A lesson Democratic Senators must learn - SHARPISH [View All]

[TheBigotBasher]

When you run on a platform people expect results. Political platforms are not toilet paper - especially when sold with the very heavy and successful hype behind Team Obama. When those political platforms get treated like toilet paper the electorate becomes apathetic. That apathy is NOT laziness it is a natural reaction to being lied to. It is an example of the failure of politicians not of the failure of the populous.

Of course people argue the Senate needs compromise. Yes that is true, but in a political party public unity counts. It provides confidence to your supporters. There is a role for diversity of opinion, but that is what the Democratic caucus is for. Bush Blue Dogs and real Democratic Senators should fight like hell in those meetings. Give them boxing gloves, give them whatever, but do not do it on the Senate floor.

Every one of the 58 Democratic Senators was elected on the Democratic Programme for 2008. This included having decent health care for all. Nelson and Landrieu may not have liked that but that is the programme that they were elected on. If they wanted to change that they could have run for Senate Leader or President. They would soon learn how popular their agenda is,

Those apologising for the failure of the Democratic Party to deliver 60 votes on a decent health care bill need only to look at the Republicans. They did not have to do a damned thing. All they needed to do is watch the Democratic Party who were given massive majorities tear themselves and their agenda apart.

Long standing basic Democratic principles were thrown out of the window. Womens' rights for one. All because Republicans know Reid is a Democratic Leader who is in Office, but certainly not in power. He has ceded that power to any and every Senator who wants whatever they want, fuck the Party and fuck the people.

So what could have been done? Those who vote against the platform need to understand discipline. Nelson and Landrieu to name just two should have been threatened with partial suspension of the whip, removal from positions, leading all the way to ending Party financing and or expulsion. That message of Party discipline needs to be enforced all the way down. From the President to the Party Chairman (whoever he is again).

Hold strong caucus meetings. What happens in there says in there. When facing Republicans on the Senate floor be united. If you give in to blackmail, which is what Blue Dog Senators did with this bill, you will be continually blackmailed.

And forget that they come from more "Conservative" seats. They come from seats with a higher mix of Republican and Democratic supporters. Republicans wake up annoyed with what the Democratic Party does every day, even when it is out of office. You can not win them over. Those seats also have a larger number of swing voters. You can win and lose them. They vote on how well their Senator and President is doing. If they are failing to deliver they get booted. The Blue Dogs will be amongst the first to be booted out of their seats. (only good thing about Rahm I guess - Blue Dogs by and large ended up in swing seats because he thought you needed to be "Conservative" to be elected in a swing seat. Franken showed how much of a lie that was.). The MSM will present it as a resurgent GOP, they will think that they were not Conservative enough. The GOP however is not resurgent. The public are simply not satisfied with Politicians who lie to get elected.

This is not Palin Purity. This is about what people expect when they elect Politicians. The Party is Democratic. It adopts a platform, details of implementation can be fought out in Caucus. The Republicans are not less hard on the likes of Lincoln et al because they are blue dogs. Hagan was called "Godless" by Dole. Reid the Rethugs call "Liberal" and Socialist (as if those terms are synonymous with Devil worshipper or something).

There is nothing natural in Congress swinging wildly back and forth each election. It is a rejection of failure and how one Mr Smiley is currently Mr Smiley of the day who can undo the bad things of the previous Mr Smiley. It does not have to be that way if the Democratic Party delivers on what it promised.Butter it up however you like, failure to deliver, when you have run round claiming 60 votes appears to the non Senate watching public as a lie and you will be punished for it.