Contrary to the fervent hopes of some on the far right, most people on the progressive left weren't devastated or wanting to throw themselves off of buildings after Tuesday's losses. In fact, 94% of the progressive candidates running in Tuesday's election survived - while only 47% of the so-called "Blue Dog" Democrats did.
President Obama, in his first post-election press conference, also made it clear that he's NOT going to abandon his progressive principles to get things accomplished over the next two years. He may actually take a more firm stand on those accomplishments he's already completed. The President very pointedly made it clear in that press conference that Republicans no longer have the luxury of sitting back and saying "no" to everything; now they actually have to bring legitimate, workable ideas to the table.
That's where the GOP's "universal solvent" problem comes in.
Headline tea party candidates like Christine O'Donnell, Sharron Angle, Ken Buck, and Carl Paladino all lost on Tuesday, some of them quite soundly. Tea Party candidates, in general, also got shellacked. Commentator and blogger Sarah Palin's record of endorsed candidate wins was around .500 - a good number for a baseball player, but abysmal for politics. Yet the mythology being ramped up, post-election, by many on the right is that the tea party is some kind of political "universal solvent", good for dissolving any opposition in it's way.
The problem with a universal solvent, as the saying goes, is if it eats its way through everything, how does one contain it?
This is the problem facing Rep. John Boehner and other Republican leaders as they've already been receiving veiled - and not so veiled - messages from tea partiers and others on the extreme political right. The tea partiers insist there should be NO compromise on ANYTHING with the President or Democrats - but they expect results IMMEDIATELY.
The issue of raising the Federal Government's debt ceiling, then, is the point at which that universal solvent eats through the floor, on its way to the center of Earth, and total annihilation.
The issue of raising the debt ceiling is simple and has ALWAYS passed in every previous U.S. Congress. In short, the Federal government MUST continue to raise the debt ceiling nearly every year. If it doesn't and the U.S. Government defaults on its debt, not only will the U.S. economy collapse. It will do so in such a spectacular way that it will take the entire rest of the world's economies with it.
Unlike when President Obama and Congress passed and signed the stimulus into law in near record time, when the clock strikes midnight on the agreement to extend the debt ceiling, there will be no last-minute rescuing anyone. If the GOP does not agree to extend that debt ceiling before the deadline expires, political skirmishes will be the least of our concerns.
Extending our debt ceiling, of course, is something tea partiers have already said they're not willing to do - even if some the old-guard Senators who have attempted to lead them have already agreed to cave to reality.
So if you know a progressive or someone who you're pretty sure who votes Democratic? That smile on their face isn't because they don't know they lost more than a few races on Tuesday.
It's because they're not John Boehner or anyone else in the Republican leadership.
As an old teacher we once knew used to tell her students right before a grueling exam, "Good luck - and have fun!"
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Election Aftermath: Recommendations For the 112th Congress
After a LONG night, and a EARLY morning, we're all tired. Pre-election volunteering in Ohio and Nebraska, busy work schedules, and still some recovery from the "Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear" in DC last weekend have sapped us all just a bit.
There were a few surprises last night - and a lot of unsurprising results too. As we also predicted, today it still looks like there is some legal wrangling, some arguing, and of course, an enormous number of highly biased politicos and pundits claiming some kind of a blanket mandate for their specific issue or candidate that doesn't actually exist.
We also predicted the sun would come out today, and it has - although it's more sunny in some places than others. Regardless of the results, the American people still think there is a LOT of work that needs to be done.
Thankfully, the last twenty-one months have seen a HUGE number of problems successfully tackled by President Obama and the 11th Congress.
The Lilly Ledbetter Act helped equalize pay for women. The Credit Card Reform Act reined in many of the corrupt and parasitic practices of the credit industry. That was part of the Financial Regulatory Reform Law - the Wall Street reform that was necessary after the deregulation frenzy of the Republican Congress and George W. Bush years. There were all kinds of laws passed to improve our health too, including increased cigarette manufacturing regulations, S-CHIP (The Children's Healthcare program George W. Bush had tried - and failed - to pass), and the landmark Health Care Insurance Reform law.
