"The Democrats are completely unable to defend their vision of society."

[ProSense]

That's why some Americans have decided to vote for lunatics.

Final pre-vote thoughts

Michael Tomasky

It's been the weirdest campaign in modern American history. I think of the senators who rode in on Ronald Reagan's coattails in 1980: Dan Quayle, Steve Symms, some of the others. I thought then they were a pretty hardened bunch. They were mildly right of center compared to the crew running today.

It's just one election. Maybe the Republicans will win, and America will be mad at them too in two years time; and each side's inability to do anything will just erode its popularity, alienate independents and confuse its base in successive turns. So maybe very little of this actually matters and we're just going to be in a long phase of Democrats getting power until the people get sick of them, Republicans getting power until the people get sick of them, and repeat and rinse.

Certainly, I have to think that rank-and-file tea partiers are going to be disappointed in Senator Paul and Senator Angle in two years' time. They might start out with the best of intentions, from the tea-party perspective. But Rand Paul won't be able to snap his fingers and cut spending any more than Paul Wellstone could snap his fingers and create government-run healthcare. It's amazing that people have to keep reliving this to come to terms with it.

So...will we see candidates even more extreme than this crop in a few years' time, after this group has (as the inevitable charge will be) "lost touch" with the people back home, "gone Washington" on them? And how far right can they go before they're off the American charts and they're just plain old fascists? Joe Miller dipped at least a toe in those waters, with his private army arresting the journalist. I don't care if it was just three guys. Candidates who have private armed guards are not small-d democrats.

The Democrats are completely unable to defend their vision of society. I have recently completed in my mind a list of the Dems' four great errors. Not now; we'll get to them later this week. But the most disappointing thing to me is just that: they can't defend their vision of society, from Obama on down. They're lame and weak and afraid. Except when they forge ahead heedless of public opinion, which hasn't been the greatest idea either.

I still can't quite imagine some of these people as senators and members of Congress. Of course, drunks and half-wits have people Congress since its inception, but these aren't drunks and half-wits, who might be amiable. These are severe ideological warriors. It'll be unlike any Congress we've ever seen in the modern history of the country.

[opihimoimoi]

1. Obama shoulda done the FIRE SIDE CHAT THINGY....

[Radical Activist]

12. It's now called the weekly radio address and he does it.

Call up the media and ask why they don't carry or cover it.

[MannyGoldstein]

16. Self delete

Time for unity.

[Radical Activist]

18. But does he call each reporter at home to wish them goodnight?

It appears you would rather blame Obama than hold the corporate press accountable for their censorship. How unproductive.

[joeybee12]

2. I don't think most dems right now have a vision...

and that's a problem.

[ProSense]

6. Actually,

Democrats have a vision, and Obama addressed his in this interview

This election has nothing to do with vision. The Republicans have none, no message.

Why do some Americans believe that HCR is government-run? The media distorts the message.

As for Republicans, they're simply running on inciting fear.

Democrats have been touting the benefits of the stimulus for nearly two years, and the media and others have been engaged in counter-messaging. The administration and some left blogs have been pushing the Democratic achievenments for nearly two years, and some people have written these off as BS.

Those same people can't claim that Democrats have no message.

[NRaleighLiberal]

7. See my response below - corporate owned media is responsible for much of this.

It is a disadvantage to the media for Democrats to be in power - it always comes down to the $$$.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

9. Well, they do

[MannyGoldstein]

17. Self delete

The time for unity has come.

[leveymg]

3. All this bi-polar going nowhere but down reminds me of the French Third Republic. We all know what

happened to it and its national gridlock and grandiose (but wrong-headed) military and foreign policies. 1940 happened.

[BeyondGeography]

4. "Epitaph for the eighties? 'there is no such thing as society'"

http://briandeer.com/social/thatcher-society.htm

Here we go again, boys and girls.

[NRaleighLiberal]

5. food for thought.

