The great historical lesson of the WI protests: Biden was right.

[RBInMaine]

Vice President Biden (and others) said it clear as a bell going into last fall's elections: snap out of it, buck up, and get the hell out there, get engaged, and VOTE. HUGE KUDOS to all the D's and Progressives who did show up. But in WAY too many places (including in my state), way too many D's/Progressives sat on their hands and didn't even vote let alone volunteer for campaigns. They were warned over and over that if these TeaPUKES get in to office, they'll screw us royal. (I have heard estimates that some 30% of UNION members even voted for the RePUKES.(???) ) Well, now we have it. Elections have huge consequences, and these TeaSCUMbaggers are trying to dismantle anything progressive that is left in our society at every level of government all over this country. Now what to do? Don't just protest, which, to be honest, in the end has minimal lasting effect. In 2012, PHONEBANK and CANVASS NEIGHBORHOODS for DEMOCRATS and send these TeaSCUMRePUKES right out on their god damned asses!

[boston bean]

1. stop blaming progressives for republicans!

There is a democratic mayor in Providence who just fired every single teacher.

[mzteris]

2. you need to reread that whole story

you've completely misunderstood it.

[boston bean]

4. people did vote for a democratic mayor.

Arne and Obama are union busting teachers by demonizing them with their race to the top bullshit.

This goes well beyond political party.

Are dems a smidge better, yeah. Are they mealy mouthed corporate whores too, yes.

[RBInMaine]

7. On large balance D's support workers, NOT the PUKES. And yes, too many D's/Progressives sat on their

hands and whined that "the health bill isn't progressive enough" and on and on. Well, how about dismantling the unions and PBS and Planned Parenthood and the environmental laws and voting rights laws and on and on all over this country? How do you like them apples? Progressive enough for you? Yes, some D's and Progressives did engage because I'm one of them, but WAY too many sat on their hands and now THIS IS WHAT YOU GET, and that is just the inconvenient truth. So now, we live, we learn, and we re-boot for 2012.

[drm604]

3. Recalls where possible.

In districts where we can win, where we would have won if people had bothered to vote, we need to mount recall drives on all recall eligible Republicans.

[boston bean]

9. why didn't they "bother" to vote as you put it?

meant to post up one!

[RBInMaine]

10. No excuses ! None. We had the most progressive and productive Congress possible.

[boston bean]

11. why didn't they "bother" to vote?

it's not an excuse, but a question.

Why didn't they bother to vote?

Stop blaming progressives, please.

[RBInMaine]

15. I blame any "progressive" who didn't vote, and too many didn't. Stop making excuses.

[Davis_X_Machina]

18. We know why people don't vote..

The Census asks, and tabulates the data. The 2010 data aren't available yet.

Being dissatisfied with the choices on offer isn't even in the top three excuses from 2008.

Link is to Excel spreadsheet... OpenOffice opens it fine though

[hay rick]

21. Not very illuminating.

The top 6 reasons given:
conflicting schedule 17.5%
illness or disability 14.9%
not interested 13.4%
campaign issues 12.9%
other reasons 11.3%
out of town 8.8%

If you had a "conflicting schedule" or were out of town, in most cases you could have voted if you had bothered to get an absentee ballot. I say that even though I legitimately missed one presidential election (Carter, 1976) when I was informed on the Friday afternoon before election day that I was taking a weekend flight out of town and would be staying away for the next month.

Illness and disability are lumped together, but I think most of the disabled should be able to arrange for an absentee ballot if they are sufficiently interested.

"Campaign issues" and "other reasons" are vague and could mean anything, including disenchantment with both candidates.

2010 was also quite different from 2008. The two intervening years saw the relentless demonization of Obama by the media for his imaginary socialism and his failure to magically solve our economic problems while being denied the resources needed to do so. Equally, the two years were marked by the disenchantment of the left as he kept steering to the right to reach the media-defined "center."

[Davis_X_Machina]

22. In the sense that there's no...

...one silver bullet that will pull the sleeping hordes of progressive non-voters out there -- the ones I keep hearing about off -- the bench and into the game, yes, it's uninformative.

You go into an election with the electorate you have, not the electorate you wish you had.

[hfojvt]

24. but 17% said they were too busy?

How many places allow voting before election day? Too busy to ever pop into the courthouse for half an hour?

And does that survey ask the large number of people who are not even registered?

[Davis_X_Machina]

25. Nope. Non-registrants...

...almost half the eligible population -- were not surveyed.

Democracy just isn't that popular.

[RBInMaine]

16. Thanks for acknowledging the large numbers of people who "didn;t bother to vote."

[OHdem10]

5. Just a thought. Had the Tea Party never protested and dsplayed

their anger, they would be a figment of our
imagination. Protests matter. By being perfect
conformists and rarely protesting, we have permitted
the right to win over and over.

YOU ARE 100% CORRECT. There must be an ongoing effort.
We need more than an occasional protest. Waiting around
until the election comes is also a loser.

[RBInMaine]

19. I agree. Protesting is good. BUT, real political action during campaigns is much more effective.

[JHB]

6. or, the lesson could be...

Don't demoralize a significant part of your coalition.

[OHdem10]

8. Vfery important part of the lesson. I agree with you

[RBInMaine]

13. Oh hogwash ! Do the excuses ever end? That congress passed a god damn litany of progressive

legislation. You Tube Rachel Maddow's rundown if you need a reminder.

[JHB]

28. Not hogwash, just the basics on how to motivate people.

When has scolding ever been an effective way to motivate independent people?

Biden was only half right. The other half is that when the support you need is sagging, shore it up.

[Ozymanithrax]

17. Do you see the electorate as a group of chldren who go home to pout..

because they can not tell the difference between a turd (Republicans) and a Potato (Democrats)? And they punish Democrats by enabling Republicans to take away their rights?

[JHB]

27. No, I don't. Where the hell does that comment come from?

Do you see the electorate as children? Because that's one of the ways to take the OP, that too many progressives petulantly sat on their hands? That they held their breath because the administration didn't wave a magic wand and make it rain cookies?

Or can we treat each other like grown-ups and say the situation was a bit more complicated and nuanced than that?

The OP's point is that Biden was right. My point is that Biden was half right. The other half is that when you depend on people and their effort, enthusiasm, and energy to help move your program, you need to maintain it. That's part of the pragmatism equation too, and if you don't do that you are not being as pragmatic as you think you are.

Most people don't expect miracles, but they do react badly to feeling like they're being jerked around and ignored. And that "discontent management" is something the administration and national party faltered on. Some of the reasons for that may not have been avoidable, but others were, so it's not just up to the progressives to get their act together, since as you point, election have consequences.

[Ozymanithrax]

12. Elections have conseuences...

We are living with the consequences.

And, clearly, there are differences between the parties, as no single Democratic Governor I've heard of is moving to strip worker's rights.

[RBInMaine]

14. Thanks ! My point exactly.

[Pirate Smile]

20. I see a ton of posts saying "I'll vote for Obama but I wont lift a finger to help him in any other

way." Just makes me think - wow, that's f#$king brilliant. They wont do much to try to stop a Republican from taking over the Presidency. That'll make today's attacks on unions and the middle class and poor just look like the opening act.

[Historic NY]

23. He warned, he begged & pleaded , he even came to Wi. ........

200000 Democrats decided to sit home. Now the consequences of inaction have set in. People listened to the pundits who continued to brain wash us with Democrat apathy.

[Angry Dragon]

26. Real democrats are needed to run for office

People that will work to rid this country of the corporation takeover
People that believe in unions
People that are not afraid to stand up to bullies
People that will listen to the American people