General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThe Rude Pundit - Random Observations on a Reaming: That'll Teach That Negro to Be President
1. Here's everything you need to know about the 2014 midterms in a single anecdote: Last week, as he's mentioned, the Rude Pundit convinced the Rude Brother to vote for the Democrat, Mary Landrieu, in the Louisiana Senate race. The Rude Brother has long been Republican, but he is also for raising taxes on the wealthy, doesn't care about gay marriage, thinks abortion should be safe and legal, and agrees that humans contribute to climate change, among other beliefs. By just about any measure of politics, the Rude Brother is moderate-left, a Democrat. When the conversation ended, RB had said he would vote for Landrieu.
Cut to Election Day morning. The Rude Pundit received a text from RB: "And, in the end, the kid couldn't pull the trigger for Mary." A little later, he got another message: "It felt dirty voting for Landrieu." RB went with Bill Cassidy, the Republican, who believes the opposite of everything RB believes in. In fact, Bill Cassidy will try to take health insurance away from our Rude Sister and her family. RB had said he has no problems with Obamacare. Well, he does now.
There you have election 2014. A voter goes into the booth believing the world should be a certain way and then pushes the buttons for the candidates who will do everything they can to stop the world from being that way.
2. And that was the pattern just about everywhere for the night. Citizens in Arkansas, Nebraska, and South Dakota all hiked their state's minimum wage by huge margins while still voting in the Republican for Senate and/or governor. In Alaska, the minimum wage hike passed and Republican Dan Sullivan is leading incumbent Mark Begich. In Colorado, the voters defeated a personhood amendment while voting in for senator a goddamn guy who sponsored a federal version of the thing. Fucking Kentucky fuckers are happy pigs in the Obamacare mud, but, fuck you, Alison Grimes. Kentuckians want the cockknob who wanted them to stay sick and toothless.
And this isn't just in what you consider red or reddish states. In fucking Illinois, voters said "yes" to raising the minimum wage, a constitutional amendment for the right to vote, a higher tax on millionaires to fund schools, and a birth control mandate for insurance plans. They elected the Republican for governor, and he opposes at least two of those measures - the tax and the minimum wage (Bruce Rauner has said he wasn't going to get involved in "social issues" like birth control).
It's not just inconsistency. It's fucking insanity and impossible to reconcile, except to say, as Michael Tomasky did, that it's easier to support progressive goals at the local level because the White House n$**^@ doesn't support them. If the n$**^@ wants it, you gotta be against it. Nobody wants that n$**^@ around. How dare that n$**^@ be our president? How the fuck did that happen? (Yeah, racism is to blame for the way the electorate has so virulently turned against President Obama. But we've been saying this since at least 2010. Mary Landrieu is right, but you get raked over the coals for speaking it aloud.)
3. Shut the fuck up if you're writing some think piece about how Republicans will work with President Obama now. Shut the fuck up if you're writing about how Republicans will have to govern now. Shut the fuck up if you're writing blindly optimistic fantasy fiction about all the amazing things Obama will do now that he's unshackled completely from Congress. Just shut the fuck up.
Here's what's gonna happen, as sure as you're reading this. Republicans ran on one simple message: We will do nothing. Oh, sure, they made a big deal about repealing the Affordable Care Act or whatever, but that ain't happening until Obama is gone. So they will do nothing. It's the easiest fucking goal to reach, almost beautiful in its sinister simplicity. Republicans in the Senate are going to block any nominee for anything. Legislation was never going to pass, even if they lost the Senate. So they will vote for an agenda that has no way of getting past Obama's veto. They will vote to overturn the vetoes and fail. They will hold useless hearings on useless topics like Benghazi and, oh, fuck, why not, Ebola. They will subpoena the White House endlessly, which will slow the work of the Executive Branch. There will be talk of impeachment, but that won't go anywhere because it would be doing something, which is not part of the GOP ethos now.
And people will praise them for being brave because courage comes cheap in this decadent age, wallowing in the slippery afterbirth of what the nation did last night. People will praise them, as they already are, for "moderating," when moderation is just a mask made of flesh that they put on to disguise the true horror heaving breath underneath.