This part really caught my eye -

"The Democrats are completely unable to defend their vision of society. I have recently completed in my mind a list of the Dems' four great errors. Not now; we'll get to them later this week. But the most disappointing thing to me is just that: they can't defend their vision of society, from Obama on down. They're lame and weak and afraid. "

My issue with it is that it doesn't consider that the Democrats have no advocate/friends with the media - with little exception, the MSM has decided that the vision of society laid out by Obama/the Dems isn't worth reporting, but the Republican's view of their dysfunctional, dangerous society is just fine and in fact preferable.

The playing field is not at all even.

[JudyM]

8. +1. n/t

[ProSense]

10. Exactly.

"the MSM has decided that the vision of society laid out by Obama/the Dems isn't worth reporting"

Could you imagine if the media had jumped on promoting the middle-class tax cuts with the same fervor as they did defending the U.S. Chamber of Commerce?

[Name removed]

11. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[ProSense]

14. Ah,

did this hit a nerve?

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

15. Most people have no idea how badly this country was hurt by

the policies of the last 10 years and if we don't pull out of it, you can look forward to the coming corporate wars. by the way welcome to DU.

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

20. AH no wonder the person only had one post.

[RandomThoughts]

13. If someone uses an ideology for a defense.

Show where it is flawed. Most ideologies are passed on to people, and not thought and felt on.


So saying a belief is an ideology is only true if it is not thought and felt on, if thought and felt on it also becomes a choice of what to believe.

I respect the beliefs many people have chosen to make after much thought and feeling. Even though there is good and bad in every person, and from that in the expression of every belief by people.


And things can be seen many ways.
Doctor Who - Bad Moon Rising
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbWD_gSg8dg


What I like most about that episode, is when he saw the Werewolf, and without judgment simply said it was beautiful, he could find beauty in anything. I like the writers of Dr. Who, even though I don't agree with all they say, there are some good stories there, if seen with perspective. For instance, why be scared of such things.

Although I think that show might have been setting ants on fire sometimes.

Although it also lit up the better thoughts and many good thoughts of beliefs also.

:shrug:

And :loveya:

And note that 'eye for an eye' was to create justice when people were overreacting out of perspective. It was not to create more harm.


Side note, people been saying the end is near for generations, I don't think anyone knows the time of the end. In my belief, because it is not a temporal concept.

:shrug:

[polichick]

19. Hell, a lot of Dems actually run from that vision as if it were a nightmare...

I heard someone on Sirius Left today say that the change we're (lefties) want won't come by way of this Democratic Party - and I think that's true. Either we elect more people with spines and balls and ovaries or another party will spring up one of these days.

[OHdem10]

21. What is their vision???? This is their problem.

[ProSense]

22. No, it's not their problem

How can anyone say they don't recognize Obama's (the Democratic) agenda?

[SteveM]

23. The debate is corrupted when we keep insisting politics are "polarized."

A metaphor such as "polarization" must demonstrate two or more "poles" by which to measure action/interaction. I see one pole: various glued together far-right ideologies. There is no other pole. There is no opposition, politically.

The Democratic Party wants neither a "platform" (re, ideology), nor anything to do with the Left, "Left" being defined by the GOP, or my pocket definition of anything to the "left" of Eisenhower.

I tire of this "polarization" metaphor. It is beyond inaccurate, it is meaningless.

[ProSense]

24. "The Democratic Party wants neither a "platform" (re, ideology), nor anything to do with the Left"

See, that's classic. Since when did Democrats not have a platform or not want one?

What have the DEMOCRATS Done for You????

We Vote

[Zoeisright]

25. This is inaccurate. The problem is the media, which conflates the two sides and

lets repuke lies go unchallenged. BTW, repukes LIE about their 'vision of society', because if they told the truth they'd be run out of the country to a man and woman.

[ibegurpard]

26. And the vision is?

It's not that government can be the solution to many of society's problems...they're running away from that as fast as they can.