Why are DU members so down about having lost the House?

[Cal33]

What if we had lost both the House and the Senate, as the Repubs. had
done in 2008?

Let's keep on the fight. Some areas need improving, like: 1. Vote rigging
and intimidation. 2. Fight Repub. lies with Dem. truth, loud, clear and
non-stop. 3. Repubs. own 90% of the news media. Can anyone come up with
ideas about increasing the number of Dem. news media? 4. How to win back
the House and increase the number of Dem. senators in 2012. 5. How to
persuade Pres. Obama that appeasing the Repubs. only makes them have
more contempt for him. Their main goal is to destroy, totally and
completely through any means both fair and foul, any president who isn't
one of their own. They're notgoing to change That's the way they are.
Obama is the one who has to change.

[jwirr]

1. I was down about both that and the MN results for a couple of days.

NOW I am thinking that by 2012 the whole damn country just may have learned a lesson. Especially the elder! I am disclaiming my age now. I am not one of them.

[opihimoimoi]

2. ME Too..as an ole fart of 69.9...I have seen too many things to indicate

the GOPers will prevail over a long term...their math don't add up for shit...

Their success has a negative basis....which is counter productive...

this will not last long....

Too many are closet drunks and/or semi delusional....

[asjr]

5. As an older fartess I was shocked that

there were so many out-to-lunch voters in this country. Worst election year I have ever seen.

[opihimoimoi]

9. GOPers are rooted in "Madness"...which has temporaritly taken hold and Spawned

The Positive Rehab Centers have not yet been formed to counter

[Cal33]

13. I agree with what you say. In addition, the Dems. have to become

more active in counteracting their lies, and this White House has to learn to let
the American people know what they have already accomplished. Too many people
are under the impression that this White House is doing little besides talk. What's
keeping the White House so shy? Afraid of being accused of blowing their own
trumpet? Just let the people know what's being done, and as it happens.

[opihimoimoi]

15. So it is in THE BATTLE OF THE MINDS

[Cal33]

20. In addition to the statements you have made above, I think a lot

will depend on what changes Obama will be making in the near future.
And by change, I don't mean more of Obama's appeasing the Repubs.

[Odin2005]

16. I am far more scared of the MN Legislature results than the House.

I am on MN Medical Assistance and I am TERRIFIED that it will cut.

[jwirr]

17. Agreed, my daughter's life depends on the help she gets from MA

and Medicare. You know all those signs down by the cities in Bachmann's district? You know the ones that say, "Every child is a blessing." They show a disabled child. Well that is my daughter. Every time I pass one of those signs I would like to take a machine gun to them! My blessing cannot live without medical assistance. They voted for her death.

[Odin2005]

18. Many of my fellow Moorhead residents with disabilities are terrified of cuts to services.

:cry:

[stray cat]

3. Redistricting in the hands of the GOP

[TheKentuckian]

4. Purse strings

[aikoaiko]

6. Because it is a bummer to lose the House.

[Divine Discontent]

7. exactly - they were the liberal half of Congress, and now we lost it, and we have a slim majority in

the Senate. So, how in the world could we expect any progressive changes over the next two years, when we went from needing the Senate to be progressive, to needing the House now to find a way to get things done first... just not happenin' with all those additional repubs in there.

[Cal33]

19. Yes, there are tough obstacles ahead. I think we've got to

persuade Pres. Obama that appeasing the Repubs. will only lead to defeat for the Dems.
These present-day Repubs. are not capable of compromising. Obama has to toughen up
and use the veto and the bully pulpit. Sociopaths do respect strength, and they only
respond to the fear of punishment and loss - nothing else. Obama has to see that he
needs to make this change.

[DCKit]

8. Blue Dogs and other corporate (D)s got their asses kicked.

Except for Russ Feingold and a couple of other real treasures, I don't see the problem.

[Cal33]

21. I hope Pres. Obama will change his style to one of getting tough

with the Republicans. He has done his share of appeasement; anything
more would mean total capitulation. which is what the Republicans
are striving for. They're not going to get it. We should stick to
our guns!

[Juche]

10. I'm not too down on it. But I am an optimist

When we controlled the house the dems passed tons of good legislation, but it all died in the senate. So even though good legislation made it and got signed, tons more good legislation never did. and the 111th congress was pretty productive.

Another not so bad (depending on how you use the phrase) effect is that conservadems took most of the beating. About 44 of the 60~ lost seats were blue dogs and new dem caucus members. The caucuses were cut in half. Any democrat is better than any republican, and a blue dog is 1000% better than a conservative republican. But even though Feingold lost in the senate, the vast majority of the house losses were conservadems. Which may alter party ideology because progressives are now a larger % of the voting bloc.

Also, among registered voters the dems would've won in 2010. Only among likely voters did they lose. The GOP is pursuing a dead end demographic strategy where they think they can win without millennials (those born 1978-2000) and w/o non-whites. But turnout among those groups is extremely poor in midterms. I think millennials only made up about 10% of the eletorate in the midterms, vs about 19% in 2008 and will be about 22~% in 2012 (millennials tend to give 20-30 point margins to the dems).

So wait until 2012 when millennials, women and non-whites have higher turnout. Turnout is always lower in midterms among these groups, and esp in this cycle where the energy was on the GOP side. I'm sure the dems will do well in 2012. Maybe not so much in the senate (where we are defending seats we won in 2006, where we already have like 23/34 up that cycle) but the house will probably see some good gains as well as lots of state races.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

11. Look on the bright side?

We weren't expected to lose the Senate. I guess if one is to be an optimist one could say with unemployment so bad it's a surprise it wasn't as bad as 1994.

However dealing with things like green jobs and global have been put on the back burner. It would have been nice to finish the job.

Hard to say what 2012 is going to be like. The Citizens United decision has not been dealt with and is unlikely to with the Repukes holding the House.

[LostInAnomie]

12. Because it allows them to thump their chest about whatever narrative they like best.

Regardless of facts.

[Major Hogwash]

14. Okay, okay, I admit it, I was down a little bit, quite a bit actually. But it was because

I know they were blaming Obama when they voted against our guys in the polling booth.

It really hurt to see good, decent people get tossed out because of all of the lies the corporate PACs told in their ads.
They inundated the airwaves here telling us that the Congressman we had voted with Pelosi 70% of the time, which wasn't true at all.
I found out later in the week, it was a generic ad, with an "insert his name" here type of ad.
So, they peeples marched in lockstep to vote straight Republican.
Sometimes the truth isn't enough.