if you won't play to win. Let's be honest with ourselves: We don't win elections or negotiations by design. We win them by accident. We win after Republicans tank the economy, implode with their own wrecked ideology or commit verbal gaffes of such a heinous nature that only an uninformed, idiot ideologue would vote for them. (Thank God they are still in the minority in most parts of the country).
We even manage to get the most votes in an election and lose - 2000 presidential; the House in 2012. We are perceived as a bunch of well-intentioned idealists who don't know how to get things done in the "real" world and I think there is a lot of truth to this perception.
To wit: We withdraw Susan Rice and nominate John Kerry for head of State. Now, I have no beef against Kerry other than his dismal performance in the 2004 election, his tendency to live up to the Senate's expectations of gas baggery, and the fact that he is McCain and Graham's choice for State but what I want to know is: how will we hang on to his Senate seat? Who is the presumptive nominee and who is accountable for winning this election? I bet Republicans already have answers to these questions. Some on Kos say it doesn't matter if we lose this Senate seat. What? Elections do matter and the consequences are enormous. Did anyone get fired over the last Massachusetts special election debacle when we lost Ted Kennedy's seat almost before his body got cold?
Republicans have identified one of their biggest problems - no credible plans for the future, and trying to win with only attacks against us. But are we very far away from making this same mistake? What will happen in 2014 when Republicans have a new "Contract on America" and we are reduced to attacking it and defending ourselves? We will get clobbered, again.
Were we excited about a Democratic, positive, pro people agenda in 2012? No, we were excited about Romney, Akin and Mourdock committing gaffe after gaffe, after gaffe. How can we possibly have any sympathy for a party that wants to elect such people? I don't like Obama or McCaskill. I have no opinion about Donelly but I have complete revulsion when I think of Romney in the White House and misogynists like Akin and Mourdock in the Senate.
Our loser mentality is evident with the current, post-election fiscal cliff negotiations and post Sandy Hook disaster rhetoric. Obama is "threatening" to blame the lack of progress with these negotiations on the Republicans? Wow, sure you're not going too far? Also, Barack, if you want to do something like this, you don't let them know weeks in advance, because it gives them time to defend themselves! You spring it on them when they least expect it so it does the maximum amount of damage to them! This is how "winners" behave! They plan and execute the demise of their opponent(s). Winners would blame the Republicans five minutes after the negotiations ended and then keep hammering them until they submit. This is how Republicans have managed to stay alive when their failed vision should have shriveled up and been blown away twenty years ago.
Then there is Sandy Hook. My heart goes out to these families. I salute Obama for going up there and reaching out to them. And certainly right after the tragedy is not a good time to pick a political fight. But we need to stick it to the Republicans hard on this one and we need to start doing it before the end of January. Are there any substantive differences in gun policy between Republicans and the NRA? We can have no pity for Republicans; they are an awful bunch of people.
