Lessons of the Blue Dog Blowout

[DearAbby]

was a blowout. By winning more than sixty seats in the House, with close races still trickling in Wednesday morning, the anti-Obama wave of 2010 has already secured a prominent place in American history. Even conservative estimates—say low sixties—will place the 2010 midterms well above some of the largest shifts in party power in the modern era. This is bigger than the Newt revolution, which netted fifty-four seats in 1995, and signifcantly higher than the forty-nine seats that Democrats took after Watergate. In fact, you have to go back to the dramatic backlash to FDR in 1938 to find a midterm wave larger than the angry tsunami that crested on Tuesday. (The GOP netted eighty-one seats that year.) So what does that mean?

Since so much of our political discourse lives in an imagined future, like some sort of really annoying version of T2, analysts were spinning their explanations before most ballots were cast.

Today's New York Times has analysis from Evan Bayh, a retiring centrist/moderate/presidential aspirant, which was obviously penned before polls closed in order to make it to press. "We were too deferential to our most zealous supporters," he bemoans, (huh?), and Democrats "over-interpreted our mandate." Bayh's solution is to focus more on GOP priorities like tax reform, government spending freezes and entitlement cuts. Third Way, a think tank that was literally founded to push Democrats to the center, has been pushing a similar line this week.

It is truly bizarre, because on Tuesday, voters rejected the very Blue Dog Democrats who have been following that exact approach.

More:

http://www.thenation.com/blog/155788/lessons-blue-dog-blowout

[frazzled]

1. No, the lesson is

It's hard to be a Democrat and be in a conservative district.

The Republicans are going to learn it's hard to be a Republican in a moderate district. It's that damn simple, folks.

[polichick]

If the prez plays it Bayh's way, he'll be gone in 2012. nt

[emulatorloo]

4. Bayh is not popular with Senate Dems. They are pissed at him big time n/t

[readmoreoften]

7. They should be.

[TxVietVet]

2. Yeah. Go figure.

They didn't listen to their strongest supporters.

Impeaching bu$h and investigating the corrupt invasion of Iraq should have been the Dems top priorities.

Now look what has happened.

f*ckin' mess.

The conservanazis will come at us with a vengence.

[Nite Owl]

3. Predictable interpretation

of the election results. An excuse to move even more to the right. But didn't we see it coming with all the derision of the base in the past few months?

[emulatorloo]

6. The Nation article says voters rejected the Blue Dogs.

And pretty much says Evan bAyh is nuts.

[libodem]

5. Idaho

Will be saying bu-by to blue-dog Walt Minic. He couldn't have been more of a sell-out Democrat and more of a psudo-Repuke if he had tried. He was kicked to the curb for not being conservative enough for this state. I have no patience for fake Democrats. We might as well have the stupid tea-bagger who was just elected to vote the way Walt, did. At least it won't be as embarrassing as being betrayed by one of our own.

Bu-by, Walt, you pleased no one, and were let down by the conservative voters from Idaho, you represented. You never represented me.

[kentuck]

8. Evan Bayh is a Blue Tick Hound Dog.

:-)