Atrios: Stop Your Whining

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

. . .

I know I'm a broken record on this, but there is no great mystery why the Dems are looking at potentially major problems in November. The economy is truly atrocious and has been for a long time. I remember just before the '08 election - almost two years ago - betting a friend that unemployment would rise above 7.6%. At the time to many people 7.6% seemed to be a pretty crazy number, even in the middle of the unfolding crisis. Soon after the administration projected that unemployment would peak at 9% from Q1-Q3 2010, and then start declining without any stimulus. It's now been above 9% since May 2009, including 3 months where it was 10%+. If I had traveled back in time to warn them of this state of affairs, they would have been more likely to believe the time travel part.

There are areas of this country that are completed devastated, some due mostly to the collapse of the housing bubble and, increasingly, places which are being demolished by the recession even though they were largely untouched by the bubble.

Maybe an "I feel your pain" or "Message: I care" speech isn't going to do it, but jokes about the petulant base at $30,000 fundraisers aren't going to help either. Though, in truth, the petulant base - the assholes who don't cheerlead sufficiently on their blogs - are going to go out and vote. We vote. It's what we do. It's the people who are unemployed, union members wondering what happened to EFCA, immigrants and their families who know that we got a bunch of money to militarize the border and stepped up deportation but no progress on immigration reform, and women who might question the administration commitment to reproductive rights for good reasons.

Now I hope all of these people go out and vote. I certainly think keeping Team Blue in power is important and not just because the Republicans are stupid and crazy, but if they don't vote it isn't my fault.

. . .

http://www.eschatonblog.com/2010/09/stop-your-whining.html

[Davis_X_Machina]

1. It *will* be his fault, though...

...to some small degree. The 'petulant base', thanks in part to his and others' ironic, 'too cool for school' approach to politics, aren't all going out to vote. It's not just 'what they do'.

Styling is what they do -- an approach to politics that is not uncommon throughout the blogosphere, and a problem even on places like The Daily Show. And for a long time now, that's all Atrios has done.

It sounds to me like he's had an attack of conscience. I've known Atrios since his name was Kurt and he was a substitute phys-ed teacher posting on Salon TableTalk, and I'd like to say 'It's about bloody time.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

2. There is no evidenciary basis for your claim

If you believe that devotees of liberal political blogs don't vote then that's what you've decided to believe