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The Narrative

By Big Tent Democrat, Section Other Politics
Posted on Thu Sep 02, 2010 at 01:34:31 PM EST
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Below I wrote about the Beltway (and White House?) narrative that Obama's failures are all the progressives' fault. That's why, as Atrios noted, Paul Krugman's points on the stimulus are critical:

The way the right [I would say the Beltway myself] wants to tell the story — and, I’m afraid, the way it will play in November — is that the Obama team went all out for Keynesian policies, and they failed. So back to supply-side economics! [. . . T]hat is not at all what happened. A straight Keynesian analysis implied the need for a much bigger program, more oriented toward spending, than the administration proposed. And people like me said that at the time — we’re not talking about hindsight.

[. . .] I’m trying to keep the record straight here. It may not matter for the immediate political debate, but I think it does matter for the long game.

There will be a predictable lynching of progressives by the Beltway after the coming crushing defeat for Dems in November, possibly led by the White House itself.

Speaking for me only

< Time To Blame Progressives | President-Elect Obama On The Stimulus, January 7, 2009 >

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    The Narrative | 15 comments (15 topical)

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    "They have no place to go." (5.00 / 6) (#1)
    by lambert on Thu Sep 02, 2010 at 01:43:24 PM EST
    The "progressives" who thought Obama was secretly one of them purged from the party?

    What a shame.

    And it'll never occur to them (5.00 / 2) (#2)
    by Edger on Thu Sep 02, 2010 at 01:43:42 PM EST
    that maybe actually doing something useful to win back the votes from liberals and independents and progressives would have avoided the crushing defeat.

    They're smart people, right? They can't possibly be stupid enough to actually believe that liberals and independents and progressives are stupid enough to vote to continue be screwed by them, can they?

    Or can they?

    Sure they can (5.00 / 8) (#3)
    by MO Blue on Thu Sep 02, 2010 at 01:57:55 PM EST
    Also this sets up the perfect narrative and environment to implement the recommendations of the Cat Food Commission in December.

    Parent
    I guess a lot of Democrats (5.00 / 1) (#4)
    by Edger on Thu Sep 02, 2010 at 02:13:52 PM EST
    like the idea of becoming 99ers...

    Parent
    So many lobbyist opportunities - (5.00 / 2) (#7)
    by MO Blue on Thu Sep 02, 2010 at 05:19:03 PM EST
    so little time. Any chance the market will be gutted by the influx? Nah, silly me, no such thing as too many lobbyists in D.C.

    Parent
    I'd venture to guess that (5.00 / 1) (#6)
    by republicratitarian on Thu Sep 02, 2010 at 03:29:06 PM EST
    progressives and liberals will still vote D down the ballot, those that aren't disillusioned and  actually go vote.

    The independent vote is out there, but there isn't enough time to swing anyone back with anything meaningful before November. It would be too little too late.

    I'm no expert, just a guess on my part.

    Parent

    That's the big question, (none / 0) (#12)
    by BrassTacks on Thu Sep 02, 2010 at 11:55:03 PM EST
    How many of us will bother to vote in November?  Why bother when we've had it all, President, the House, and the Senate, and gotten so little for it.  We've had it all for two years, and had the House and Senate two years before that.  And have next to nothing to show for it.  How do convince people that their vote is important and will make a difference?  Where's the ''change''?  

    Parent
    We're the stupid party? (5.00 / 1) (#10)
    by BrassTacks on Thu Sep 02, 2010 at 11:46:03 PM EST
    Is that what they truly believe?  We were so stupid as to vote for the empty suit they put in front of us, Obama, so we must be stupid enough to vote for who ever else they shove in front of us?

    How could SO many be SO dumb in 2008?  

    Parent

    Well, if the plan all along - going (5.00 / 7) (#5)
    by Anne on Thu Sep 02, 2010 at 02:25:10 PM EST
    back to before 2006 - was to re-make the party - leadership and rank-and-file in Congress - in a more conservative image, I would have to say that it's working out splendidly.  Rahm did his part, others did theirs.  The DNC did what it had to do to make sure the not-very-Democratic Obama was the party's nominee.  Obama cooperated, bringing all his respect for Republican ideas and admiration for the savvy businessmen, seeding his administration with nominees and appointees that weren't going to rock the boat, paying lip service to the liberals, but allowing nominations to wither and die.  An Authoritarian Democrat who can outperform any Compassionate Conservative you can name.

