Dave Lindorff: Democrats Crash and Burn

icon gravatar.comwww.counterpunch.org/lindorff11042009.html
sent by Sparrows since 13 days 4 hours 41 minutes, published about 12 days 12 hours 12 minutes
In New Jersey, incumbent Democrat John Corzine was wildly unpopular for raising taxes, so that even with Democrats holding an almost 2:1 registration advantage in the state (half of all voters are unaffiliated), he too had no enthusiastic backing from his former base. No amount of money poured in by the former Goldman Sachs chief executive could overcome the negative views of his record as governor. But despite the lackluster candidates in both Virginia and New Jersey, I think it’s safe to say that there was also clear evidence that the losses, and the margins of the losses—huge in Virginia’s case, and significant in normally safely Democratic New Jersey—provide evidence that the Obama presidency, and the prevailing Democratic strategy of minimalist legislative initiatives on health care reform, global warming etc., expanded and unending war in Afghanistan, support for Wall Street and neglect of the one-in-five Americans who are unemployed or underemployed, are a political disaster in the making for Democrats in general and Obama in particular. The president came into office on a wave of populist enthusiasm and high expectations for the “change” candidate Obama promised. No change has been forthcoming now for over nine months, and with the president now past the first-year anniversary of his historic election victory, the latest election results suggest that his presidency could already be headed for the rocks.
tags: dem, rethugs, ny, va, 2010 not dem time
11 commentscategory: Democratic Party karma: 145

comments

  1. #1    2010 is an election year that will see all seats in the House, and a third of the seats in the Senate up for grabs. Typically, a president’s party loses seats in that election even when things are going well. When things are not going well, the losses can be significant.

    Obama had a chance, coming into Washington after a big rout of Republicans last year, to set out an agenda of major progressive change. He could have called for expanding Medicare to cover all Americans. Instead he handed health reform over to Congress and immediately put out the word that he was open to compromise with Republicans, thus dooming reform from the outset. He could have announced a thorough review of Amer...

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    written by Sparrows since 13 days 4 hours 39 minutesSparrows
  2. #2    .
    Given the choice between a Republican and someone who acts like a Republican,
    people will vote for the real Republican all the time
    - Harry S Truman


    This is a large part of the reason Corzine lost and is a warning to Blue Dogs and DLC everywhere.
    written by PHred42 since 13 days 4 hours 18 minutesPHred42
  3. #3    "[Note: Voters just have a way of not forgetting. Maybe not even forgiving, since more of us have gotten poorer since the new administration than richer.]"
    ... and yet the game is rigged. Ask Ralph Nader. You have a two party system and when one party goes to the north side of just plain crazy what is there to to make the other feel in the least constrained? THEY know, as well as YOU that while the voter may not "forget" he/she has no real alternative...short of not voting at all. The result will be the same. Oh...and you forgot to mention the torture thing, the rendition thing, the Gitmo thing, not to mention the Cuba thing, the Israel thing and the (re-)emerging Latin America thing (Bush was too busy to bother them much although dollars to donuts they had a hand in Mexico's underwear).

    "... and you will do as you are told until the rights to you are sold.."
    written by bloozguy since 13 days 4 hours 12 minutesbloozguy
  4. #4    Obama was a double blow:

    First of course he's the NO CHANGE President.

    Secondly, now he has taken on the mantel of the failed status quo, Obama enables the Rethugs to campaign and win on a platform of moving the country even further to the right.
    written by Mike5000 since 13 days 3 hours 5 minutesMike5000
  5. #5    Lindorff has taken on the color of the enemy -- actually for a while now. I stopped reading him months ago. We have enough enemies....even here on BuzzFlash, at times. Trolls we got -- don't need another.
    written by spartan since 12 days 22 hours 42 minutesspartan
  6. #6    If you're a corporate Dimocrap, spartan, then you are indeed an enemy of Progressives everywhere.

    What are you doing on a site dedicated to "Progressive News and Commentary with an Attitude". Trolling?
    written by Mike5000 since 12 days 19 hours 58 minutesMike5000
  7. #7    I'm just a Jeffersonian "We the People" person. The enemy, then, consist of the obvious entities: Republicans, conservatives extremists, tea baggers, most members of the soulless machine called the corporation. There are facts that are indeed classifiable as "truth" yet are irrelevant or even harmful to the accomplishment of the great task at hand for We the People. We don't need more naysayers -- especially from people who are supposed to be on our side. Oh, and Mike -- I've been on the board longer than you.
    written by spartan since 12 days 11 hours 16 minutesspartan
  8. #8    Bloozguy, Nader should know about rigging, since that is EXACTLY what he did to help get Bush in and Gore out. Also Nader is a naysayer, hoping to keep the people barefoot and stupid and lazy. Obviously if there are only two major parties, then "wethepeople" need to get off our butts and make it a 3 or 4 party system. But we won't do that b/c this govt knows that we are not only lazy but myth-driven. In other words we have been put to sleep, and they depend on us not ever waking up.

    However, now the hour is getting late b/c just to survive we are going to have to keep working low-paying jobs just to feed our families. And, oh yes, we are going to have to survive, those of us uni...

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    written by Sparrows since 12 days 10 hours 45 minutesSparrows
  9. #9    I am in full agreement with Dennis Kucinich and why he voted No on what can only be characterized as continued Wealthcare for the Corporations. It is obvious the R after the names any number of the opposition party stand for such as Repulsive, Reptilian, Recidivist, Retrograde. Moreover the thuggish behavior of in the House chamber is so disreputable as to call to mind Nazi Brown Shirts of the 1930s.
    written by TheSkepticalCynic since 12 days 10 hours 38 minutesTheSkepticalCynic
  10. #10    Yes, I'm no fan of the ever-negative Lindorff- but this statement is right on the money:

    "...the prevailing Democratic strategy of minimalist legislative initiatives on health care reform, global warming etc., expanded and unending war in Afghanistan, support for Wall Street and neglect of the one-in-five Americans who are unemployed or underemployed, are a political disaster in the making for Democrats in general and Obama in particular."

    Abandon the Progressive Left while embracing Bush's Wars and Rendition and Secrecy, appease the Right while they simultaneously villify you and EVERY thing you do, and bend over backwards for Wall Street while shafting the working man and Unions: NOT a winning strategy, NOT why we elected them.
    written by colinjames since 12 days 9 hours 51 minutescolinjames
  11. #11    Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth....

    Shit, I forgot... who's serve is it anyway?!?!? Awwwww who cares man.... just serve the damn thing already!

    Just a game my sheople.... just a shitty little game.

    Enjoy thy bed!
    written by mercman since 12 days 9 hours 42 minutesmercman
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