The Angry Base
I had the privilege of attending a local Democratic club meeting last night. I say privilege because open political debate is one of those perks that come from living in a free society that most of us tend to take for granted. As Americans, we really should participate more in these types of things. It is our opportunity to listen, debate, discuss, ask questions of our elected officials or their representatives and yes, vent our frustrations. There was quite a bit of venting going on last night and at times it got quite heated. Everybody on the left is feeling a little anxious right now about the events of the past year and what that means for the political future of Barack Obama and other Democratic hopefuls. They should feel anxious. The economic numbers are bad with no indication that they are getting better and the public is frustrated. Obama is getting the blame in the polls and the Democrats feel they may be tethered to a sinking ship that will take them all down in 2012.
Liberals last night argued that if Obama just hadn’t compromised with the Republicans on so many things and fought them instead, he and the other Democrats would be in a much better position than they are today. I heard people say that he was “scared” of the Republicans. I heard one man say he lacked the “testicular fortitude” to fight them. One man angrily said his piece about Social Security and Medicare being on the chopping block and then stormed out of the room without even waiting for a response. The base is angry alright, but is anger at Obama the correct strategy right now? How does being Angry at President Obama move us forward and set us up to be in a winning position for 2012? After all, the object of the game is to win, not blame your own team for the lousy field position. The Democrats have to win seats in both houses of Congress and the Presidency or they aren’t going to get any of their goals accomplished. In fact, not winning in 2012 could have disastrous consequences for many of the legislative items that did get put in place over the last three years. How much damage could Rick Perry do to the Affordable Care Act? How effective would the financial regulation bill be after Mitt Romney got his hands on it? As Democrats, we should be very afraid of any of the Republican candidates occupying the White House. Even the illusion of “compassionate conservatism” is dead and buried. How much damage could a Tea Party Republican do over the next four years.
The Republicans have been successful over the years, not because they have superior candidates or superior policies, but because they have a base that is committed to defeating Democrats at all cost. The Democrats have to be just as singularly committed. The Democrats may not be as excited about their candidate in 2012 as they were in 2008, but they have to work at getting him and the other Democratic candidates elected as if their life depended on it. Every Democrat that chooses not to vote for the President or to work hard for his reelection just because they think he should have done better represents a small victory for the Republicans. It may not seem that big of a deal, but every small victory adds up. The Democrats have to treat every election as if they are the 300 defending Thermopylae. If they don’t, the conservatives will win.
Anger is ok. Anger is part of political discourse. It can, at times, be used as an effective tool to push our elected officials in the right direction. However, anger is most effective and least destructive to the causes we care about if it is directed at Republicans and not The President. Let’s face it, debating whether the Affordable Care Act was big enough or bold enough isn’t going to protect it from the conservative vultures that are circling Washington right now waiting to tear it apart. Complaining about President Obama isn’t going to get you a stronger President Obama. It may just get you a President Perry instead.
I buy what your’re saying, but after the loss of the Senate seat in Massachusetts; the loss of the house seats in New York and Nevada; and the lack of support for Obama from the middle ground, maybe the Democratic party needs to take a look at their own position,and determine if the progressive wing is any more popular with the middle than the Tea Party; right now it looks like the Tea Party is winning the middle.
I think that both parties have staked out positions that may frighten some people into voting for the other side. For example, the Ryan Budget plan will be the major topic during our next Senatorial election here in Nevada. Dean Heller is the only man in the country who voted to “end Medicare” twice. He will have to defend those votes and the entire election may depend on whether he is successful or not. The pendulum always swings both ways. The difference these days is that it just may be swinging faster then ever. Also, I’m not sure if the Tea Party is really winning the middle. The polling says that they are officially less popular then atheists.