Rubbing it in

November 16, 2006

Guest Post by Michael J.W. Stickings

Hello, everyone. It’s great to be back. And back so soon after my last guest-blogging stint. I’d like to thank my friend Steve once again for providing me with the opportunity to blog here. And for his generosity, support, and encouragement. (Sure, I’m sucking up, but I mean it.)

And, too, it’s an honour to be blogging alongside two of my favourites, John Cole and the Anonymous Liberal. Hopefully we’ll manage to keep things entertaining around here until Steve’s return.

I’ll be posting regularly through Sunday. I look forward to your comments. So let’s get right to it.

**********

So how did the Democrats do last Tuesday? Pretty well, right? They now control both houses of Congress — the House by a comfortable margin, picking up 30 seats so far; the Senate by just two seats, although even there they won all the close races except Tennessee and won in generally red states like Virginia, Missouri, and Montana, picking up six seats and surpassing expectations that they would fall just shy of a majority. And they picked up six governorships, giving them 28, winning across the country in red and swing states like Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, and Ohio.

Truly impressive. But there’s more, and for that I turn to Chris Bowers of MyDD, who looks at what happened at the state level:

— “In state legislative bodies, Democrats control 56 chambers, Republicans control 40.” And two remain undecided. And the tie in the Oklahoma Senate goes to the Dems.

— “Democrats control 3,964 state legislature seats, and Republicans control 3,307.”

— “Democrats have new trifectas in Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Oregon, bringing our total number of trifectas to sixteen. Our previous trifectas included Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Washington, and West Virginia.” Republicans only have ten.

So what does it all mean? — “We have now almost entirely restocked our bench following the 1994 elections. Our list of potential candidates for higher office at every level is now much longer than it was only six years ago. We also are in a position to favorably remake electoral maps in than we were six years ago. Also, by taking a substantial lead in trifectas, now we can govern for the first time in a long time, shifting the national policy debate decidedly in our favor. The trend for us at the state level has been pretty much straight upward from 2004-2006. As the backbone of our national coalition, this makes our majorities and influence in Washington, D.C. all the greater.”

Smile, people, smile. Victory — and particularly such an impressive one — is sweet indeed.

Don’t you read Time Magazine, MJWS? America moved to “the Center”. Sen. Tester’s haircut is proof enough that he’s a conservative.

  • While it was nice to see that American’s finally responded to the call to “throw the bums out”, the one thing that bothers me that I’ve seen mentioned several places is this notion of favorably remaking electoral maps. That sounds a lot like “now that we’ve regained power, we’re going to rig the game so we stay in power”, which is EXACTLY what the Republicans have been doing for 6 (12?) years.

    <schmaltz>
    If you love someone, you let them go. And if you love your country, then you accept that your party will not be in power all the time. And maybe, just maybe, that’s not a bad thing — maybe that’s democracy.
    </schmaltz>

  • This totally vindicates Howard Dean’s 50 state strategy to rebuild the state Dem party. Eat it Carville!

  • Addison – I’m hoping that remaking electoral maps will just involve making them relatively fair for both sides, not the same sort of vicious & ludicrous districting that we’ve seen in the last decade

  • Replying to Addison. There’s a big difference in the Dems remaking the electoral map than the GOP. The Dems will largely be just undoing the havoc wrought by the party of Rich White Males to restore the franchise to minority and lower class voters.

  • I read somewhere, that when redrawing the electoral maps. Legislators be restricted to using only…four straight lines. Sound like a reasonable idea to me.

  • Well, if the Dems would pass laws that establish fair and impartial (as best as that can be accomplished) means of resetting such electoral boundaries, and laws that specifically allow this to only occur once every 10 years so as to be tied to the census, I would be happy with that. Someone had a great suggestion that all boundaries must be generaelly square, unless there is some really, really , really good reason to shape a district otherwise.

  • Welcome back, Michael!

    I see Addison’s point about Democracy being about having alternatives. But as Dave and firefall say, there’s a big difference between bad alternatives and good alternatives, between jerrymandering and restoring reasonable boundaries, and appealing to regressive ideas rather than democratic ones.