4. The bottom line is this: People like Democratic ideas. They don't like Democrats. That's all. You can blame many things: useless consultants, failure to defend Obama's policies, failure by Obama to demonstrate how he has done good things for the vast majority of Americans, shitty DNC leadership, the Republicans ginning up fear in the last couple of weeks, failure to inspire young people and non-whites to get to the polls, on and on. But the Rude Pundit just gets back to what the Rude Brother said, that "it felt dirty" to vote for a Democrat. How do you overcome that?
You want this to end happily and hopefully. You need someone to tell you it's not that bad. You are desperate for columns and blog posts that relieve what ails you, whether its nausea, rage, or, most likely, disgusted exhaustion. This isn't going to do it. There needs to be some big time soul-searching. Hillary Clinton and 2016 ain't the cure for what ails you because, well, shit, after that is 2018 (and Clinton is problematic, but that's another riff for another time). We have to accept the obvious ignorance of the voting public. Mostly, people are stupid yahoos, hunched naked in ditches, picking at nits, looking for a shiny object they can worship.
Democrats have to make that object. We have create a new narrative. Not a counter-narrative as a response to Republicans, but a narrative that Republicans must respond to. And we have to be willing to stick with that narrative, not abandon it like a hot boyfriend after one fuck, as happened after the 2008 election.
The Rude Pundit has said before, and he'll say again and again: We have to stop acting like the visiting team in our own country.
http://rudepundit.blogspot.com/2014/11/random-observations-on-reaming-thatll.html
* naughty word edited - meegbear
Fred Sanders
(23,946 posts)he stands for in the December runoff, even fucking say you voted for him, yes, voted for that n****r, what the fuck is there to lose, the fucking Senate?
Fucking Kochs are fucking running ad after ad on CNN today doing a fucking lap dance for them on air, while CNN gives themselves a hand job for whoring well done.
randys1
(16,286 posts)When climate change drowns and kills millions of rightwingers who said it doesnt exist, I so god damn wanna be alive to see it.
When the wealth of the Oligarchs creates mass poverty and tens of millions are living in warehousing like conditions, I so wanna be alive to see it and laugh.
Yes, god dammit I want to laugh, in a few minutes I am going to rightwing message boards where republicans making $15 an hour as security guards at Target are going to be gleaming with pride that the party that wants to KILL HIM won...well, they dont want to outright kill him but he better god damn understand that in 2015 people will line up for his job to do it for $10 an hour
AND IN 2016 people will line up to do his job for $5 an hour...that person will be on a high because he thinks he just won something.
BlueCaliDem
(15,438 posts)randys1
(16,286 posts)And yes, americans love democratic ideas but hate the democratic politicians.
How do you fix that?
I say tell the truth, bluntly and in your face style.
But will the oligarchs who support many of the righwing dems allow that?
mikehiggins
(5,614 posts)Couldn't agree more, except I think historical trends are at work which will end up with the US displacing Great Britain as the once dominant force in world affairs. We'll probably be displaced by Brazil or China even as we wave our flags and chant "USA! USA! USA!"
It'll be very relaxing.
SoCalDem
(103,856 posts)our teevee shows, 88 oz soda pop, Nascar , football & assorted other entertainments
maryellen99
(3,789 posts)Is when they can't afford to pay for their iPhones,Cable,and Xbox.
SoCalDem
(103,856 posts)tblue37
(65,357 posts)vlyons
(10,252 posts)or maybe India
AverageJoe90
(10,745 posts)Dont call me Shirley
(10,998 posts)emulatorloo
(44,124 posts)LovingA2andMI
(7,006 posts)Rude Pundit . Spot on Perfect Beautiful Bean Footage here.
And Proud to do so
AleksS
(1,665 posts)This is what I hope folks take away. We have some time now to figure out a solution.
This set of elections (notably points 1, 2 and 4 above) highlight an issue Democrats have faced for years now.
Our issues are awesome. But people don't like us. Republicans are great at spreading hate and fear. Hatemongering and Fearmongering. Whether it's turning "liberal" into a slur, or making people feel "dirty" voting for the candidate that best reflects their own beliefs, the GOP is the undisputed king of crafting a message of hate, and has been for 30 years.