    Yeesh, that's a scary combination.

    It's about the only thing that's worked pretty much perfectly, but I'm not sure I know where it goes from here.  Does losing seats in November just give Obama more Republicans to align with?  What's the kabuki going to look like?  More pretending and posturing and shoulder-shrugging as more legislation moves to the right, what's left of the middle class sinks into oblivion, the rich buttress their positions as the elite, more war breaks out, more rights get eroded or disappear altogether?  

    What's the end game? Is it about accepting losses now because the agenda they want is going to happen anyway?

    I'm not sure I remember or can think of a time when a Democratic party cared so little for its own members, and had such little respect for the struggles of fellow citizens that at a time of economic deprivation they want to find ways to make life harder for those who have the least, and guarantee comfort and security for those with the most.

    I thought we had gone down the rabbit hole when Bush was president; little did I know what the future held for us with Obama.  Holy moly.

    I don't actually think (5.00 / 3) (#9)
    by gyrfalcon on Thu Sep 02, 2010 at 11:36:44 PM EST
    most of the Dem. Party pooh-bahs who pushed for Obama, from Nancy Pelosi on down, are really happy with the way this is turning out.  I can see them all right now tossing and turning on their pillows and repeating endlessly, "What was I THINKING OF!!!"

    I think they thought they were going to get a nice tame liberal who could sell anything to the adoring public, and most importantly above all, would bring vast numbers of young people into the party to become loyal voters (and contributors) for the rest of their lives.

    I actually do think Nancy Pelosi cares passionately about policy and is well into the process of tearing her hair out over the way this has gone with Obama.  And I'm frankly glad that Teddy died before he could find out how much he'd deluded himself.

    "Start at the low end" indeed.

    Parent

    Young people?? (5.00 / 2) (#11)
    by BrassTacks on Thu Sep 02, 2010 at 11:49:53 PM EST
    Who thinks that young people will be loyal to the party simply because they fell in love with a young Black candidate who gave seductive speeches to the masses? Young people are notoriously unreliable voters.  They may have adored Obama, but they couldn't tell today who their Congressman is and they sure won't make any effort to vote for him/her.  The bloom is off the rose and young people have returned to their own interests.  

    Parent
    That's what a lot of us (5.00 / 2) (#14)
    by gyrfalcon on Fri Sep 03, 2010 at 09:17:40 AM EST
    said back some time ago, but we heard over and over again how DP people were convinced that once you get a younger person to vote for you enthusiastically, it sets the pattern for the rest of their lives.  And maybe it does, but surely not when the hero they voted for in droves betrays their hopes right out of the box.

    Parent
    Apparently not (5.00 / 1) (#15)
    by jbindc on Fri Sep 03, 2010 at 10:58:26 AM EST
    From the Scherer Time article:

    This shift in perception -- from Obama as political savior to Obama as creature of Washington -- can be seen elsewhere. When Obama arrived in office in January '09, his Gallup approval rating stood at 68%, a high for a newly elected leader not seen since John Kennedy in 1961. Today Obama's job approval has been hovering in the mid-40s, which means that at least 1 in 4 Americans has changed his or her mind. The plunge has been particularly dramatic among independents, whites and those under age 30.  With midterm elections just nine weeks off, instead of the generational transformation some Democrats predicted after 2008, the President's party teeters on the brink of a broad setback in November, including the possible loss of both houses of Congress. By a 10-point margin, people say they will vote for Republicans over Democrats in Congress, the largest such gap ever recorded by Gallup.


    Parent
    Too late (5.00 / 2) (#13)
    by Ga6thDem on Fri Sep 03, 2010 at 08:20:02 AM EST
    smart? Or maybe they should've listened to the "low information" voters who really weren't so low information after all.

    Parent
    Crushing us before or after the drug tests? n/t (none / 0) (#8)
    by jawbone on Thu Sep 02, 2010 at 05:56:17 PM EST


    The Narrative | 15 comments (15 topical)

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