    Let’s let the Dems get started before we accuse them of trying to have one-party rule.

  • As happy as I am that the Dems have finally looked toward the long term (and, as the numbers show, done so successfully), it won’t mean squat if they don’t prove they can actually govern with competence, fairness, and without all the muck in which the GOP is mired.

    Getting local is a good start, and hopefully we’ll see many more progressive ideas on the state level (living wages, health care reform, and an abscence of bigoted anti-gay legislation).

    But what happens on the national level will trickle down, and that’s where the Dems really need to step it up.

    Claire McCaskill not showing up the first day isn’t a good sign. Yes, campaigning is probably tough both physically and mentally, but she wasn’t elected as the day manager of a Denny’s—she was elected to one of the most powerful legislative bodies in the world. Trust me, Claire … you’ll get plenty of vacation (since Congress only seems to work about 6 months out of the year).

    And Pelosi’s push for Murtha as majority leaders bugs the crap out of me. While no one can question his testicular fortitude, the guy’s got some ethical issues and is from the old school of pork barrel politics. I’d much rather see someone else.

  • Going on a week with the sweet smell of victory whisping under our noses and I am beginning to be concerned. But I was freaked out back in 1998 by the media consolidation and its fruits — well in advance of this most recent awakening of progressive contempt for tyranny. So I could be sounding yet another advanced warning.

    Speaker Pelosi, Howard Dean and James Carville do not see the world as I see it. Corporatist infilitration of our government needs to be reversed, and yet these leaders of the Democratic Party have continued to pander to corporate wealth and the international banking constituency. The usurpation of our country’s treasury by the Federal Reserve system has lead to the fascist slant of our democracy and neither of these systems have proven to be of any benefit to the people of the US or the world. Nazi Germany cost us more than just those who lost their lives; it has cost us our liberty and our ability to pursue our own individual conceptions of happiness.

    Private industry should NEVER be permitted to own any part of the Commons, least of all our ability to print and distribute a single currency.

    How much sense does it make for a sovereign nation to be charged debt interest on its own currency, a currency that is no better than the paper it is printed on since it is backed by nothing other than our communal willingness to drop bombs on people who disagree with us as to its actual value?

    How much sense does it make to levy taxes in a manner wholely unjustified by the 16th Amendment of the US Constitution? All our taxes go to paying interest on the national debt while the Federal Reserve continues to print and punch currency to conduct the business of government? I thought our taxes paid for government services but, alas, I was incorrect. Our desire or need for government services drive the rate of inflation while our taxes redistribute our hard-earned wealth back into the hands of those who continue to pick our pockets in this ponsi scheme we have labelled, “capitalism.”

    We no longer have a country or a sovereign nation in the US. What we have is the world’s largest open-air forced labor camp.

    When they come to put a chip under your skin or force you to use their national ID cards, refuse them. We are not their slaves.

  • I try not to read Time too often, Ohioan. It puts me in a foul mood and only enhances my discontent with the MSM.

    The center prevailed insofar as the perceived center in American politics has been pulled back to where it is in reality, that is, at the very heart of American liberalism (tempered with various conservative impulses derived from puritanism). The conservative spin machine succeeded over several decades in pulling the perceived center to the right, and the media bought in and are now slow to respond. That should come as no surprise.

    There was a piece at Media Matters the other day contrasting coverage of ’06 with coverage of ’94. Back then, it was all about the GOP landslide and the triumph of Republican politics and ideas. Now it’s about the victory of some fuzzy centrism. But what Democrats have done, I think, and this accounts for the likes of Tester, and indeed for victories around the country, is rebuilt a workable coalition around core liberal principles. The Republicans still have their strained marriage of theocons, neocons, and supply-siders, but the Democrats have brought together social liberals, libertarians, economic populists, and so on. Look at the bios of last week’s winners. This isn’t a coastal party anymore. It’s a national party. A national party build around America’s core liberal values and traditions. It may not be easy to hold together, just like any coalition, but it is, as the moment, triumphant. Whether the media realize it or not.

