On Tuesday, the Republican Party expanded its hold on the House and took control of the Senate. States with long traditions of Democratic governors woke on Wednesday to find a Republican in the top job.
what eye thynk: The Democrats lost this election cycle because they're wimps. There, I said it.
For six years, this country has been inundated with conservative-bred, hate-filled rhetoric aimed at the black man in the White House. And the Democrats never fought back--not in 2009, not in 2012 and definitely not in 2014.
Shortly after the 2008 election, when Mitch McConnell announced that his party's main agenda would be to make sure Obama was a "one term president," nobody on the blue side of the aisle blinked. When Democrats had control of both the House and the Senate, they were too afraid of Mitch and his empty boast to push through legislation important to those of us who supported Barack Obama for President in the first place; and a major opportunity for refocusing this country was lost.
Environmental legislation? No, Dems let the GOP sideline that. Immigration reform? Nope, the GOP doesn't want to talk about that right now. Women's rights? Gay rights? Oh, we can't jump into that; we might anger the conservatives. Even after it became clear that Republicans were not going to compromise, no matter how far the Democrats bent, the party of the President would not fight. If Republicans wouldn't co-operate, then Democrats just dropped the subject and moved on.
And don't get me started on all those open judgeships. The opportunity was there in 2009 and 2010 to fill many of the openings, but Democrats sat back, afraid of looking too pushy, too unwilling to hear the other side of the story. Well, Republicans couldn't care less about any side of the story except their own--period. Pushiness is their strong suit.
I have wondered for the past three or four years, how productive would Congress have been if, when faced with the our-way-or-nothing attitude from Republicans, Democrats had just gone ahead and passed legislation they believed in during those first potent years. When Republicans saw they couldn't stall environmental reform and they could either get on the Compromise Bus or be left at the station, would they have been more open to talk about equal pay for women when it was presented? Or immigration reform? Or--now here's a thought--the federal budget? Once Democrats demonstrated their lack of backbone, Republicans were only too happy to take the lead in stopping progress that did not fit any ideal except their own.
If McCain and (shudder) Palin had won by Obama/Biden's margin and held both houses of the legislature in 2009, do you think they would have hesitated to exploit their obvious popular support? Hell, no! They would have been ramming their promised agenda through our legislative branch so fast it would have made Democratic heads spin.
And now we have the Democratic debacle of 2014. Despite Republican obstructionism, we have a president who has some amazing accomplishments to brag about. But, again, Democrats wimped out.
1. Jobs - Taking over a nation on the brink of a modern depression, President Obama brought our economy back. The president has created over 10 million jobs. Where were the Democratic candidates pointing out the record stock market levels as evidence of our improving economy? When did they crow about those millions of new workers? Did you hear a Democrat singing the praises of a record number of consecutive months of job growth? A record number! Republicans bemoaned joblessness; Democrats stood silent.
2. Terrorism - Republicans in Washington focused on closing our borders and on calling the President weak on terrorism. Did the Democrats go on the campaign trail and point out that it was Barack Obama who killed Osama bin Laden? Did your Democrat candidate point out that it was the Republican dominated House that refused to come back to Washington to vote on Syria? Mine didn't.
3. Immigration - Over a year ago, the Senate passed a massive, bi-partisan immigration bill. The House, under John Boehner's "leadership" refused to even consider it. The President waited and waited and waited, and then announced he was going to push through as much of that bill as he could without Congress' approval. Democrats, in an attempt to pacify the GOP, asked the President to hold off on that until after the election. A preeminent issue for millions of Hispanic voters--an issue on which they were promised action in 2008--and Democrats choose instead to pacify the GOP! How was this ever thought of as a good idea? How many votes were lost?
4. The Deficit - Washington Republicans never miss an opportunity to call for more cuts to social programs saying they are needed to reduce what they claim is an ever-growing federal deficit. The truth is that President Obama has overseen a $1 trillion reduction in our deficit; but the GOP's blatant falsehood was allowed to sit on the floor in full view of voters across the country. The GOP has been saying it for 6 years, it must be true! Maybe Democrats are just too polite to brag? Well, let me tell you, Dems, this is politics and politics without bragging doesn't win anything.
5. "Obamacare" -- We can't forget this one. Beyond Mitch McConnell's plain out lying that he would rip out Obamacare "root and branch" and promising to keep Kynect going in Kentucky (a legal impossibility) while forgetting to mention that, if he had had his way, there would be neither Obamacare nor Kynect, I have to wonder about the way Democrats all over the country hid from this issue. Instead of distancing themselves from the President and his healthcare law; they should have been pointing fingers at Republicans who promised voters that they were going to repeal it. "Hey, Mr. and Mrs. Mississippi voter. Does your family feel safer with their new healthcare? Well guess who wants to take it away again? Hey, Ms. Texas minimum wage worker, do you know that there are millions of poor workers in other states who are now covered by Medicaid? Do you know that the only reason you're not benefiting from the same government paid program is that your Governor refused to let Texas join in?" Instead of an honest discussion of the roll out, "Yes, it was a mess; but it's working now," and "Wow, let me tell you about some very happy people," Democrats just seemed to hope no one would bring healthcare up.
Republicans on their way to Washington later this month will be crowing about the conservative tsunami that gave them control of both houses of Congress; but the conservative part of that equation isn't necessarily true. The country may look more red than blue this week; but underneath the election results, the people are more a blue-ish shade of purple.
Yes, Republicans made gains in Washington and in state legislatures and in governor races; but look more closely. When you examine the results on specific issues that were decided without red/blue personality conflicts, you see that the people voted for liberal answers to everyday issues that touch them personally. 1. The state of Washington handily passed legislation to require background checks for all gun sales--an issue to which Republicans are vocally opposed. 2. Alaska, Arkansas, Nebraska and South Dakota, all ruby red states, each passed legislation to raise the minimum wage--another issue congressional Republicans oppose. 3. North Dakota, still another red state, soundly defeated a personhood amendment, joining several Southern red states where similar state constitutional amendments went down in flames last year. 4. And how about Denton, Texas--TEXAS!--where voters banned fracking?
And why, if people from all parts of the nation support liberal ideas, did they vote so overwhelmingly for conservative candidates? One word: hate--Republican ignited, Republican fed--hate.
The GOP--especially in congressional races--ran a mostly agenda-less campaign. They didn't really come out in support of anything, (other than repealing the ACA, but that's like saying the sun rises in the East.) What they did was run against the President. And the people fell for it. The same people who, in October, gave Congress an approval rating of 12.7%, returned incumbent after incumbent to Washington, (what is wrong with us?!), then added a few extra from the same basket. After six years of ever-escalating anti-Obama talk, too many people just accept as fact the GOP's assessment of the president as evil-incarnate. It's the old adage, "If you repeat a lie often enough, it becomes the truth." (That quote, or a variation of it, is often attributed to Goebbels, which is fitting somehow.)
Bloated on Republican jaundiced rhetoric, conservative voters were only too happy to let GOP candidates just stand there and be the un-Obama. It didn't matter if they were running for the U.S. Congress, governor or state legislator; as long as they didn't ride a blue donkey, they were seen as "better."
The Democratic Party's decision to distance themselves from the President and his accomplishments--one of the stupidest examples of political strategy I have ever witnessed--just fed into the Republican agenda. But then, as I said, modern Democrats are wimps.
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