Mom often tried to soften the blow when innocent accidents befell us around the house, “Honey, don’t cry over spilt milk.”
The 2014 Mid-Terms, to a few centrists, are just “spilt milk” where Democrats and progressives shouldn’t be caught weeping over ominous losses. Another old admonishment from the Bush years, “Just move on,” is dusted off and served. “Can’t change damage done; so get over it.”
These “soothing” words are like rubbing salt on an infected wound, like rubbing deodorant on 7-day unwashed armpits. Similar to political scandal, body odor is made nauseatingly worse by the cover-up.
America is not going to “get over it.” So, neither should progressives. The ball is in our court. Perhaps the “blame game” should be discarded – at least to an extent. But identifying the cause(s) for the loss is vital to finding solution.
The most active progressives knew long before the election why Democrats were soon to go down in flames: (1) Obama’s failure to fire up the base; (2) the leaders of the party lacked charisma; (3) party officials were chosen, not based on proven ability, but token patronism; (4) party officials failed to choose winning candidates; and (5) the party’s strategy was chosen that focused on female and same-sex topics – contrary to how the majority of Americans viewed the core issues facing the country.
Why didn’t Democratic Party leaders listen to their unions and Dr. Howard Dean? It’s as if the AFL-CIO was fighting a losing battle alone. Both Howard Dean and Robert Reich gave several interviews where they advised the Party to activate a sense of urgency commensurate with the war being waged on the working class by FOX, Republicans, the NRA, and the Koch brothers. If there’s no fight in Dem leaders, there’s no victory – regardless of the natural political “cycles” that predict losses in a president’s 6th year. It became a “wave election” only because the national party was anemic.
Who chose Debbie Wasserman-Schultz? What were her credentials besides being a female from Florida? I realize these questions sound politically profane to a demographically-entrenched. But do they want to win or not? The Party needs a full-time Chairman with a strong leadership persona.
WHAT’S THE PRICE OF SPILT MILK IN 2015?
The 2014 election brings to Congress the largest Republican majority since 1928. For the politically uninformed, this is no big deal. Nothing changes, in their view.
But the devastation from the Mid-Terms may have a major casualty: Hillary Clinton may assess the battlefield and determine not to run. Obama did not prepare the way for her – nor any other Democratic candidate, for that matter.
On the other hand, that’s 2016 – two years off. The consequences before 2016 are far worse: Supreme Court nominees, new Secretary of Defense and Attorney General, and federal appointees that have been on hold due to Republican obstinance for six years. Gridlock has been the narrative since 2010; now it will be total war. Republicans are determined to have their way, and Democrats continue their weak streak. Who do you think will win?
Government shutdowns are probable. America defaulting on its loans is possible. Another collapsing economy is in the cards. The Republican imperative to initiate wars all over the world, of course, will be on the table come January. Needless to say, spending on wars and defense is at the heart of their unshakeable, infallible doctrine, while spending on infrastructure to boost the economy is an abomination. Their “libertarian” streak is hypocritical at best. Fixing potholes on a public highway is “socialism”, while bombing potholes on a foreign land thousands of miles from our shores is “patriotism”.
Oh, and let’s not forget the God-commissioned XL Pipeline. Employing 35 permanent employees to maintain a leaky pipe is a Republican priority, while protecting the Ogallala Aquifer covering 174,000 square miles [serving 55 million Americans] is not.
Personally, I expect Obama to cave on this issue to appease the enemy surrounding him. (How many times has he solidly stood his ground during both terms?)
Since Bible-thumping Senator James Inhofe of Tulsa will now head the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, say good-bye to the EPA. Inhofe believes climate change is a hoax perpetrated by the left to deceive America into socialism.
Senator James Inhofe may not burn in hell for leading America down the wrong path, but his grandchildren will burn on Earth – thanks to him.
All these doomsday scenarios are probable to the politically astute; are Chicken Little tales to the uninformed. No comfort will be found in the words, “Told you so.”
IMPEACHMENT PROBABLE
Contrary to Democratic SOP, Republicans gravitate toward actual impeachment, not just rhetorical bullying. Impeachment’s ulterior motive is, of course, based on race – since an African-American sits in the White House. Republicans feel entitled to across-the-board control in all branches regardless of what Democratic President resides at 1600 Pennsylvania. The presence of Obama simply gives them more ammunition. It’s race-based, but they’ll never admit it.
