?
Posted by Ian Williams at September 1, 2010 11:52 PMPraying for "D," nightmare-sweating "A," therefore it will be some weird amalgam of "B/C" ???????
Well that was fast - what Killian said.
Fearing A. Hoping for B.
The Problem with Progressives is that we have a hard time mustering enough anger to actually move anything. 8 years of polarizing, bumbling GWB finally pushed us to stay mad for long enough to get a Dem in the White House.
Then we exhaled, and went back to "live and let live."
The other side is always spitting mad at someone, and this keeps them mobilized. I both envy and loathe this quality they possess. It will carry them in great measure this election cycle.
Definitely B/C.
I'm too scared to watch.
Love,
The Ostrich
B/C I think.. I hope for C. I am not so sure this is anti-Dem as it might be anti-incumbent. I suspect the populace wants grid lock again..at least until the economy improves.
The election is a long way away and these things turn wildly in Sept/ October. It will depend on which party has to deal with the 'issue/scandal du jour' as the election approaches. I think the president is playing a waiting game right now as everyone is still on summer vacation in their minds...and that may last a few more weeks.
Praying for A, although I disagree with Ian's assessment for the reasons that will be behind it.
B or C. I have election fatigue from 2008 still.
hopefully A so this economy can bounce and the equity and housing markets will follow. no chance on D. fool me once, shame on you. fool me twice....
I'd say somewhere close to A that results in the stalemate and intertia of B.
I'm not sure what congressional "bipartisanship" you are referring to. The compromising on legislation is among different wings/factions of the *Democrats* who have huge majorities in both the House and Senate, and well as a committed liberal Democrat occupying the WH.
Why pretend that Democrats representing swing districts who sometimes disagree with Pelosi(D-SF) and Dem leadership are members of the other party? Could it have anything to do with the dismal unpopularity of Democratic leadership? I still cannot believe Obama outsourced his domestic agenda to Pelosi and Reid. They were very unpopular even before Obama took office. They are sucking the political life out of Obama and he seems just dandy with that. From what I have seen so far, I would be shocked to ever see something that resembles the D scenario.
Probably C.Democrats are giving every indication of being weenies, losers and traitors to their own ideals, who can't govern even when there's no one left to capitulate to, and who deserve to lose.
But then, the Republicans are rescuing them by mounting candidates who not only deserve to lose but who are deeply in need of medication and a secured environment in which they are prevented from doing harm. Just like toddlers should be prevented from playing with TNT.
They've taken that crank who sits on the bar stool and talks a little too loud about precious bodily fluids, and that crazy PTA lady who is Always Right, and nominated them for offices in which they would be allowed to make decisions affecting public policy.
I wouldn't mind if one or two of them got in to join Michelle Bachmann in representing the right wing on live TV, inspiring the moderate middle to flee the GOP in disgust. If a whole lot of them got in, the harm to America could well be irreversible.
If that happens, not so much shame on the fringe right. They're mentally crippled to the point of not being responsible for their actions. Shame on US, and shame on the Democratic leadership, for failing to stop them.