The Economic Stimulus Bill worked to stop the hemorrhaging of the economy, and the Auto Industry Bailout measures, including 'Cash for Clunkers', which also worked. The Stimulus also included the single largest investment in education by the Federal government EVER, the single largest investment in clean alternative energy EVER, and the single largest tax cut in history - even larger than the ones George W. Bush and the Republicans passed in the early 2000s. And unlike his predecessor, Mr. Obama's tax cut was paid for.
Speaking of which, the 111th Democratic-led Congress under Mr. Obama brought back PAYGO, the budget balancing procedure that originated under the first President Bush and President Clinton. And we haven't even gotten to the Hate Crimes Bill that was passed, Student Loan Reform which fixed a broken system, the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act which grew Americorps, or the start of removing active combat personnel from Iraq.
All of this was accomplished while shrinking the Federal Deficit.
No matter what the makeup of our government is this morning, the American people STILL agree on a few things, one of which is that there is still a great deal of work to be done in order to get the American people moving forward again.
For the 112th Congress? You have VERY large shoes to fill.
We suggest you learn the art of compromise quickly, if you expect to keep your jobs past the next election.
You have about 18 months. The clock begins in January.
Tick... tick... tick...
There were a few surprises last night - and a lot of unsurprising results too. As we also predicted, today it still looks like there is some legal wrangling, some arguing, and of course, an enormous number of highly biased politicos and pundits claiming some kind of a blanket mandate for their specific issue or candidate that doesn't actually exist.
We also predicted the sun would come out today, and it has - although it's more sunny in some places than others. Regardless of the results, the American people still think there is a LOT of work that needs to be done.
Thankfully, the last twenty-one months have seen a HUGE number of problems successfully tackled by President Obama and the 11th Congress.
The Lilly Ledbetter Act helped equalize pay for women. The Credit Card Reform Act reined in many of the corrupt and parasitic practices of the credit industry. That was part of the Financial Regulatory Reform Law - the Wall Street reform that was necessary after the deregulation frenzy of the Republican Congress and George W. Bush years. There were all kinds of laws passed to improve our health too, including increased cigarette manufacturing regulations, S-CHIP (The Children's Healthcare program George W. Bush had tried - and failed - to pass), and the landmark Health Care Insurance Reform law.
The Economic Stimulus Bill worked to stop the hemorrhaging of the economy, and the Auto Industry Bailout measures, including 'Cash for Clunkers', which also worked. The Stimulus also included the single largest investment in education by the Federal government EVER, the single largest investment in clean alternative energy EVER, and the single largest tax cut in history - even larger than the ones George W. Bush and the Republicans passed in the early 2000s. And unlike his predecessor, Mr. Obama's tax cut was paid for.
Speaking of which, the 111th Democratic-led Congress under Mr. Obama brought back PAYGO, the budget balancing procedure that originated under the first President Bush and President Clinton. And we haven't even gotten to the Hate Crimes Bill that was passed, Student Loan Reform which fixed a broken system, the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act which grew Americorps, or the start of removing active combat personnel from Iraq.
All of this was accomplished while shrinking the Federal Deficit.
No matter what the makeup of our government is this morning, the American people STILL agree on a few things, one of which is that there is still a great deal of work to be done in order to get the American people moving forward again.
For the 112th Congress? You have VERY large shoes to fill.
We suggest you learn the art of compromise quickly, if you expect to keep your jobs past the next election.
You have about 18 months. The clock begins in January.
Tick... tick... tick...
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Decision Day 2010: No, Democrats... The Sky Is NOT Falling
As promised, we're finishing our 2010 pre-election commentary today with a look at things from the political left. If you missed our look at the race from the saner side of the political right, check out yesterday's Daily Commentary - AFTER you GO VOTE.
