Maddow: "The Stupak amendment . . . is the biggest restriction on abortion funding since the Hyde Amendment, it's the biggest restriction on abortion access in this country in a generation, if it took a Democratic President 60% majorities in the House and Senate are Democrats to get that I think you can expect Democratic women to sit on their hands at least, if not revolt if that doesn't get taken out in conference."
Editorial Note: I HATE Meet The Press, and the only reason I suject myself to it, or you, my dear readers, is for moments like these whn someone actually makes sense instead of echoing the "Dems are losing/The GOP is gonna win" talking points.
Simply put, if women's rights are restricted by a Democratic Majority in Congress and a Democratic President in the White House, the women who make up the Democratic base will either sit n their hands in 2010 or hold a massive revolt which will cripple the Democrtaic party in future elections.
Rachel Maddow is THE best journalist in American politics today, in my humble opinion, and I think she deserves a pulitzer prize for her reporting on the astroturf protests of the last year. Not only should she be a regular on Meet The Press, she should have David Gregory's job.
But Rachel made two very salient points on the show today, and those were that Creigh Deeds lost in Virginia because he ran to the right of our President and his overwhelming popular agenda of reform, and that the more that Democrats legislate like Conservative Republicans, the less motivated their base will be in supporting them in elections in the future. As valuable as Independant voters are appealing to them should NOT trump keeping your base satisfied with the direction that your party is going in, and that means being LESS like your political opponents, not MORE like them.
The bigger point, which ties into the first, is that Democrats can NOT continue to betray their base and expect them to support them, and that is proven by the Stupak-Pitts Amendment that was passed last night. If Democrats do something Republicans have not been able to for decades, which is to limit the rights of women's choice, there will, and SHOULD, be massive blowback. Women and Democrats did NOT hand Democrats huge majorities in order to legislate like Republicans, who are tremendously unpopular for a reason. This goes for LGBT rights, Torture Accountability, Wall St reforms and many, many other issues.
The political reality is that Democrats who win elections by narrow decisions BECAUSE of strong suppport from their bases, be it financial support, volunteer support and GOTV efforts. Those individual Democratic officials that spurn those bases WILL lose, because an energized Democrtaic base is what motivates undecided voters and independant voters to join our side. Without that motivation, Republicans WILL win those elections based on the fact that thrie hard core base (which is all that they have left) NEVER miss elections.
In elections, often the difference comes down to which base wants to win more. By turning away the Democratic base and voting like Republicans, the Democrtaic party is shooting it's hunting partner in the face.
The easiest way for Democrtas to LOSE elections is to not use the power given to them by their voters to enact policies that they run on. Let every Democrat in Congress beware on Stupak-Pitts, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
Also crossposted at The Progressive Electorate.com |
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