My apologies if this is overly rant-ish.
Ever since Novemeber 5th, it seems as if I can’t venture into the blogosphere without wanting a bottle of Prozac nearby. Apparently, while I wasn’t paying attention (audaciously daring as I did to drink in the joy of Barack Obama’s election, for, oh, five minutes or so), the progressive movement has been all but decimated, and the Democratic Party has been reduced to an even more pathetic, value-less shell of its (way, way) former self.
The litany comes across as endless: Prop 8’s narrow passage in California; Janet Napolitano being tapped for Homeland Security, and Arizona’s governorship being handed to the GOP; Paul Carmouche’s loss in LA-04; [Indicted Dem Who Shall Not Be Named]’s loss in LA-02; the collective Senate appointment clusterf*** (since, evidently, Ted Kaufman, Michael Bennet, and Caroline Kennedy were/are the worst possible candidates imagineable); relatedly, the spectacle of Rod Blagojevich, the irrevocable taint it lays upon the Obama transition, the spinelessness of Harry Reid for offering to negotiate Roland Burris’s appointment (or was it his spinelessness for denying Democrats another reliable vote just so he could grandstand?), and Mark Kirk’s imminent, virtually inevitable ascent to the Senate; the utter inadequacy of Tim Kaine as a pick for DNC (since, as it turns out, he isn’t really on our team); the lack to date of LGBT representation in Obama’s cabinet; the SCANDALOUS! withdrawal of Bill Richardson from his nomination to head the Department of Commerce…
I could go on, but I think the general message gets across.
Practically every day I run across some message board comment invoking the specter of 1994, and how Democrats are inescapably headed toward a similar bloodbath in the not-so-distant future. I even recall one comment, on the eve of the Louisiana debacle, expressing a yearning desire that Obama had never been elected.
Huh. That’s one opinion, I suppose. Personally, I beg to differ.
I would ask: do any of us realistically expect a fattened majority in both Houses of Congress, and a party with unified control over government, to function completely smoothly, or to have the exact same electoral fortunes as a minority party unified in opposition against a comically unpopular president? We all (myself included) seem to be stuck in an ’06 mindset in which any vaguely competitive contest must, by default, tilt ‘D’ in the end, and any divergence from that pattern is obviously an ominous harbinger of things to come. Moreover, we hold No Drama Obama to an unattainable standard in which NO member of his circle can be associated with even the slightest whisper of impropriety, lest he be swiftly admonished as categorically full of crap (thanks, Politico!) just like every other politician.
Plainly I am exaggerating to a degree, and this diary isn’t meant to say that there aren’t perfectly legitimate grievances to be voiced, when clearly there are. I mean, come on: we’re Democrats. We draw breath to kvetch, wilt, panic, and recriminate. It’s practically sown into our DNA. And frankly, given the state of affairs to which the country has become sadly accustomed over the last eight years of GOP rule, we ought to hold our representatives to a higher standard, both in terms of personal ethics and ideological consistency.
Maybe it comes from my living in Downtown DC, where excitement for the Inauguration is palpable some two weeks out from the event — but I cannot help but think we’re starting to overlook the magnitude of our accomplishments. Soon, a liberal African-American president will be working hand-in-hand with a solidly Democratic congress. In the darkness of Election Night 2004, who among us would have had the temerity to predict that this is where we would be four years on?
And hey, even if Obama isn’t the Messiah, let’s at least revel in self-delusion for a short while longer before the real work begins. We’ll have a whole term to develop ulcers and foster our deep-seeded fatalism.
From my own perspective, I’ve truly never been prouder to be a Democrat. I’ve never been prouder to be a progressive. And I’ve never been prouder to be an American.
than it come out either just before the 2008 elections or just before the 2010 elections.
If this is the depth of it (Blago’s scandals, Richardson’s possible scandal, and “nepotism” toward Caroline Kennedy, especially, since I think they’re the biggest issues), then I’m thankful it’s happening now. Get it done with, get it behind us, and we can actually start off pretty well.
First of all, Democrats in 1994 had controlled Congress for about 40 years before they were thrown out. Democrats now have only been in power for 2, and under a Republican president where they were hardly able to pass any progressive legislation through. And take into consideration that it took Democrats by 1994 40 years to become complacent and corrupt, and it took the Republicans only 12.
Second, in 1994 there was a viable alternative in the Republicans, who had done a great deal of soul searching to reposition itself at the ideological level to provide that alternative to voters. The Republicans today are going through a major ideological struggle between continuing to be hardcore conservative or expanding their base, like McCain tried to do. He failed, but there may be others willing to take up that challenge. I’m not saying that Democrats should just sit by and chill out while the enemy eats itself internally, but it’s a heck of a lot different than 1994.
The new administration hasn’t been sworn in yet, and according to the date of my post, neither has the new Congress. I’ll wait after the 100 days to see if anything substantial has changed.
Look at Obama’s approvals. No problem. Yet.
You, sir/madam, have hit the nail on the head. Mercifully, SSP has handled itself far better than any of the other blogs (cough DK cough). Yes, the 1994 apocalyptics are tedious, but I think this stems from the fact that so many people here are so used to losing that whenever we win something, we automatically look for a catch.
I remember that very comment you mentioned, and it nearly made me hit the roof. Thankfully, others here spoke my exasperation, allowing me to relax a little.
Let me state here and now that I am perfectly fine with Bennett, Kaufmann, and Kennedy serving in the Senate. The Burris-Blago matter is verrry sticky, but there’s little that can be done on that.
Personally, I’m fine with Tim Kaine as DNC chair. I actually think that’s an excellent fit for him, seeing as how he helped chart the course for turning VA blue.
As for Richardson, this kind of thing happens to nearly ALL presidents. W went through it twice: when Linda Chavez withdrew her nomination to be Labor Sec in 2001 and when Bernie Kerick self-destructed in 2004. I’m sure Clinton had similar problems. Things like this can be embarrassing but rarely is serious damage inflicted.
Nobody’s perfect, but I think Obama is smart enough to avoid Clinton’s mistakes. His main concern should be passing his agenda, not dealing with this sideshow.
“I even recall one comment, on the eve of the Louisiana debacle, expressing a yearning desire that Obama had never been elected.”
That had to have been written by a troll; otherwise it was literally one of the dumbest things I have ever read on the internet.
Thanks for the diary. Yes, there seems to be a fair amount of hand wringing, but that comes with the territory and SSP is much, much better than most blogs out there. As someone else upthread said, Obama’s approvals are sky high, so I’m not concerned with all this noise.