If you are not using the army, I should like to borrow it for a short while – President Lincoln to General McClellan
To: President Obama, Democratic members of Congress
Re: Your reaction to the special election in Massachusetts
First off your initial reaction to this small defeat has been atrocious. You're quitting. And quitting is a hard habit to break. Yes you're talking about coming back and you'll do this and propose that and everything will be better. Bullshit. You're making excuses for running away from the fight. You're not fooling us and you're definitely not fooling the Republicans.
President Obama, if you do not step up to lead the fight to pass the Senate Health-care bill in the House; House Democrats, if you do not pass the bill – then the Republicans own you. If you have this bill won and give up – how on earth can you expect them to let anything through the Senate?
In the '08 election this country gave us Democrats a gigantic majority and a strong mandate to improve the government. Aside from an improvement in tone, we have delivered no change. Nothing. Nada. Yes you've passed appropriations bills and approved appointments – outside of D.C. this is viewed as housekeeping. Ask someone who does not follow politics to name one thing accomplished – they'll draw a blank.
In addition the Democratic party has become a captive of its interest groups. Each Congressperson has certain groups they answer too. To keep them happy each has become a voice of no – don't hurt my groups. But in that short-sighted view of keeping their specific groups happy, they are screwing any chance for the party to govern. (They are similar to a gang arrested by the police for robbing a bank – the best result is if no one talks, but the second best result is, if someone will spill the beans, for it to be you.)
The American people are not going to accept this. They definitely won't buy the argument that we Dems don't have a strong enough majority, because they saw what the Republicans could do with a much smaller majority – anything they wanted. The American people will elect the party that can govern effectively, even if they disagree with its policies, over the party that is gridlocked within itself and unwilling to fight for what it believes in. And in 2011 the Republicans will once again demonstrate how to pass legislation when you have a majority of 1.
We could well lose our majorities in both houses of Congress this year (yes it's that bad). And if we do – your inability to address the major problems we face will be why.
Governing is hard work, it's compromise, it's getting the least bad solution, and it's taking a lot of bad hits. To be effective, every time you get hit hard, you need to get back up, figure out the best way forward, and get back to work. Not the safest route, not the most comfortable route, but the most effective route. That's what we hired you to do.
We Americans want results, not excuses. We hired you to get the job done – do it!
