A Few Thoughts on Last Night’s Self-Inflicted Disaster
1) This was a self-inflicted defeat, in many ways. Shutting out liberal grassroots organizations was one of many bad ideas. Continuing Bush’s “no strings-attached” bailouts while ordinary Americans continued to lose jobs at record rates made the Administration look like it was on the side of the same people who wrecked the economy. The stimulus, as has been argued a million times, was too small. I could go on.
2) This is not a victory for anyone, neither republicans nor democrats, and certainly not ordinary Americans. As I wrote yesterday, we are stuck between Coke and Pepsi, when we need milk. In fact, when the economy gets even worse in 2011 and 2012, the Republicans majority is who takes it in the face.
3) the president should have gone big from the very beginning, governing like a one-term president. The minute the Republicans pulled the “Party of No” act, the President and his allies should have been on the, like Superfly Jimmy Snuka leaping off a turnbuckle.
4) Ever hear of the word “discipline”? i mean seriously, you let assholes like Ben nelson, Max Baucus, Evan Bayh, Blanche Lincoln say and do whatever the hell they wanted, giving the party an image of unreliability and fatuousness. And then there were the Blue Dogs, many of who went down yesterday.
5) speaking of discipline, fire Tim Kaine, and rehire Howard Dean.
Finally: the next two years are going to be a disaster for everyone. I disagree strenuously with Booman “OFA’s got this” Tribune on just about everything, but one:
No one is more to blame for this current madness than Mr. Bush. He weaponized the Stupid and McCain deployed it with Palin.
Until we get money out of politics, until we overhaul our system of government, we as a nation will continue to be a Washington Post political cartoon, cracking up under Democrats and Republicans over and over again. And as that will never happen, which is why I believe that within 10-15 years, we will have split up, just like the old, corrupt USSR.
