Taking a line from the Russell from the cartoon Fat Albert, the Democrats are like school in summertime… no class! Here is why the Democrats lost big. The dem’s have no teeth, no fight. They are acting more like the Republicans than the Republicans are.
After September 11th, the country rallied around its President. That was a good thing. We let Bush know we were expecting him to lead us through a trying time, and he did.
But the dem’s did not want to seriously fight Bush on any issues post-Sept. 11th for fear of seeming un-patriotic. There were no serious criticisms of his work, no serious fights over issues, no attempt to try to get their way. And yesterday they paid for it.
The dem’s rally cry this election season was the economy. But did have the dem’s made serious efforts to introduce budget and economic packages to congress? No. Dem’s spouted rhetoric over the great loss of jobs amoung America’s working class. Did the dem’s utilize the nation’s blue-colar unions to get out the vote and speak out against Bush on national TV? No. The dem’s had plenty of campaign language on Fortune 500 companies gutting middle America’s pensions and participating in accounting fraud. Did the dem’s charge out to protect the 401k plans or remind anyone that alot of these offenders were friends and contributor of Dubbya? No, they let the Republican Attorney General lead the charge. Did the dem’s point out the White House’s hypocritical behavior in wanting to commit American lives to attack Iraq for it’s covert operations to create weapons of mass distruction, then completely rolling over and ignoring North Korea doing the same? Of course not.
As a full-blooded Democrat, I’m disappointed in my party. They committed the folly of Al Gore &mdash they didn’t listen to the people they represent. The Democratic party, the supposed party of the people, didn’t speak on our behalf. The Republicans kept the charge going strong, and the dem’s let them. It’s the equivalent of a football team kicking off the ball, then instead of rushing down the field for the tackle, they stood at their 20-yard line and waited for the ball carrier to come to them. But by that time, the other team has a full head of steam.
Though running the board on this mid-term election does place the Republicans in an interesting position. It places them squarely in the “no more excuses” category. It will be easier for them to get their conservative agenda through. But if in two years the economy is not improving and we still don’t feel very safe, they will be swept out of office. They won’t be able to place the blame anywhere.
This also gives the Democrats and interesting position. The party that has lost its focus and its voice can no unleash their fury with little fear. They don’t control congress anymore so they have nothing to loose and everything to gain by doing so. They need to become more partisan. They need to make the Republicans fight hard pass bills, then make them pass them on their own.
The Democrats need to stand together as one. Then they need to find their voice and be persuasive in their arguments. Each Republican they get to vote with them will be a major victory.
Simply, the Democrats need to start acting like the liberals they are suppose to be. They need to behave like a White House policing force — the way the Republicans did when Clinton was in office. And they have two years in which to do it.
But from another perspective, I wonder if the voters who gave the Republicans the majority understand what is about to happen. By giving the Republicans the majority, it means we are going to war with Iraq. Not that the Democrats were much of a balancing force here, but what little ballast there was is now gone. If President Bush decides we are going to war, then off we go.
The Democrats need to understand that they are actually the majority party. In a recent poll, most people consider themselves to be moderate to liberal in their thinking. American media skews liberal. It’s about time the Democrats begin to lead the people they have abandoned.