May 4, 2005
SEINFELD PARTY:
Democrats Wasting Their Opportunities (Steven Pearlstein, May 4, 2005, Washington Post)
Democrats in Washington are feeling pretty smug these days, what with President Bush on the ropes on Social Security, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay embroiled in an ethics scandal and the Senate about to be immobilized by a partisan row over judicial nominations.But allow me to take the contrarian view and suggest that Democrats are really nowhere when it comes to regaining their status as the party in power. They have no interesting new ideas to peddle or impressive new leaders to peddle them. And rather than trying to burnish their leadership bona fides by making tough choices and standing up to the special interests, they continue to advertise themselves as pandering, whiny, tendentious partisans who would rather score political points than actually get something done.
Because they have no ideas of their own, getting something done necessarily means enacting Republican ideas. Posted by Orrin Judd at May 4, 2005 11:14 PM
Their plan only works if they can milk this "run out the clock" strategy for the next 18 months, and then get the public to blame Republicans for the inertia. But the only way that works is if no one ever asks the Democrats what their plan for ending the stalemates on Social Security, judicial nominations, etc. are.
While the press may be sympathetic to their efforts in general, even they can't put up with 18 months of boilerplate and double-talk, and will demand the Democrats do something -- anything! -- proactive as opposed to merely saying no to everything the GOP sends down the pike.
Posted by: John at May 5, 2005 12:05 AMHas someone put a muzzle on Howard Dean? Seems you couldn't not hear about some stupid thing he's done, but now he seems to have gone under the radar.
Posted by: RC at May 5, 2005 12:27 AM" . . . what with President Bush on the ropes on Social Security . . ."
Methinks the President has 'em right where he wants 'em.
Posted by: Fred Jacobsen (San Fran) at May 5, 2005 4:21 AMAnyone who thinks that the indiscriminate use of the filibuster is a vote-winner anywhere in the country, with the possible exceptions of the Beltway, the Bay Area and the Upper West Side is delusional. Americans, whatever their political stripe, tend to be people of action not inertia. They want an up-and-down vote on these nominees, even the ones they don't like. They will judge the GOP based upon the nominees, they do not need to have their tender sensibilities protected by anti-constitutional and certainly anti-democratic shenanigans.
Posted by: bart at May 5, 2005 7:40 AM