With a rockstar candidate like Obama, we can make it temporarily "cool" again to vote Democratic. But lacking that, there has to be a way to retake the Democratic, or liberal or progressive brand.
The first step is to stop letting the GOP have free rein in defining us to us. If the GOP says "Oh, you better not campaign with Obama!" we need to stop listening to them. If the GOP says "Oh, you better not campaign on Democratic issues like raising the minimum wage!" we need to stop listening to them. Why do we think they have our best interests at heart?
Bonhomme Richard
(9,000 posts)They simply prefer not to act on them.
okieinpain
(9,397 posts)BumRushDaShow
(128,979 posts)Spitfire of ATJ
(32,723 posts)DeSwiss
(27,137 posts)...this is the result.
- On the other hand, if all you know is The Lie then you wouldn't know the truth if it bit you on the ass.....
K&R
''Let your life be a friction to stop the machine.'' ~ Henry David Thoreau
daleanime
(17,796 posts)malaise
(268,998 posts)Thank you Rudie
Sparky 1
(400 posts)Botany
(70,504 posts)n/t
Myrina
(12,296 posts)n/t
okieinpain
(9,397 posts)Cha
(297,237 posts)jonjensen
(168 posts)I talked with moderates who were not sure if they were going to vote democrat and ebola was the final straw. they all told me same thing the president cares more about west africans they he does about me. some said they would vote republican ;but others could not bring themselves to vote republican would stay home and wait for 2016 to vote for mrs. clinton.
redruddyred
(1,615 posts)lol.
Elmer S. E. Dump
(5,751 posts)I think moderates/independents/undecideds are republicans that are ashamed to be called republicans. In a million years it never would have occurred to me that President Obama would put the U.S. at risk to save West Africans. Except for the person that died, everyone else was an American citizen we were bringing back to get decent care - and they all survived. Seems any rational person would see that as caring more about U.S. citizens than West Africans.
We need a Progressive Party. And we need to ship everyone else to Texas, and give it to Mexico.
secondwind
(16,903 posts)ffr
(22,670 posts)Voters like associating with "winners". They like the feel, like after the election, of selecting a winner, because selecting a candidate that loses negatively affects that person's psyche.
Dems need to present their brand as a 'winning' brand, as opposed to "that dirty feeling" some might get.
Funny thing is, most of us don't need that sense of selecting a winner, because we're not afraid to fail occasionally. But when you're weak minded like a Republis voter, it weighs heavily.
Myrina
(12,296 posts)... because he knows us better than we know ourselves.
Half-Century Man
(5,279 posts)HoosierRadical
(390 posts)than I don't know how to overcome that, RB and people like him are what is wrong with this country.
zeemike
(18,998 posts)When you are angry and frustrated, and you go in the booth you are likely to press the big red destruct button...like the Rude Brother did.
And people are angry...the party they voted in has a 20% approval rateing...that is as good as a big red destruct button.
MountainMama
(237 posts)K & R
hifiguy
(33,688 posts)say everything that needs to be said, and so well. Thanks, meegbear!
dilby
(2,273 posts)When Obama was on the ballot there were record turn outs for people to vote, unfortunately this election I am guessing there was nothing really on the ballots to get Average Joe and Soccer Mom Sally off the couch to vote. Remember a large majority of Americans vote for whats in it for them right now, not what could possibly be in it for me next year by electing this or that Congressman or Senator. Want to get people to show up to the voting booth on election night, add state measures that will get people off their asses and voting. I am talking liberal progressive measures, in Oregon it was measure 91 or Legal Marijuana and measure 89 or Equal Rights for Women.
MFM008
(19,808 posts)A bunch of mud footed pig fu*cking hillbillies in mostly RED states voted repuke, now the whole country is screwing in the straw? No. Media again. Bad cantidates lost . Grimes was hopeless with her im not a witch___ Obama crap. Im just sorry to see CO ditch Udall and Harkins seat taken by Daisey May pigsticker. That is all.
Scuba
(53,475 posts)... Democrats need to do a better job of campaigning on Democratic ideas.
redruddyred
(1,615 posts)or some serious cognitive dissonance.
niyad
(113,306 posts)barbtries
(28,794 posts)no time to read right now.
corkhead
(6,119 posts)4. The bottom line is this: People like Democratic ideas. They don't like Democrats. That's all.