  • The state pickups show that Chairman Howard Dean knew what he was doing. If boobs like James Carville, Rahm Emanuel and Stan Greenberg are so smart, then why did it take 12 years for Democrats to become the majority in the House and Senate? The Democratic Party is undergoing changes, and I will take people power over the bloated DC losers any day! Carville, Greenberg and Emanuel should put up or shut up.

  • I would be smiling more if we weren’t faced with choosing between an ABSCAM conspirator and a guy who thought the K-Street project was a great idea.

    Our work is far from done in DC.

  • If Claire McCaskill wants to reward her family by taking a vacation with them after they stuck by her through a year of campaign hell – that’s her business and no one elses. After all, she just PERSONALLY helped deliver the Senate to the Democrats through a lot of hard work and self-sacrifice. Why the need for petty criticism? She cleared it with Reid ahead of time, she got some plum committee assignements that weren’t affected by her not being there. Exactly how does this hurt the people of Missouri? It doesn’t.

    I personally thought that the “orientation” was a little too close to the election myself – these people have put their lives and affairs on hold forever and must be exhausted If the scheduling were up to me I’d have waited until after Thanskgiving at the earliest.

  • Re #11, so the Dems are emphasizing the 95% they have in common and agree upon, instad of the 5% (or less) on which they differ. Sounds like a winning strategy. If they can maintain it.

  • DeepDarkDiamond–
    Many of the other candidates went through similarly tough campaigns, yet they managed to show up, did they not?

    Don’t get me wrong — there’s a good chance that the orientation is like most of other companies. You know, learning where your desk is, the location of the bathrooms, etc.

    But c’mon … it’s a few days of orientation, followed by about a month off for the holidays. It’s not real work. And the appearance of not willing to do even that isn’t settling right here in the Show-Me state, where people expect hard work. I’ve read comments on local blogs and bulletin boards, and had disucssions with coworkers, that are highly critical.

  • The orientation is a great opportunity to meet folks and make first impressions. Both are very important direclty to the Senator/Representative but also indirectly to the represented. True it may not be necessary for McCaskill to attend, but her choice does help form first impressions. The reason the orientation is held close to the election is to allow those who just ran tough campaigns a very long and uninterrupted vacation period.

  • Many of the other candidates went through similarly tough campaigns, yet they managed to show up, did they not?

    Why the need to snipe? The woman just won a very hard faught campaign – you know absolutely nothing of her personal circumstances. It’s been barely a week and you’re attacking her?? How petty. What exactly are your motives? I know you’re not taking marching orders from the right wing – but that’s exactly the kind of petty stuff that they do – always cut our people down on personal stuff so as to avoid and deflect from the big picture. If you can show that it hurt the people of Missouri that’s one thing, but if you can’t then it’s just personal sniping. Give it a rest, why don’t you?

  • I would urge all commenters here to start their own blogs, and include the link with their “by..” line.
    You folk have lots of good stuff to share, and when there’s an intellectual connection, there should be more to read.
    Thanks, everyone.

  • DDD–
    First of all, I can post whatever the I want, unless CB tells me differently.

    Secondly, who the hell are you to question my motives? I’m pointing out a fact that she was the only one to not show up. I’m pointing out the fact that a number of the people who voted for her aren’t happy about it. I’m pointing out the fact that, as a Missouir resident, I have the right to question the person I supported and voted for.

    Quite frankly, blind fealty isn’t my style. It may be yours, but I’m of the belief that we should question those we support to ensure that they are held to the high standards we expect of them. If you want to just fall in line like a lemming, that’s your choice. I, on the other hand, will choose to keep a close eye on things and ensure that the Dems I fully support don’t turn out to be just like the GOP pieces of crap we voted out. If you got a problem with that then, quite frankly, that’s your problem.

    And lastly, it’s not your place to tell me what or what not to do. You’re not my mother. So sit on it, Potsie.

