Because the Obama administration's "summer of recovery" fizzled miserably, Democratic prospects of keeping control of the U.S. Senate have likewise fizzled.
I've reanalyzed every 2010 Senate race on a state-by-state basis, and fellow liberals, excruciating reality is that, with a bit of luck, Republicans could win enough now-Democratic seats retake Senate leadership for the first time in six years.
Most assuredly, though, Republicans will gain enough Senate seats in the 112th Congress to kill advancement of any semblance of a liberal agenda.
If only the gloomy news about withering Senate Democratic fortunes ended there, but it doesn't. Shockingly, senior stalwarts of progressive leadership are battling in 2010 for their very political survival, including:
- Russ Feingold of Wisconsin
- Patty Murray of Washington
- Barbara Boxer of California
- Harry Reid of Nevada
Loss of these four senior legislators, who collectively have served 13 Senate terms (78 years), would be a severe blow to Democratic influence over federal legislation.
Combine that with the recent deaths of liberal lions Sen. Ted Kennedy (47 years of Senate service) and Sen. Robert Byrd (51 years), and the retirement of Sen. Chris Dodd (29 years)... and well, liberal debate and policy-making as our country has known it since FDR will be moribund. Lifeless. Dead. Which, of course, is exactly as the Tea Party movement wants.
A few months ago, Democrats' saving graces were three Senate races in which Democratic candidates were running strongly and threatening to capture seats now held by Republicans. But no more after Obama's summer of 2010 fizzle: in all three races, Republican candidates, none of them incumbents, have lurched into solid leads.
Read my analysis at 2010 U.S. Senate Races - Who's Winning, Who's Losing. Please tell me where I'm wrong. I would dearly love to be wrong...
Comments
The very word “Liberal” is now pejorative, thanks to endless diatribes by a wide array of talking heads, politicians and talk show hosts all looking for a cheap shot. A few years ago when “Progressive” crept into the popular vocabulary Liberals everywhere breathed a sigh of relief and mumbled something along the lines of “Uh, yeah… that’s better… I’m no more Librul than I’m a Commie… think of me as your buddy who just looks at stuff different, kinda like brainstorming…”
Brainstorming, indeed. Brain-numbing is all it is. It’s about time for Liberals to get in your face and say “Yes. I’m a Liberal. Get over it.”
I’m old enough to have watched the Liberal agenda get savaged again and again.
(Part 2. Comment too long…)
Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan continue to suck the blood out of the federal budget and our so-called leadership only continues to suckle the military-industrial complex Ike warned about when we were children.
Social Security and Medicare are the only tax money recirculating in the economy (payroll, not income taxes) and a chorus of voices calls for both to be destroyed, better to sate the appetites of brokers, sales people and investors who salivate when they think of how much they might skim from “privatized” systems.” Medicare Advantage and the famous Part D, both of which need to be eliminated, took two big bites out of the apple and the drug and insurance industries can’t wait to get more…
As we enter this Fall’s elections I’m listening to ads attacking one of Georgia’s most decent former governors now running again. He failed to get reelected before because he pissed off teachers’ unions by calling for higher standards that are now finally coming into existence, and pissing off the Good Old Boys who were angry about his support of the Confederate battle flag’s getting removed from the state flag. The attack ads criticize him for apologizing for past mistakes, conflating his apologies with the usual distortions of Obama’s speeches to the Arab world being characterized as “apologizing to our enemies.” And there is a tag line “I don’t care about the Liberals in Washington…” Every time I hear it I get mad.
(Part 3)
So I guess you’re correct. The summer of recovery has been a dud and anything resembling a Liberal agenda is dead on arrival after the fall elections. Without any central control and command three disparate Conservative hurricanes are separately swirling stronger this season than ever: the Tea Party and it’s spinoffs, the Koch empire and their compatriots with deep pockets in the world of business and banking, and an army of rhetoricians on radio and TV whose vile vocabulary of anti-Liberal buzzwords and catch-phrases is finally so much a part of everyday speech they no longer need to say “damned” or “socialist” when they employ the word “Liberal.” The listening public already knows how dirty those Liberals are.
Unfortunately, John, it’s true. Many Americans have too easily bought the baseless attacks on any progressive legislation that would benefit our nation. Plus, they seem to have suffered from amnesia–they voted the Republicans out in 2008 because they were frustrated with them. Now they want to vote the Democrats out this year because they are frustrated with them. And when the Republicans screw up our country again, as we know they will, people will once again want to vote them out. The cycle is endless. Of course, it also hasn’t helped that the Democratic party hasn’t really stood up for itself. They have too often cowered and given in to the Republicans. That’s not good.
If we’re going to take our country back–REALLY take it back–then we need to reclaim the “liberal” label and make it something to be proud of. Liberals really have been the heart of our country and made it a better place to live. We need let the American people that liberals really do something right for America. I am a liberal and damn proud of it!
John –
Excellent post.
Deborah –
Quite correct. The American voter is about to take control of at least one house of Congress away from the despised Democrats. And give it to the Republicans, who are even more despised.
Deb, you ask where you are wrong. I posted a comment the other day. It is below.
Maynard T. Cremaster says:
This comment confuses me Deb and I wonder if you might care to respond.
“Count me as shaken by the prospect of an educated, informed, rational, well-spoken Sarah Palin… someone who can’t simply be dismissed as bigoted or frivolous.”
Are you saying that if someone is not (in your opinion) educated, informed, rational, and well-spoken that this in and of itself makes someone bigoted and frivolous? That someone with out these qualities is somehow beneath you? Do you feel that mastery of the English language somehow elevates the value of your thoughts? Don’t we all have a say in this, even those of us that had to quit school to support a family? ***************
Ok, here is the problem as I see it. POLITICAL DOMINATION. Just a few months ago you were gleefully predicting that the Republicans would have their nose rubbed in the dirt again. You are only now seeing that you are wrong. The country is not a liberal sponge nor is it a conservative sponge. It is middle of the road. So maybe what both parties better figure out is how to serve those in the middle. Yes you can influence people for a while but sooner or later they wake up. They ushered Obama in on the promise of cooperation, the ending of wars in the ME, low employment, and changes in health care.
part 2
Now we see that Obamas vision of the US was different from what we were sold. He is trying to do too much too fast and people realize that maybe he can’t do what he promised and he is trying to per sue an agenda that goes beyond his campaign promises. Quite simply the electorate realizes they were sold a pig in a poke and the sale job was done by demonizing Bush and his party.
Now the other side is only doing the same thing for nothing more than POLITICAL DOMINATION. They are demonizing Obama. Your comments above demonstrate that you approved of this when Palin is made to look like a vapor brain. This is not the answer for either side.
What we need is an electorate that is educated, not indoctrinated for either side.
Everyone needs to give up the hate and nastiness and figure out what is good for the country not what is good for either party.
So it is swinging now to the other side for a while. Big deal. It will move back. I hope we all learn something.
Maynard,
Yeah, we’ll (well, at least the Americans stupid enough to vote for the Republicans AGAIN) learn something, all right: never trust Republicans to do anything right for this country. Those who vote Republican in November will get what they deserve.