From 2002 to 2008 we Democrats slowly, oh so slowly, fought like crazy to get back in the majority. The country was being mis-managed and taken in the wrong direction and we worked our asses off to turn it back around. In 2006 when we regained Congress we wanted to see change, but accepted that gaining the presidency was key and focused on 2008.
And then with 2008 we had an extraordinary victory. A blowout for the presidency. 60 votes in the Senate. A sizable majority in the House. Finally we had what we had aimed for. We could turn the country back in the right direction. We could manage it competently. We could address the big problems we face and make the country and the world a better place.
At the same time, most of us realized that this did not mean an immediate implementation of every liberal fantasy. The populace is largely moderate. Change takes time. Effective management requires new people appointed and time for them to straighten things out. New legislation requires discussion and negotiation to craft good bills. But everything was in place.
And then…
- Over a year after Obama took office, entering knowing that the MMS was a sex & drug fueled orgy with the oil industry rather than a watchdog – we had the BP blowout. In all that time there had been no effort to actually perform the mandated oversight. We haven't had an improvement in managing the government.
- The healthcare reform effort was politically inept taking over a year, included putrid buy-offs of some Senator's votes, and did nothing to address the out of control cost escalation. The various proposals for a public option were submarined at the behest of the insurance companies, after single payer was killed for them before discussions even started. (What was accomplished is good, but the process was so long and ugly that it turned an improvement into a political liability.)
- The financial reform bill was the absolute minimum the voters would let Congress get away with. We had the rare opportunity to truly reform the financial system over the objections of Wall St. and instead Congress and the Obama Administration worked to minimize restrictions on the banks. And so we have obscene bonuses and unlimited campaign contributions returning to Wall St.
- And what about the biggest problem people face? Unemployment at a true rate of 17% and an economy that is stuck. We had an initial stimulus that was too little. And we now have everyone in Congress wanting to reduce the deficit – which is the worst possible action at this point for the economy.
And in this election how are our Democratic Congresspeople responding? Most of them are claiming that they oppose Obama, they oppose HCR, they oppose the stimulus, they want to reduce the deficit. It's not just that they are doubling down on the Republican talking points. They are not pointing to any successes. They are not pointing to anything accomplished.
What happened to us? We control the presidency and Congress. We started two years ago with large dreams. And after two years we have very little accomplished, and are running away from those few accomplishments. We are letting the tea partiers, the right wing of the Republican party who would never vote for a Democrat – we are letting them set our political agenda.
Now you can reply that the Republicans are worse. And that's true. But "we suck less" is not the world's most compelling political slogan. So as candidates try to get the Democratic base enthused and moderates to vote Democratic, they run up against these problems:
- With a playing field as favorable as it can get for one party in this era, we accomplished almost nothing. We're ineffective.
- Washington has mostly ignored joblessness – which is the #1 priority for the majority of voters, even most that do have a job. We're indifferent.
- Democrats aren't running for anything. They're against everything they passed, but they're not for anything. We're passive.
So a vote for the Democratic party is a vote to continue doing nothing. A vote for the Democratic party is a vote to reward failure. A vote for the Democratic party is acceptance that things will not get better. Yes the Republicans are worse but does that mean we vote for corporate lackeys who will leave the economy in the toilet as it lurches from disaster to disaster? Because if we don't punish ineptitude, then we will continue to get more of the same.
I think we need to face up to a couple of things. First this is not a team event of Democrats vs. Republicans where fealty requires that we back our side no matter what. Our country is in a world of hurt and we need to do what is best for the country, not what is best for our party. That means we need to speak honestly about what we get from each candidate and select the candidate who is best for the country. Anyone who blindly votes for either party is not putting our country first. And keep in mind that most Republicans have the same goal we Democrats do, a stronger country, a booming economy, and opportunity for all. Many of our differences are on how to get there.
Second we need to face the fact that the Obama Administration is not doing a great job. We all have a lot of ourselves tied up in believing they will, because we put everything into getting him elected. And a lot of our faith in the Democratic party is tied into how he would do better. But ignoring reality won't fix things. After the election we need to look at how we can pressure the administration to step up and lead on the big problems we face, and lead effectively. (Better management of the bureaucracy would be nice too.)
Third, we need to determine what message our vote sends this November. I am loathe to vote for candidates who's platform is they oppose the few limited successes that we have seen over the past two years. And I am loathe to reward failure. But politics is many times selecting the least bad choice and that is what we face today. With that said, I am open to suggestions – is there a way to cast a vote that says "I'm voting for you but if you don't start fixing things I won't next time – and this time I'll follow through on my threat. Really, I'm not kidding, next time I won't vote for you (even though I gave you a pass this time)"?
As to those that will say now is not the time to discuss this, that we need to be 100% focused on getting Democrats elected – bullshit. For the past two years Congress has shown no interest in what the voters wanted unless they were members of a tea party demonstration. This is the one time our elected representatives have started to at least pretend to pay attention to us. November 3 it will be back to business as usual.