  • I was smiling, a lot, for a week. But now, I am getting very concerned about Pelosi’s leadership. I really wanted to like Pelosi, in part because of the knee-jerk reaction in other quarters about her gender and geography. If the only real choices are Murtha and Hoyer — which is a lesser-of-two-evils problem to begin with — I can appreciate her views on loyalty and her desire to have her deputy be an ally rather than a rival. By itself I can probably live with her pro-Murtha arm-twisting. But backing both Murtha and Hastings completely undermines the “culture of corruption” attack on the Rethugs, and takes away any credibility we have as the party of reform before the new Congress is even seated. This could be a short ride.

  • DDD and Unholy Moses – I’m going to triangulate here and say that you’re both right. Did McCaskill really and truly hurt anything by not showing up for orientation? Almost undoubtedly not, except for an initial opportunity to bond with the other newbies. (She probably missed out on the hazing though; it involved pages who…..never mind.)

    That said, I have to admit that when I saw that she didn’t show up, my first impression was WHAT? Why the hell not? Legitimate reason or not, it leaves a bad taste and that’s not what you want to do on your first day. 6 years from now, how much do you want to bet there will be commercials from her opponent mentioning this? And, dollars to doughnuts, it will work because people remember stuff like that, especially in the good state of Missouruh.

    PS Unholy Moses actually does have a card from CB saying that he can post whatever he likes. It’s really cool and I’m trying to get one myself. 🙂

  • And back the original topic.

    Controlling the state legislatures is great for after 2010 census. We need to draw maps that pull a little more of our liberal support into rural and suburban districts so the Republican’ts have a harder time.

    What we should not do is create deeply red districts like the Republican’ts created deeply blue districts. It is far better to compete for all 435 districts than to compete for just 100.

    Until then, 2008 will likely be an opportunity for more pickups, as districts change over time and I suspect they are all tending to the blue rather than the red. Certainly the Republican’ts are defending far more senate seat than we.

    So I think that two good years of legislating (just putting out a budget and the appropriation bills on time would be “good” measured against Hastert’s House), a clean nomination fight in 2008 and a charismatic nominee for the Presidency and we will have solid majorities for years to come.

  • I’m in total agreement with Unholy Moses. It’s like getting a job and not showing up on the first day and expecting your boss to be okay with it because the interview was tough. I don’t buy it.

  • ***Sen. Tester’s haircut is proof enough that he’s a conservative.***
    ——————————————-Ohioan

    So, if I dump a load of industrial-strength hair remover on your scalp, you’ll vote 100% GOP right through and into the next couple of lifetimes—right?

    Judging someone by their haircut makes about as much sense as judging someone by their favorite color…or a tattoo…or what they wear. It’s little different than judging someone by the color of their skin…or by their sexual orientation…or by their gender, ethnic background, or religious choices.

    Discrimination is nothing but—discrimination.

    It was the tool that the Republikanner Beast employed to dissect the American Electorate 12 years ago, pitting neighbor against neighbor, to bring about Newt’s “Contract.” It’s the same ploy Hitler used to formulate his “Thousand Year Reich” which—incidentally—lasted 12 years.

    I plan on seeing the RepubliFascist Thugs out of power for more than 12 years this time around….

  • Fine dude – so next time in 2012 vote for the Republican because McCaskill had the nerve to personally diss you by skipping the orientation. And make sure in every issue involving McCaskill in the next 6 years that you bring this up – that’ll sure show her.

  • So, if I dump a load of industrial-strength hair remover on your scalp, you’ll vote 100% GOP right through and into the next couple of lifetimes—right? -Steve

    No, but I hear a lobotomy will do the trick.

  • So, if I dump a load of industrial-strength hair remover on your scalp, you’ll vote 100% GOP right through and into the next couple of lifetimes—right? -Steve

    No you idiot, but the MSM will still claim that I’m a conservative.

  • Fine dude – so next time in 2012 vote for the Republican because McCaskill had the nerve to personally diss you by skipping the orientation. And make sure in every issue involving McCaskill in the next 6 years that you bring this up – that’ll sure show her.

    I never said she personally “dissed” me. And, quite frankly, I’m not sure why your panties are in such a twist.