Revenge for Watergate is the root most cited. But the determination is real no matter the justification. On the other hand, Nancy Pelosi in 2006 issued the moratorium, “Impeachment is off the table” without considering probable treasonous crimes committed by the Bush administration in addition to other likely violations of oath. It was a disappointment to progressives at the ascent of Democratic majorities, and the same continued after Obama’s victories in 2008 and 2012 – the reason so many progressives remain disillusioned. If the base is depressed, where is the urgency to vote? Firing up supporters after the mid-term disaster does not bode well for the future – too little, too late.
Republicans must win even if losing. That’s the way schoolyard bullies behave. Why do they take this path instead of working with the opposing party for the common good? Because they view Democrats as the enemy, as anti-American, as free-loaders, as devil-lovers, as parasites, as undesirables. So, their remedy is elimination rather than cooperation. Their hate darkens their vision to the degree of destroying anyone or any group in conflict with established conservative doctrine. Dialogue and debate aren’t in their vocabulary, but demonization and destruction are essential tools in their toolbox. Compromise is a curse word.
Just wait ‘til 2015. We haven’t seen anything yet.
This rightwing point of view originates from its evangelical base, the largest demographic in the country. Many liberals dismiss this influential segment of the population to their own peril. Election-night maps should tell the story. The Old Confederacy is alive and well and fronted by the misled religious right. How close did Obama come to being defeated by this massive movement? Only 2% separated him from eviction in 2012, and in 2014 Democrats lost across-the-board.
And, so, they ready themselves to impeach – on what basis is anyone’s guess. In their minds they delegitimized the President on his birth records, college transcripts, religion, foreign misadventures, etc., all FALSE, but facts never get in the way of the hate agenda. Bubble people don’t need legitimacy to prove illegitimacy. Although no different than Reagan and both Bush’s executive orders involving immigration, Obama’s executive order is an “impeachable offense,” and Republicans are determined to follow through with it. They don’t want to govern but to destroy.
MY CRYSTAL BALL FOR 2015 AND BEYOND
America can’t even remember Sanford’s Trayvon Martin, so do you think they’ll remember Ferguson’s Michael Brown? The incidents of murders of innocent African-American youth piles up, yet nothing is done. Our national San Andreas Fault has been re-opened; the Civil War is not just a distant memory but a national reality.
The emergence of a revived Republican Party will only further infect the wound due to the party’s overwhelming southern composition. Dixiecrats that were long loyal to the Democratic Party have now completely jumped to become Republicans – carrying their generations-held belief (seldom spoken) of racial superiority.
Look for more Sanfords and Fergusons, because justice was massacred in both. Young African-Americans do not feel safe in this country, and it’s worse now than 20 years ago. The entrance of Barack Obama, in hindsight, has had a reverse effect on race relations in this country. His arrival brought with it a revival of racism – bigotry [long thought sleeping] is no longer latent but overt – like it was back in the bad ol’ days. The mere appearance of Barack Obama became “ripping the scab off the old sore” – however pure and blameless his intentions were and are. Obama is not the cause but the innocent catalyst. The faultline is no longer dormant. Putin rejoices.
Public-sector unions are also very much in danger during the next two years. The Post Office, in particular – with its 500,000 decent-paying union jobs – is very much at risk. It’s well known that Republicans hate unions, but they hate public-sector unions even more. A majority of union members vote Democratic, and since the silent war between the two major parties is based on capturing blocks of demographics, Republicans are bound and determined to bust the unions and suppress the minority vote. Wisconsin’s Scott Walker’s actions in 2011 were just a foretaste.
I can hardly wait to hear union members that voted Republican cry when their jobs are wiped out or their pay and rights are swept clean. How blind not to see nor hear what Republicans were promising to do after taking power.
It all began with a stolen election in 2000, and it continues on into the foreseeable future – due to bad actors in Washington: Republicans who refuse to act in America’s best interest and Democrats too weak and spineless to stand up to them. Obama’s dream became a national nightmare – since he failed to serve as a strong leader at a time America needed another FDR. And Karl Rove’s dream of a “permanent Republican majority” may actually come true as a result of Democratic weakness and Republican determination.
And so will end another episode in American history. I only wish this chapter was good to end my senior years. Unfortunately, I don’t think it will.