Shit shit shit...Defeat from the jaws of victory...

[PCIntern]

One year ago, we were running down the sideline with the ball with nary a defender in sight. We crossed the goal line, made the extra point and were leading the game by 18 points with 3 minutes to go...you can't lose.

But then again, looking carefully in HD: Franken won by the slimmest of margins; Lieberman needs to have his ass kissed at every turn, he makes Jay Leno look like a secular humanist by comparison; Landrieu, Nelson, and a few others are on-the-cusp-of-boo-hoo every frigging day; we have a couple ancient Senators with Rethug governors now or soon (see Pennsylvania) who will appoint the equivalent of Strom Thurmond if they get a chance.

So we thought we had a shot for a little little bit, but not really, and we, as usual blew it. Even if Coakley winse, the divisiveness within our party will, as it did in 68, 72, and 80, lead to our continually progressing downfall as a Nation, and secondarily, as a Party.

[Ozymanithrax]

1. In order to get and hold a majority, Democrats had to have some centrists and right leaning Dems...

Republicans had the same problem, and their drive to purify their party with only right thinking Conservatives was part of what destroyed their majority.

In this nation with only two parties, this will always be the reality.

[PCIntern]

2. Yeah but they got their way for YEARS

before it imploded...we didn't get 5 minutes...

[laughingliberal]

3. True. A little of a push to the left would have been nice before the moment passed

(sigh)

[FrenchieCat]

5. That's cause folks started complaining right away......exactly 30 seconds into it......

I kept saying we should try and not criticize Obama for every single little thing,
but yet that is exactly what happened. So in essense, we gave the opening to the media,
and of course they ran with it. We have done this to ourselves......and some are proud
of it, because in the end, their concerns doesn't lie with bettering this country as much
as saying and doing everything that will reflect their righteousness on every single issue
there is.

So yes, to a great degree we are pretty much imploding to some degree, but we did it to ourselves,
and we will pay for that impatience and lack of political understanding that we have exhibited.

The nation is about to become more conservative, because based on a lot of what the extreme
right and left are saying, and with the help of the media, the middle is making uninformed judgements
based on what they hear on the news; and the news bias favors conservative ideology (cause the
news is owned by conservative corporations).

[Hissyspit]

7. You are describing a symptom

not a cause.

[Mojorabbit]

10. We did not do it to ourselves

We gave them a mandate and they totally ignored it. They made promises and then abandoned them as soon as they got elected. I WILL NOT take the blame. I worked hard to get them elected and then they threw me under the bus.

[Ozymanithrax]

15. Democrats were never willing to shut the government down to get their way.

Republicans are quite happy to do so. Under Gringritch, they did it explicitly. The Republicans in the Senate are doing the same thing by filibustering every bill, thy just arn't saying that is what they are doing.

[Enrique]

4. 4 years ago, the GOP controlled the whole government

the democrats couldn't prevent the country from re-electing the Worst President Ever.

Now we have a big majority in both houses, we have a democratic president, and we even have a socialist senator. Let's keep things in perspective.

[metapunditedgy]

6. I registered Democratic a few years ago (changed from Independent)

so I could help vote for Obama in the primaries.

Now, by pretty much any standard, Obama has flopped or caved on many of the issues that led me to support his campaign.

Tell me, what should I think?

[Aramchek]

8. another thistle, Eeyore?

[PCIntern]

9. ...always hated Winnie The Pooh...

I encourage everyone to remain optimistic...it CAN be worse...

[Aramchek]

11. is that what you were doing with this OP? such breathtaking Optimism!

[mn9driver]

12. Your mistake is in believing that Democrats = Progressives

I am no fan of Ralph Nader, especially since his pointless run in 2000 factored in giving us 8 years of Bush, who was much, much worse than Gore on EVERYTHING, but he was largely correct in railing against the sameness of the two major parties when it came to the issues important to progressives....

...like Health Care Reform. Unlike the Republicans, Democrats are willing to give us Kabuki theater, but after all the drama and shadow play it turns out that we have a bill essentially written and approved by the health insurance and pharmaceutical industry.

...and the dismantling of our Industrial War Machine. The defense budget is extremely unlikely to go down during the Democrats' tenure in control. It just won't go up as fast.

...and the re-regulation of our insane runaway financial system. The Democrats will have hearings, maybe even get a bill or two to the floor, but they will die either by filibuster or in committee. This is more than the Republicans would do, but the end result will be the same.

The number of real Progressives in Washington can be counted on both hands, with fingers left over. And Obama is not one of them.

[damntexdem]

13. Well, we all get to watch as the Dem Party fumbles the HCR ball once again.

Sort of like the Dallas/Minnesota game -- except in that, I was rooting for the Vikings.

[PCIntern]

14. "You betcha!"

As a former-pre-Vick-Eagles fan, I was well-pleased to see Dallas cold-cocked...

[butterfly77]

16. It is happening because...

a lot of Dems are falling into the rightwing traps and believing their talking points without looking further into the issues.

Some people don't even know when they are being played with many are new to the game and the CONS know it so they have been working them hard.. I find it hard to believe that some could change that quickly..


Didn't Obama say WE before and after he took office.

I notice a lot of SO CALLED dems come on here day after day talking about what the President should and should not do,the same damn people who sat on their asses and did or said nothing while Dick Armey and the teabaggers took over the healthcare debate and now they want to complain...

Same thing goes for these SO CALLED dems who show up on tv wimping out and talking down our candidates and our President instead of knocking down these asshole republicons they sit there and agree with them..

Everyone needs to remember: Bluedogs,Bluedogs,Bluedogs/RepubliCONS hiding out in the Democratic Party. Look for more to start showing their true colors this year..