Separating Myth from Reality for Democrats (Huff Post)

[NYCGirl]

Don't want to be a buzzkill or anything, but this article has a lot of truth — the changes won't happen overnight, no matter how much we want them to.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-fauntroy-phd/separating-myth-from-real_b_37730.html

Many people are now rhapsodic over the Democrats taking control of both houses of Congress, but I'm here to separate myth from reality for the Democrats in Congress and their supporters around the country. While there are many from which to choose, I think three myths have emerged that must be dealt with to avoid disappointing the many elements within the Democratic coalition.

The first myth is: Now that the Democrats are in charge, everything will change quickly. The reality is: That's not the way our political system works. While our system is "winner take all" it is not "winner take all right now!" The political process takes a long time, so patience is critical. Don't expect immediate change and don't be surprised if things don't always go the way you think they should. This will be complicated by the fact that various groups within the Democratic Party who have been shut out for so long are going to rush to get their piece of the pie. That will, undoubtedly, slow down the process as who gets what is sorted out.

The second myth is: Black people are in for some good times now that so many committees and subcommittees are chaired by African Americans. The reality is: while it is important and notable that so many African Americans are in significant leadership positions in the House, the fact is that they are operating within a larger context. The future will be better legislatively for African Americans, but it will take a while for the damage done by the conservative movement on Black America to be undone.

The third myth is: Now Republicans will be a compliant minority until the next election. The reality is: they will do everything they can to sabotage Democratic efforts, even if it means hurting the country in the long run. Like a retreating army, Republicans tore up railroad tracks and planted legislative land mines to make it harder for Democrats to govern when they take power in Congress next month. Most notable among these land mines was not finishing the fiscal year 2007 budget, leaving it to the Democrats to resolve many difficult issues.

[Bobbieo]

1. The lady does make snese but how many Duers will believe this?

[NYCGirl]

2. I realize we're in such ecstasy right now that the thought of waiting for anything

seems silly, but I do hope that DUers will try to be a bit patient.

[Generator]

3. Patience meme again?

Look, I GET it. We get it. We know that the congress has limited power with an asshole fascist idiot in charge with veto power. As far as all the other stuff, I understand how limited their power will be, ultimately because of that.

HOWEVER, and this is a big HOWEVER, when it comes to the one THING and it's a BIG THING, the Iraq war, which I have been told by even pundits on TV that I can't stand is what the American people voted to CHANGE and STOP.

SO, the Democrats have a mandate to stop the madman. And if they don't, they will be blamed for it. I just had this ephiphany. George W. Bush is not going to stop this war, and if the Democrats go along AGAIN, they will be blamed, not him. The propaganda will skew that way. And not by Du'ers but by the majority of the country that only know this:

The Democrats won. The control congress. They won because we don't like this Iraq war. NOW,what the hell are they going to do about it?

If they can't stop Bush than they better sure as hell look like they almost died trying.

[antiimperialist]

4. By not accomplishing anything, we accomplish something

The Democrats in congress are aware that if nothing is accomplished it will be thanks to Bush vetoing popular measures (most of Democratic initiatives are popular) and/or Republicans in congress.

This will be an accomplishment in that GOP popularity will sink to the abyss, even lower than it is now, once voters realize that Bush won't support raising the minimum wage, embryonic stem cell research, Global Warming legislation and others. Then we will win in 2008 and new, larger majorities along with a Democratic president will pave the way to a new, Democratic America.

[leftofthedial]

5. the other two problems are:

not all Democrats in congress are on our side

and

all but one of the congressional Democrats who are running for president in 2008 will do nothing to rock their own boats

[teryang]

6. They need to reverse course in Iraq very quickly, the only way

...is by killing appropriations. The so called allied Arab states are going to have to fund and support whatever resolution takes place in Iraq. You want to arm the Shia government, fine you can have money for that. Funds to remove US troops, fine. Funds to maintain and protect American troops while they are waiting for the next boat or plane out, fine. Funds to arm Sunnis and Kurds, fine. Nothing more. No more 100 Billion a year supplementals. You'll have to get by on 10 Billion a year for Iraq, that's it, from today on.

Frankly, traditional unethical covert support for factions and fighting in Iraq is all we need to allow the parties there to resolve their dispute on their own. We don't need 170,000 people to do that. It could be managed by a few thousands working from across the border. This is the traditional way it's been done for decades. The heavy handed approach is misguided leadership to line the pockets and advance the careers of various special interests in Washington whose day is over.

[Mojorabbit]

7. This does not make sense to me

The republicans sure got a lot done in tearing this country apart in a relatively short time. It seems we could do a lot to undo this legislation in a short time also.