    The fact is, this will be the most watched Congress in the history of our nation. The right will take every little thing and twist it (as Homer points out) to their advantage. That means that each of them have to do every single thing above reproach. And not showing up for the first day isn’t a good start. Is it minor? Of course. But those minor things will be amplified time and again in the next election. Not by me, but by the GOP.

    For the record, Claire wasn’t my first choice for the Dem nominee because she had a bit of political baggage and, quite frankly, I wasn’t sure she could beat Talent. But I voted for her, gave her some $$, and am definitely excited to see her no-nonsense attitude translated into true progressive ideas.

    So settle down, Francis. Mix in some decaf, take a nice walk, something. Sheesh …

  • The right will take every little thing and twist it

    So why are you doing their work for them? If you hadn’t noticed this was a thread celebrating a glorious Democratic victory – instead it’s barely a week after the election and you have the circular firing squad already lined up using the politics of personal destruction because she made a personal decision about herself and her family that has absolutely nothing to do with politics yet you feel entitled to personally attack her.

    Your continued name-calling and attempts at personal putdown pretty much say all there is to say about where you’re coming from and your style of dicsussion . Of course you are allowed to say anything you want on here – it’s unfortunate that you don’t seem to get that people are allowed to disagree with you. Carry on with the name-calling if that’s really how you need to make your point. I’m sorry I bothered to engage you on what I thought was a perfectly reasonable point. Believe me I’ll keep a wide berth from your ilk in the future.

  • Well, again I hate to swim against the tide again, but the Democratic tradition the past 12 years of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory seems not to have been displaced.

    I think the election of Hoyer shows that too many of them are just fine with the table scraps of a tactical victory and who cares about a strategic victory. This does not bode well for 2008.

    I think Pelosi being willing to give one of the most important committee chairmanships – Intelligence, where there need to be a lot of investigations and hearings – to a guy who is deeply compromised ethically as well as not being on top of the issues he’s supposed to deal with – as a “sop” to the Black Caucus reeks of the worst kind of “liberal racism” and demonstrates a level of “Political Correctness” in liberal leadership that I really hoped we would avoid.

    I fear the party still “isn’t ready for prime time.”

    And I deeply hope all the fears turn out to be groundless. But so far I am not seeing reason for hope.

    This isn’t to say Murtha would have been great, but Hoyer is “business as usual” of the kind the party desperately needs to get away from. You think we’re going to see bankruptcy reform with Hoyer there????

  • Your continued name-calling and attempts at personal putdown pretty much say all there is to say about where you’re coming from and your style of dicsussion.

    Yet you saw fit to tell me how to act and to shut up. I saw fit to mock you, just like I do everyone, including myself. So don’t consider yourself special.

    Of course you are allowed to say anything you want on here – it’s unfortunate that you don’t seem to get that people are allowed to disagree with you.

    You can disagree with me all you want, but I have the right to disagree with your disagreement. Again, you tried to suggest that I stop posting my opinion, while I suggested that you need to lighten up. Quite a bit of difference there.

    Carry on with the name-calling if that’s really how you need to make your point.

    I thought it was funny. Apparently, you didn’t, thus proving my point that maybe you should mellow out a bit. Just my opinion, of course …

    I’m sorry I bothered to engage you on what I thought was a perfectly reasonable point.

    I’m glad you showed that you have no sense of humor.

    Believe me I’ll keep a wide berth from your ilk in the future.

    Your choice. Quite frankly, 99.9% of the people here seem to enjoy my comments since this is the first time anyone’s got themselves tied into such a knot about them.

    The whole point wasn’t to do the GOP’s job — it’s to hold the Dems to the same standard I’ve held the GOP to for the past 12 years. To do otherwise would by hypocritical.

    Not sure why that’s do difficult for you to understand. Maybe if I posted it in crayon on a Big Chief tablet … ?

    (Note: That’s a joke. Of course, you seem to take yourself pretty damn seriously, so maybe I should stop doing it. Nahhh … what fun would that be?)

    🙂

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