All the repubs need to regain power is for the dems to fail

[cali]

And failure at delivering real healthcare reform will give the repubs a very good chance at regaining power even if they do nothing to moderate. We live in a two party system. When people are done with one party they move to the other- or at least a significant number do, regardless of whether they agree or not with that party's platform.

The republican party may appear moribund, but whether they are or not, largely depends on what the dems do or don't do.

[KharmaTrain]

1. True But...

There are a lot of expectations of the Obama Administration...just read DU and see how many are impatient. Be it healthcare or busting the banks or getting the troops out of Iraq or finding the "ideal" SCOTUS candidate...the list is long. The risks of failure are high and to think he can fix it all is setting onself up for a fall. There are going to be mistakes and people are gonna get pissed. You don't bring change without ruffling feathers and I expect the opposition to many of these changes to get stiffer as proposals turn into bills turn into possible legislation. And that's where the real problems begin.

No matter what this Administration proposes, it only can get done what the House & Senate approve. In healtcare, this will mean intense negotiatons with Congresscritters that represent districts where insurance or big pharma are major employers, others who get a boatload of campaign cash and others with some agenda or bitch to pick. Thus if the Democrats in both Houses can't do the job, that will look badly on this Administration and then open the door for the rushpublicans to make some gains...but only limited ones.

Jon Alter did a great rundown on this with KO the other night. As long as they cater to the 20-25% dead-enders and avoid moderating, any gains they make will be short-term. Until they take some kind of responsibility for helping create the messes and come up with popular proposals (not the old talking points)...which means reaching out beyond the dittoheads, they will gain little national traction...especially in the deep blue states where the GOOP is on the verge of extinction. Just like how Democrats were told we couldn't win unless we reached out beyond our base (and did it), the shoe is now on the other foot. The GOOP can't assume that if Democrats fail, they win by default.

[Bandit]

2. It is about Democrats in general and not necessarily Obama.

They are elected every two years for the House and every four to six for the Senate. They have until early 2010 to come up with a good solution or expect to lose votes. While I would NEVER switch Parties I will just no longer participate in the election process when I see it makes absolutely no difference on the really important issues.

[KharmaTrain]

4. The True Democratic Gains in 2010 Are Limited...

This is especially the case in the House where the GOOP has been minimalized into a regional party. There are few moderates and most are from the reddest areas of the country. There are a few Senate seats that can be gained, but in many ways, the Democratic party has reached a "critical mass"...or is approaching it. And just like in sports, it's one thing to build a winner, it's another thing to stay that way.

While people are disenchanted to Congress. I can't remember the last time I saw overall approval ratings over 50%, look behind the numbers and people are quick to blame other representatives than their own. Blue Dogs know this in specific as they do represent predominately conservative areas and can and do vote against the rest of the party as it means money and votes in their districts. The challenge will be not to elect more Democrats as much as better ones.

Yes, the clock is running on many Democrats. This is similar to 1993-94 in that manner, but the opposition is a lot different. Until they regain credibility, the GOOP will have tough sledding in beating incumbent Democrats. The biggest threat is people doing like your suggesting...no longer participating. It was apathy that led to the GOOPs rising in the 80's and 90's...opting out gives them the door to try it again.

Cheers...

[Atman]

3. It isn't that simple

The historic level of abuse have permanently damaged the GOP, for starters. Even if the dems are blocked from delivering upon health care, that will likely be seen as the GOP's fault. Americans want solutions which help Americans, not the CEOs who have benefited from the years of GOP abuse.

That's just the beginning. Even more troubling for the GOP are the simple demographics. Who will turn out to support the criminal party? Women? Hispanics? Blacks? There was a book written about before the 2000 election, warning the republicans that they were nearing extinction simply due to shifting demographics. I'm convinced their knowledge of this is partly responsible for the way they looted and pillaged everything before they inevitably got run out of town.

.

[salguine]

5. I wish Obama and the rest of the Democrats would get it through their thick skulls that

if they were to bring real, substantive health care reform to this country, like a single-payer national health system, it just might deal a death blow to the Republican Party, and Obama would probably be ranked, in a hundred years' time, with Lincoln and FDR, as among our greatest presidents.

But, in true fashion, they're too concerned with making sure HMOs and Big Pharma don't get upset, when HMOs and Big Pharma are the whole of the problem and need to be removed from the picture altogether.

[notesdev]

6. Count on a GOP House in 2010

if we don't have a radical change of trajectory.

We can call it the "Geithner Congress" as shorthand.

[AndyTiedye]

7. And All the Repigs Have to Do to Make O Fail is Keep On Filibustering Everything

It really is that simple.