For those who remember me blogging on Daily Kos under the moniker “Motley Patriot”, you remember that I wrote quite a few articles on the importance of the Independent voter.
Well, for the past two elections, the Independents have soundly voted for the Democratic Party, and, for the past two elections, the Democratic Party has made huge gains.
Do you want to know why that is, not might, but is, going to change?
Since 2004, the “Independents” have increasingly included conservatives who got fed up with the GOP — myself included.
Since 2004, the “Independents” have increasingly included veterans and active duty military who used to vote Republican — myself included.
There is no doubt that the current GOP wingnuttia of “we simply weren’t conservative enough to win” is a dying mantra of a political Party whose membership is likely to die of old age within the next 20 years.
There is also no doubt that the Democratic Party has always maintained their right to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory due to their own spinelessness.
There are those who say that President-elect Obama never was the “liberal” that the “Left” portrayed him. While he might not have been, if “change” was merely a campaign slogan to him, then millions of Americans have been duped.
There are some who say that we should not judge President-elect Obama by his cabinet picks or appointee’s, but, on his actions once he becomes President. This statement always includes the disclaimer that any appointee will simply follow the President’s wishes and not their own agenda. What it fails to address is that to make that appointment, the President-elect must somehow agree with that individual on an ideology level. There is also another choice; that the President-elect has come to realize that there are other players in the game — and they cannot be ignored.
The first team we got word on was the economics team. I have already written about my thoughts on those picks — horrible — yet, the “Left” punditry and bloggers have fallen all over themselves to praise those picks. As I wrote, 10 out of 17 of those picks had absolutely zero reason to be picked. None. They were either part of the problem, had extended the problem, or, had no qualifications to be on that team, whatsoever.
This doesn’t even take into account that President-elect Obama has already caved to pressure with his vote on the FISA Bill, a bill that had provisions that he stated he would filibuster only to vote for it in the end. Or, that he has stated in public that he would end torture, only to advance the name of John Brennan until an overwhelming outcry halted it.
The GOP played games too long. They lost the support of thinking voters. Now, it is the Democratic Party’s turn to do the same, and, they are starting long before Barack Obama is even sworn into office.
Enter Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., who it appears, wished to buy his way into a Senate seat. Sure, all politicians try it. It just really doesn’t help the Democratic Party to have a governor and Representative outed as being as corrupt as the Republicans we just helped put out of office.
Come on…
You’ve got “Joe the Plumber” tossing Sen. McCain under the bus, which was to be expected given that he endorsed Sen. McCain who subsequently lost the election. But, we knew that the GOP was left with imbeciles as its base.
But, while you have the President-elect saying he wants to close Guantanamo Prison and end torture, you get Rep. Reyes (D-TX) saying that the CIA being able to torture prisoners might actually be necessary!
Yes, there are a lot of people, including myself, chaffing over Obama stocking his cabinet with Clinton re-treads. But, in order to appease the Right, he’s also trying to keep on some of Bush’s people, as well. Neither are an option for us, and, I’ll tell you why.
Larry Summers was all “pro-deregulation” and helped facilitate the meltdown in our economy. Sure, it was the Bush administration’s total de-regulation that pushed it over the edge, but, Clinton’s cronies hold some responsibility.
Robert Gates may be a “sane voice”, but, he was only brought in to salvage what he could from the wreckage of Donald Rumsfeld. The fact remains that he had ties to individuals involved in Iran-Contra under Reagan as Deputy Director of the CIA in 1984. So, as a Bush Sr. man, he holds too much baggage to have kept in his current position.
With the GOP gerrymandering of districts, any election where the Democratic Party made gains was due, ultimately, to the Independent vote, which now includes many former Republicans. Without those votes, the Democratic Party lose those elections.
For the past two elections, the Independent voters have given the Democratic Party huge gains in the Senate, the House, and now, the White House. Without results, those same voters will simply disappear in future elections. This isn’t to say that every pick by the President-elect has been a bad one — I can think of no better person to head the Veteran’s Administration than Gen. Shinseki (Ret.).
This is to say that the Democratic Party did themselves no favors when Nancy Pelosi immediately took impeachment off the table, when Harry Reid furthered the GOP agenda in the Senate, that you now have a Democratic Representative defending the practice of torture, and, Barack Obama appears to be trying to appease everyone instead of forging ahead with the mandate given to him.
To think that the Democratic Party will now rule for decades is fantasy. The American public is fed up with the current political climate. They were tired of Bush and the GOP and showed it. They are tired of Nancy and Harry — or, didn’t the fact that the Democratically-led Congress having a lower approval rate than George Bush get that across to “the Left”?
Yes, we know that the GOP is going to obstruct everything. We get that point. But, unless the Democrat’s show that they have balls to govern, why should we do more than write in Mickey Mouse come 2010 or 2012?
If you wonder what losing the Independent vote means, just look at the last two elections to figure it out. If both Party’s lose the middle, the GOP wins by default due to the gerrymandering.
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