Now what?

[niceypoo]

Where do we go from here?

My mom always told me, "When you get stuck with a lemon, make lemonade." How do we/congress/Obama make lemonade from this whole thing?

[Phoonzang]

1. We go to November, where we lose the Senate and maybe the House.

The Republicans celebrate and the media lauds them, calling it a new Conservative Revolution. Obama is unable to pass even the simplest legislation and is thrown out of office in 2012 by a Romney/Someone ticket.

[niceypoo]

2. I wouldnt call that making lemonade...

I would call that giving up.

[northernlights]

6. if the WH already has called their best friend in Maine

I'd call it a sad dose of reality. :(

[Phoonzang]

16. Yeah I know. I'm just in a really negative mood right now.

I just hope I don't feel that way the day before the 2010 elections. I tend to be right...

[Armstead]

3. Learn and break from the status quo oligarchs

[Bumblebee]

4. Stop obliging everyone to get to 60 votes and piss away all the best parts of any bill.

Rely on the real majority, even if it's just 52-3 votes. Bush had no problem with less. Learn many, many lessons from this defeat. Yes, she was a terrible candidate but, boy, they mishandled it too, big time. Let go of Kaine; he is awful in this position and was put there for all the wrong reasons. Put Schumer back in charge in the Senate for elections. He was excellent; Menendez is not. Obama has to appear humble and like someone who has learned the lesson -- but ram stuff through, whatever it takes. In some ways, the fear is gone -- they were afraid of losing their 60-majority, and they did. It's like the first scratch on the new car. In a strange way, it's a;most liberating, and because it all happened so early, it may be a good thing for the Fall election.

They have to pass the HCR bill. Yes, it's tragic that Kenendy's seat is lost but the whole reason why the Senate was able to pass it, in whatever weakened form, is because Kennedy had orchestrated the early replacement which brought in Kirk (and the Dems may have paid for it in today's election, but who knows). Kennedy did his part -- they now have to pass the damn bill, whatever it takes. No more Mr. Nice Guy.

[PolNewf]

12. Seriously come to grips with reality

"Stop obliging everyone to get to 60 votes" it is the senate rules FFS. Dems didn't fillibuster everything but I bet they do next time they are in the minority (November). If repugs hold their 41 votes then Dems CAN NOT proceed, it isn't a choice.

They could try to change senate rules but that is a dangerous option. Imagine a Dem minority powerless to stop Repugs from 51+ passing their agenda.

[FrenchieCat]

5. We can continue with the circular firing squad.....

and keep going at it here at DU,
cause we are excellent at it,
and it appears to be the only type of activism
we totally know how to do; how to destroy each other,
diss the government endlessly and
sniff up everything written by the media,
while letting Republicans roam free.

[niceypoo]

14. To me that is a sign of passion

Passion can be harnessed.

If you have enough tuna, you can lead a herd of cats across town. We just have to find the right tuna!

[bigwillq]

15. Yup. It's all a message board's fault.

Nothing to do with Candidate Coakley. Nope. Nothing to do with Congress. Nope. Nothing to do with how this Obama administration has governed. Nope.

All DUs fault. Yup.

[quakerboy]

7. We go on.

And at the end of the year, we can say "they blocked everything. We tried. We really did. And they blocked it". We still have the majority. Its time for some hardball theater. Now that we know it can't pass, even our more conservadem senators have no reason not to go more left and support real change. With only 59, they can still get corporate money because they know without a republican(which ain't happening) nothing useful will pass, no matter how loudly they pretend to advocate for it. Thus we take up the real change mantle and force republicans to either side with us or own that they are working against change.

Could be the best thing that has happened to the democratic party since 08, just as not booting Leiberman when the opportunity was there was one of the worst blunders. Now its not just our fault anymore, no matter what happens.

[Tippy]

8. Well it's a good thing I like lemonade

There is no excuse for the loss in this election. Some Democrats in this country just didn't realize what we had...We have had a lot of very negative posts here on DU. But that is only a small part of it. When Obama was elected he made promises, some of which he has not kept, but the voters became impatient. They were disappoointed...I think that a lot of them did not realize was how slowly Washington moves....T%here was a method to the madness of the Republicans...They were going to kill health care. Well they didn't kill it but they ripped it to shreds. While Democrats were working on the bill Republicans were outside...with the teabaggers, screaming and hollering like stuck pigs...We all know who controls the media, those who make the most noise usually get the most attention. Their main goal was to defeat Obama.

But all is not lost...we lose only if we forget. If we forget what Bush/Cheney did to our country...They are the reason our people have no jobs, but Obama is being blamed. So do we give up or do we organize...I could go on and on but the gist of it is, for years Democrats seemed to forget to quickly what harm Republican administrations have done in the past. If we don't remember our history, and the mistakes we've made, we will repeat them.

[quantass]

9. On the PLUS side...Maybe the Party will FINALLY look less to excuses...

and actually get things done....with 51 votes you can accomplish a lot....this 60 game they and the media were playing was rediculuous....no more jerking around and pattycaking with the right. But history does show that democrats tend to panic and go more right.

[PolNewf]

13. Another one ignoring reality

If repugs want to stop the process they can with 41 votes. It isn't a "60 game", it is reality. Spreading this misconception only aides the republican's obstructionist tactic.

[uponit7771]

10. Press Obama to move more decisively

[Tippy]

11. Pleas read this.... all of it....

http://www.alternet.org/story/145249/bill_moyers_%26_thomas_frank%3A_how_america%27s_demented_politics_let_the_gop_off_the_hook_for_their_giant_mess?page=1