Contrary to the screaming "political pundit perpetual panic conflictinators" on cable TV, election day doesn't look nearly as bad as it could be for the Democratic Party.
We're under no delusions. The Democrats will likely lose the majority in the House of Representatives, and hold onto a slim majority in the U.S. Senate. As we said yesterday, it's a mid-term election. A swing back in the opposite direction is normal after the landslide win by Democrats two years ago.
Are some of us disappointed in the likely results of today's elections? Sure - although we and many others think it will likely be later in the week, or possibly later in the month before the results are 100% final. But the results of today's voting will not, in any serious way, prove to be a referendum on the policies of the Obama Administration.
Even Senate Minority leader McConnell admitted Monday that "there is no poll data showing the public is in love with [Republicans]." If ever there was an understatement, that is it.
Looking at REGISTERED voters across the country, Americans favor Democrats and Democratic-backed progressive ideas by small but sizable margins of around five percent. The idea that there has been too much of a "liberal overreach" by one of the more moderate progressive Democratic leaders in recent history is not only laughable, but provably wrong.
There are FAR more Democrats angry that the President's policies weren't bigger, more progressive and more effective than they were.
The Stimulus was a perfect example of this. Every economist worth spit has said that the stimulus did, in fact, work. Some of the best have made the case that it should have been much larger. Writer Kevin Drum makes the observation that throughout history, the most progressive - and most popular - government programs like those of the New Deal and Great Society eras, have happened in very short bursts of time.
As we also pointed out yesterday, even if Republicans win the House, as they're likely to do, fulfilling their promises of getting rid of health care insurance reform and eliminating controls of Wall Street will be nearly impossible.
No matter who wins today - or whenever the elections are finally finished with being recounted and sued over - the facts will likely be what we've predicted before. There will be very slim majorities for either party in the House and Senate, and in most state races too.
When it's all said and done, our President - the President of ALL Americans - will still be Barack Obama.
And the sun will come out on Wednesday, no matter who wins.
Now if you still haven't gotten around to it, go vote.
Contrary to the screaming "political pundit perpetual panic conflictinators" on cable TV, election day doesn't look nearly as bad as it could be for the Democratic Party.
We're under no delusions. The Democrats will likely lose the majority in the House of Representatives, and hold onto a slim majority in the U.S. Senate. As we said yesterday, it's a mid-term election. A swing back in the opposite direction is normal after the landslide win by Democrats two years ago.
Are some of us disappointed in the likely results of today's elections? Sure - although we and many others think it will likely be later in the week, or possibly later in the month before the results are 100% final. But the results of today's voting will not, in any serious way, prove to be a referendum on the policies of the Obama Administration.
Even Senate Minority leader McConnell admitted Monday that "there is no poll data showing the public is in love with [Republicans]." If ever there was an understatement, that is it.
Looking at REGISTERED voters across the country, Americans favor Democrats and Democratic-backed progressive ideas by small but sizable margins of around five percent. The idea that there has been too much of a "liberal overreach" by one of the more moderate progressive Democratic leaders in recent history is not only laughable, but provably wrong.
There are FAR more Democrats angry that the President's policies weren't bigger, more progressive and more effective than they were.
The Stimulus was a perfect example of this. Every economist worth spit has said that the stimulus did, in fact, work. Some of the best have made the case that it should have been much larger. Writer Kevin Drum makes the observation that throughout history, the most progressive - and most popular - government programs like those of the New Deal and Great Society eras, have happened in very short bursts of time.
As we also pointed out yesterday, even if Republicans win the House, as they're likely to do, fulfilling their promises of getting rid of health care insurance reform and eliminating controls of Wall Street will be nearly impossible.
No matter who wins today - or whenever the elections are finally finished with being recounted and sued over - the facts will likely be what we've predicted before. There will be very slim majorities for either party in the House and Senate, and in most state races too.
When it's all said and done, our President - the President of ALL Americans - will still be Barack Obama.
And the sun will come out on Wednesday, no matter who wins.
Now if you still haven't gotten around to it, go vote.
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