Due to the political emergency the US is in, this post departs from PeacePundit’s tight focus on war and peace (although war and peace are included).
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The popular interpretation of the Republican takeover of Congress is wrong. The reason is not that Obama/Pelosi/Reid were too liberal, driving swing voters toward the Republicans and the Tea Party.
The main reason is that Obama/Pelosi/Reid were not liberal enough. Millions of (mostly young) progressive citizens were energized by Obama in 2008 and not only voted, but actively worked to support him and other Democrats. The result: Obama was swept to victory and the Democrats won big majorities in the House and Senate.
The outcome of this year’s election reflected, in large part, those voters’ feeling of having been betrayed. They hoped for sweeping progressive changes — a total repudiation and reversal of the Bush regime’s policies.
Instead they got a centrist, compromising administration and a legislature that failed to take advantage of its mandate and majority. An administration and legislature that a) traded away single-payer healthcare and a public option before debate even started, b) rewarded greedy execs of banks and large corporations, and c) failed to end two unnecessary, immoral, and insanely costly wars.
The result: progressive voters stayed home by the millions. Those who bothered to vote didn’t campaign.
That’s why the Dems lost the House.
Therefore, the remedy is not for the Democrats to retreat to the center — which is actually the right, given where the Republicans and Tea Party have dragged us. The remedy is to use the majority the Democrats still have in the House and Senate (until February 2011) to pass forward-thinking legislation, including:
- Ratifying the Strategic Arms Treaty with Russia (START)
- Ending the Bush-era tax cuts for the rich
- Repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
- Undermining the Supreme Court’s horrific “Citizens United” decision by legislatively changing the definition of a corporation to make clear that corporations are not people and do not have the rights of people, but rather have responsibilities to society.
- Passing campaign finance disclosure laws that require that the true backers of any political campaign be identified.
- Restricting the ability of lobbyists to move back and forth between regulatory agencies and the industries they regulate.
- Adding a public option back into the healthcare bill.
Just do it. Now. There will not be another chance any time soon. The political reward will be great.
Related Previous PeacePundit Posts
- Ten Reasons a Troop Surge in Afghanistan is a Mistake
- Memo to Obama, Clinton, and Gates: Stop Digging!
- Don’t Call It “Collateral Damage”
- Child Casualties Are Not Acceptable
