Pointing Fingers

By Dave

Bernard Avishai at Talking Points Memo vents:

 I wish I had a bluefish dinner for every time Coakley referred to the health package as "not perfect." It all came out so forced and fake.

The real question Democrats have to ask themselves is: how come the greatest piece of social legislation since Medicare is something a progressive Democratic candidate for Ted Kennedy's seat has to speak so defensively about?

And we can look no further than Howard Dean, and MSNBC, and Arianna Huffington, and, yes, some columnists at the Times and bloggers here at TPM--you know, real progressives--who have lambasted Obama again and again since last March over arguable need-to-haves like the "public option," as if nobody else was listening. They've been thinking: "Oh, if only we ran things, how much more subtle would the legislation be," as if 41 senators add up to subtle. Meanwhile the undecideds are thinking: "Hell, if his own people think he's a sell-out and jerk, why should we support this?"

Avishai's frustration is understandable. It seems the Democratic 'big tent' coalition cracked against the unity of the GOP opposition. Unfortunately, and somewhat predictably, Dems began to turn on each other. Unfortunate, because it took conservatives years to eventually turn against Bush. It only took liberals ten months. It's predictable because divide and conquer was their strategy. We've been demoralized because every issue, even the simplest, has required a supermajority to pass. We've been disheartened because logic and reason have been thrown out the window and craziness wins in the 24-hour news cycle. This was their plan all along, and somehow we didn't see it coming.

The real villain has been the Republican Party of No. They made this awful mess we're in. They spent like no tomorrow and caused massive deficits. They illegally wiretapped US citizens. They instigated, not one, but two failed wars. They created secret, illegal torture programs and even now they call for even more torture and more war. They scoffed at global warming and fought against science. They gave the rich tax breaks while cutting programs for the poor, and then had the audacity to sit lazily back when New Orleans drowned.  For eight years, they wasted our time and money with their corruption, lies, and downright incompetence. Americans should hate their guts. But they don't. Conservatives have one advantage. To them politics is war. They admit nothing and give no ground. They know what flag they fight under. Most importantly, they will do anything to resume power.

If we hope to defeat this, Democrats need to rally. They need to find a home under the 'big tent' and they need to find room for others. Stop fighting. Stop pointing fingers at conservative, or liberal, or progressive Dems. If they are willing to work towards the same common goals then we are going to need all of them.

Most of all we need to stop moping because things didn't turn out as idyllically as we had dreamed. Yes, it's true. Health care reform will not usher in a utopian age of health and wellness but it will make things a hell of a lot better than they are today. We've already made huge strides in putting America back on track. Feel good about it. Spread the word. Get back in the game because losing is not an option. Not if you care about the future of our country.