I lived through the "Rage of '68" that ended up electing Richard Nixon.
I lived through the "Progressive Party Takeover of 1972" when Nixon, by then widely seen as the crooked leader of a corrupt political party, was still considered so preferable to the self-righteous Progressives who seized control of the Democratic Party that he ended up carrying every state but Massachusetts, despite the general respect and esteem with which George McGovern was held by most Americans.
I lived though ABSCAM in the 1980s which made it clear to most aware Americans that ideology has nothing to do with integrity and never will.
I lived through the cannibalism of the Democrats in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s when, despite the object lessons of history and, later, of Clinton's electoral victories, Progressives refused to understand that Americans are Liberal in the tradition of The Enlightenment, of Washington, Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt and FDR, not Progressive in the tradition of Henry Wallace.
After the debacle in 2000 and the "war scam" elections in 2002 and 2004, Howard Dean showed the Democratic Party what it needed to do to reclaim its natural political ascendancy. Partly, Dean's "50 State Strategy" was simply a return to Democratic Party basics.
What are those basics? If you look up the generic "Fifty State Strategy," you see will a lot of stuff about putting resources - money, people, and people, time and money - everywhere, including into the heart of "enemy" territory. But, that is peripheral to Democratic Party basics. Democratic Party basics start with one word: tolerance. It's a word Republicans can't stand.
You are a Democrat if
You believe in Social Justice
You believe in the right of your fellow Democrats to disagree with some elements of the general Party platform
You support your fellow Democrats' right to disagree you and the Party even when it infuriates you beyond the bounds of reason.
You are willing to make compromises to advance the common good. The current cliche for this basic political activity, the bedrock of the Democratic Party success since 1931, is "finding common ground."
When the chips are down, you are willing to support your fellow Democrats in order to pass important social legislation even if you have misgivings about key portions of the legislation.
Other than a commitment to Social Justice and Tolerance, Democrats don't do litmus tests. Being imperfect human beings, sometimes Democrats have to be reminded of this fact.
The result of the Fifty State Strategy in 2006 and, again in 2008 was a return to Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress, including, most of the time, almost enough votes to break a filibuster if the right deals were struck, IF THE RIGHT DEALS WERE STRUCK
Many Progressives, like the Religious Right and Tea Baggies, regard themselves as above deals, otherwise known as compromise. That's why they express so much contempt for Blue Dog Democrats, the moderate to conservative Democrats, many of whom were elected as a result of Dean's stewardship of the Democratic Party and without whom Democrats would have had no chance of passing any of the landmark legislation, however, imperfect these may seem, of the past two years.
Apparently, tolerance is a word many Progressives can only stand in the abstract. The sweaty reality is anathema to them as much as it is to Republicans.
This midterm election was going to be full of danger for Democrats, no matter what. A lot of people were jobless in 2008 and the Bush Depression was just getting started. When FDR was elected, The Great Depression had been underway for three years. All of the "non-socialist" remedies had been taken. The rich were enjoying themselves and blaming the poor for their plight. People had a clear idea who the villains were.
Forgotten now is the fact that that Obama and his team did not have the votes to push the "Big Stimulus," the 1.2 trillion program that many economists (though not a majority) thought was really needed, through the Senate way back when. Even if he did, no one knows if the economy would have improved quickly enough to affect the attitude of the so-called independent voter. Personally, I believe most people who call themselves independent really mean that they can not be bothered to think about political philosophy and political issues. After all, if they were really independent, they would not react to attack ads or turn out a Congress which has managed, however, ungracefully, to preside over an economic turnaround which has gone from losing 350,000 jobs a month in September, 2008 to gaining 75,000 a month now.
To complicate things for the Democrats, the "non-activist" Supreme Court let the cash dogs loose for Republicans this year.
But, I think the straw that broke the camel's back was the same one that changed history in 2000. Some very vocal Progressives have spent the past fifteen months or so explaining via any channel which would publicize their opinions how Obama betrayed Progressives, why Blue Dogs aren't "real Democrats" and why Democrats are no different than Republicans only worse. i got to listen to a lot of this down here in southern Florida for the past two months.
The mid-term election results are worse than I had hoped, especially here in Florida where I and many others of my acquaintance spent a lot of time and put in so much energy. But, it could have been even worse nationally. It looks as if the Senate will stay in Democratic hands.
There's always 2012. In the meantime, I need a break. A lot of Democrats who worked hard during this thankless election cycle do. More importantly, I expect many more people will need a break by the time the Republicans are finished demonstrating to the forgetful what distinguishes them from Democrats.
I wish the President and the Democrats in Congress all the best. It's going to be difficult to impossible to get anything done for the common man in the next two years. The Democrats will be fortunate if they manage to defend what they accomplished in the last two years.
I vow that I will again be there to help as I am able come 2012 because I do know the difference between a Democrat and a Republican.