I am having a difficult time getting a read on how we are doing...

[Ninga]

I cannot figure out what the current state of liberal/progressive politics is, at this moment.

A fellow Dem told me I was blind to the slow success the Tea Party has getting their messages out. She said that by the time the 2014 mid- term elections roll around, all of political arguing will make it feel like 2010 all over again.....because Dems will look weak, and the base will stay home.

[upaloopa]

1. I guess get a crystal ball

[Ninga]

18. Here is the argument..in 2010 all of the screaming about Obama Care being bad, confused

and depressed voters and the turn out was record "low numbers" especially in Ohio.

Fast forward to current day....try to find one person on the street who understands Chained CPI,
but not sure except thinks its bad.....and who wins in that scenario?

[upaloopa]

20. I think there is too much time between now and any election to predict anything

[Ninga]

22. You may be right.....just so not want to see a replay of 2010...

[Puzzledtraveller]

2. My observation

is that internally and maybe this is obvious, "progressives" and "liberals" are not quite on the same page. I consider myself among the latter and quite at odds over the way things are going. Just my honest opinion.

[Ninga]

13. I am afraid that if little to no progress is made in the next year....we will have a

difficult time getting our voters to come out.

[TheMastersNemesis]

3. We Still Have A President Who Still Wants To Make A Deal. While The GOP Caters To Its Base

Obama seems to be telling his base you have to learn to give stuff up. That is why we get shellacked. When you look weak the American public abandons you. I have not seen any strong progressive kick back from this administration in 4 years.

I voted for Obama and support him because the alternative is so much worse. He keeps coughing up Medicare and Social Security every chance he gets. That is disaster if he pushes Dems to compromise on those programs.

Obama is not particularly strong about supporting unions and government employees either.

So I hear a weak progressive message because Obama believes progressives are too strident and left. That we need to be more moderate and be the adult in the room. Well it is not working. We are losing ground to the tea party and hate radio that covers 90% of the country.

2014 could be a disaster like 2010.

[reformist2]

4. I don't buy it. Repugs in 2010 were angry, scared of Obama. Now they feel lost, defeated.

[Ninga]

14. Not in Ohio. In 2010 the biggest GOTV ever for an off year election

didn't t work, and Dems in Ohio from Gov through Congress lost.

[JaneyVee]

5. What tea party?

[Comrade_McKenzie]

6. We have a President that wants to be a leader.

And a bunch of crybabies on both sides drowning what's barely left of reasonable people in America in tears is what we have.

[KharmaTrain]

8. Spot On...

...supposedly the President is responsible for 100% of the American people, not only for those who voted for him. Unfortunately the rushpublicans have become a provincial party only interested in their own rabid and unhinged base...fearful of the ire and possibility of a primary challenge. Thus any deal with President Obama is viewed as betrayal. Unfortunately the President is trying to nudge a gridlock government off center with little success. The GOTB "gameplan" is to obstruct and make politics so poisoned that people get turned off and apathetic. It's their only hopes to win elections...voter suppression takes many shapes...

Cheers...

[pscot]

9. Are you calling Progressives who post here crybabies?

And lumping us in with the Teabaggers? Maybe you could unpack that for us.

[NNN0LHI]

11. That is right. That is exactly what is going on

Same thing that happened during the last midterms.

[Ninga]

17. Exactly.

[OldDem2012]

7. Sounds like a lot of what was being said before the 2012 election...

....how'd that turn out for the GOP Tea-Nazis?

The issues faced by the GOP during the 2012 election cycle will not get any better for them by 2014. They have massive problems with minority voters, earned benefits, education, women's rights, and other issues too numerous to list.

[pscot]

10. The Tea Nazis control the House of Representatives

and the sequester is a major win for teabaggery. I hope you're right about 2014. I think we'll be lucky to hold what we now have.

[OldDem2012]

12. The sequester is already beginning to backfire on the GOP Tea-Nazis....

....just wait until the full effects are being felt in Tea-Nazi districts by GOPers who voted those creeps into office.

[Ninga]

16. I'm not as confident as you....and can see how the arguing and hammering can easily confuse

voters into thinking "it's both parties...to hell with voting"

[pscot]

21. The Republicans played Brer Rabbit

To Obama's fox. He flung 'em right where they wanted to go; they were born and bred in a briar patch.

[Ninga]

15. The constant arguing and Tea meme about the deficit are hurting Dems, fom the

perspective that the voters inclined to support Dems (not considered loyal, strong voters) are easily discouraged by the awful tone in Wash.

[OldDem2012]

24. The Tea-Nazis are doing nothing but hurting themselves. nt.

[treestar]

19. Tea partiers don't stay home to spite themselves.

No "base" stays home, anyway. That's not a base, that a bunch of morans who think they are punishing someone other than themselves.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

23. "All politics is local." Tip O'Neill

If a citizen thinks he/she is doing well or that things are getting better they'll probably vote for the party that appears to be making that happen. If not, they'll want a change.