Typecasting failure
The Democratic capitulation on Iraq is of course an epic, devastating failure. It is a repudiation of principle, and of the will of the people. As The Editors points out,
The other classic frame reinforced by this rout is, of course, that Democrats are weak. How can we deny it at this point? We can say that "no balls" is still better than "no brains," but Joe Sixpack will never agree with us on that score.
Dems can point to a number of horsetrading wins: an increase, finally, in the federal minimum wage. Veterans' health care. But no one will notice. These things are points on the wrong scoreboard. Hoi polloi don't learn the words to the music of politics. Most even have trouble humming the melody, and simply tap their feet to the beat. And the White House, despite all their incompetence and scandal and unpopularity, still calls the tune.
The difference between Bush and his opponents is striking. Bush is wrong, has lost everyhting in Iraq, yet refuses to acknowledge it. Congress was right, could have won (in the sense that it could deny funding), yet refuses to acknowledge it. It almost confirms the "we create our own reality" claims the Bushies made (as quoted in the famous Suskind article). When the reality-based community rushes to surrender, malignant fantasy ascends.
... the bigger issue here is reasserting Congressional power. Congress has (rightly) picked a lot of fights with this President, on a number of issues, all unresolved, all important. Capitulating here just signals that, on all these issues, when push comes to shove, you will back down. We will be in Iraq indefinitely, because the Congress won’t push it. Alberto Gonzales doesn’t have to resign, because the Congress is afraid of a fight. They won’t make it tough on you. Just push them back, and they’ll give you whatever you want.
The other classic frame reinforced by this rout is, of course, that Democrats are weak. How can we deny it at this point? We can say that "no balls" is still better than "no brains," but Joe Sixpack will never agree with us on that score.
Dems can point to a number of horsetrading wins: an increase, finally, in the federal minimum wage. Veterans' health care. But no one will notice. These things are points on the wrong scoreboard. Hoi polloi don't learn the words to the music of politics. Most even have trouble humming the melody, and simply tap their feet to the beat. And the White House, despite all their incompetence and scandal and unpopularity, still calls the tune.
The difference between Bush and his opponents is striking. Bush is wrong, has lost everyhting in Iraq, yet refuses to acknowledge it. Congress was right, could have won (in the sense that it could deny funding), yet refuses to acknowledge it. It almost confirms the "we create our own reality" claims the Bushies made (as quoted in the famous Suskind article). When the reality-based community rushes to surrender, malignant fantasy ascends.
posted by bluememe at 5/23/2007
7 Comments:
When the political system is rigged so that the only people who ever get an "at bat" must first prove that they are corrupt and unprinicipled beyond any doubt, how can anyone be surprised that:
both parties look the same;
there aren't any (even) theoretical alternatives to any part of the system of governance;
that serious objection is never heard;
that the people who are running things need instructions in how to procreate (what did you think sex education was for)?
Fucking things up is not the same thing as fucking, but the only politicians (or so it seems) having sex are gay. If you can think of a new category of human enterprise, the politicos will quickly move to demonstrate how it too can be fucked up.
Since the Democrats have now completely proven my all too obvious observation that nothing would change with them in charge, where is the first suggestion of how to get rid of the entire fucking system and start over. You really think it would be worse? How??? The foundation of your country is being used as lining in the bottom of the bird cage, anything black can always be "proven" by conservative "science" to be white, and there are no alternatives. What is worse than that?
TA
Olbermann was spot-on last night calling this a Neville Chamberlain moment. All the previous attempts by the GOP operatives to paint the anti-war crowd as appeasers previously was partisan bloviating for the sake of ego. This time the label is digustingly apt.
I need a plausible explanation. As a terminal pragmatist and without any substantive alternative presented by our cowed media, the only conjecture that makes any sense is one of two scenarios:
A) The Democrats really are shiftless political whores bent on misaligned priorities
or
B)The new J. Edgar Hoover (Rove) has enough dirt on the congressional posse to keep them in line. This time anyway.
I just thought of
C) With the amount of horsetrading under way, i.e., immigration reform, minimum wage adjustment and the like, perhaps congress is ready to pull the rug out during the actual vote. A genuine "I thought we had a deal" moment.
Am I that much of a sucker to believe it?
Nice pony-seeking, Maalox, but I am feeling very cynical just now.
I've been saying all along that the Dems in CT who voted for Loserman are gullible fools.
Right now I'm keeping quiet about them and thinking, "let he that is without sin cast the first stone."
Blue,
That's not cynicism, that's just your hip playing up because you are getting older. True cynicism is buying a gun "just in case."
TA
Alas, the democrats! I remember them well. They died because they lacked a spine. RIP.
Meanwhile, the world continues to spin out of control.
The reality is that the Democrats have reaffirmed many of the nasty, hateful lies that the Right has been saying about the Democrats for several decades, that they are spineless, weak, cowardly, won't fight for their beliefs and can't be trusted to fight for this nation when the chips are down because they are traitors who hate America and want the bad guys to win. Well, I partly agree. The Democratic politicians in Washinton are traitors, cowards, and weaklings who can't be trusted to defend this country. Damn them!!!!
As for the patriotism of the American people, the real Democrats, of course, it is absurd and evil to insinuate that they are traitors, disloyal and hate America. The real Democrats, the people, oppose Bush because he is the one who is anti-American, has trampled the Constitution, violated America's founding principles and would set himself up as der Fuhrer of the 4th Reich of America.
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