There needs to be some big time soul-searching. Hillary Clinton and 2016 ain't the cure for what ails you because, well, shit, after that is 2018
joshdawg
(2,648 posts)is spot on............again!
redruddyred
(1,615 posts)I can admit I was wrong.
now quit fucking up the country you fuckers.
Stardust
(3,894 posts)evolution, redruddyred! Welcome to the light.
redruddyred
(1,615 posts)I posted to it. it's around here somewhere.
Stardust
(3,894 posts)mariawr
(348 posts)The platform and all the damn dem candidates for any and all office needs to get on board with it. Period. end of story.
I think the progressive House caucus(?) has one?
ctsnowman
(1,903 posts)Android3.14
(5,402 posts)Sure, the Republicans are racist cheating bastards. But the truth is that the Democrats were unmotivated because of a failure of our leadership in the Oval Office.
Even with an obstructionist GOP, our President could have done and could still do so much to advance progressive values. Gay marriage, while certainly a step in the right direction, is small potatoes and our Pres jumped on that bandwagon after we had already done the legwork. The ACA was a GOP plan.
Obama could have motivated the Democrats and undeclared folks by shutting down Guantanamo, stomping the NSA, protecting journalists and whistle blowers, smothering the TPP, prosecuting Wall street and investigating the Iraq debacle of GW's administration.
He could have done all that even with the Republicans behaving like asses.
I'm going to point out the obvious. This election defeat was a fundamental failure on our leadership to support Democratic ideals, defend important civil rights, and negotiate treaties to support all the people.
I voted straight Democratic ticket, but I knew we were going to lose bad. The responsibility is with our President.
People follow for a reason.
Erich Bloodaxe BSN
(14,733 posts)Leadership isn't something that emanated from one person. Each and every candidate had a choice to show their own leadership. After all, Congress is supposed to be a collection of people who lead the country. If you want to be in Congress, you SHOULD be demonstrating your own individual leadership.
Applauding the things that were done that helped people (And telling people HOW they were helped, and how many were helped) and acknowledging the the things that were done wrong, explaining WHY they were wrong, and how you're going to try to fix them.
Not trying simply to hide from mistakes or ignore them, but meeting them head on and working to change them.
Android3.14
(5,402 posts)Each candidate had the choice to show their leadership, as did our President have the same chance on so many issues. Pelosi is an aging hen clucking impotently at people who are not listening. Same thing with Harry Reid - he's brain dead, a coward when it comes to running the Senate and nobody listens to him any more.
The disappointment most Democrats and most independent voters feel, regardless of the animosity of the party faithful, is real. I have seen little leadership from Obama on true progressive principles. He follows popular trends such as gay rights and minimum wage, but only after the writing is on the wall with ten foot high letters and it makes him look like a jerk for not at least acknowledging the issue.
The elements I identified in my previous post, plus countless others such as a sane energy policy, investment in infrastructure, vote machine reform, etc., were things that he could have addressed without first sucking Bohner's boner.
He ignored progressive issues, protected big money interests and failed to inspire people to vote this election.
Obama is responsible, and the pain coming down on us in the next few years is Obama's legacy.
Thanks for nothing, Mr. President.
MatthewStLouis
(904 posts)FDR knew the answer. Democrats cannot afford to be fearful. It is not part of our DNA. When we shrink away from our own ideas, people lose respect. Too many democratic politicians LISTEN to the right wing media machine and they run from our own best ideas, retreating, when they should be advancing.
No democrat should be afraid to defend our president. We are the ones in the right. We don't have to back down.
"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself!"
mountain grammy
(26,621 posts)dhill926
(16,339 posts)what I wouldn't give for an old school populist, a Jim Hightower type, to emerge from the wreckage. Articulate progressive principles PROUDLY and loudly...
valerief
(53,235 posts)seeing what Romney was like. WTF???
redruddyred
(1,615 posts)considering that they sent an all D coalition to the house.
a couple explanations I've heard:
1) sexism
2) don't give team D too much power.
elect a green party candidate you ignoramuses.