So what would be a successful result for Feingold's resolution? In my opinion, it will be successful if a vast majority of Democratic senators embrace it, if Bush's lawlessness becomes a major news topic, and if the Rubber Stamp Republicans embrace 33% Bush. The second and third of these results has occurred. The first has not yet.
A successful result faces two types of defeatism from Liberals and Democrats. The first is the typical DLC-style defeatism. Digby eviscerates it. The highlight for me:
It seems that substantively, the party agrees that Bush broke the law and deserves to be censured, but there is a division among most of the blogosphere and virtually the entire establishment about whether this is a canny move politically. . . .The [reservations expressed] do not denote timidity, so much as a kind of political blindness.
. . . Two: Please tell me that the Democrats are not going to withhold criticim of Bush because it might make Republicans rally around him. . . . The Republicans have lost the ability to function without them. They are confused and rudderless and they will run back and forth toward Bush and against him dozens of times over the next few months. They literally don't know where to turn.
. . . I can see why [Democratic officials] are angry about it. They were caught short. But they need to move more quickly on this stuff. Planning is great, but you can't always control events. How you deal with things coming from left field is important --- they failed on this one, making it worse for themselves by ducking the press and dithering about their response. I think Democrats have lost touch with their political instincts. This is one of those things that a smart old fashioned pol would have been able to either finesse or respond to properly off the cuff. (They should have called Bill Clinton --- he was good at that sort of thing.)
. . . I said this yesterday and I'll repeat it. This image of "powerlessness" at a time when the Republicans are on the ropes is the biggest problem we face for the fall elections. . . .
Defeatism: acceptance and content with defeat without struggle. The term is commonly used in the context of war: a soldier can be a defeatist if he or she refuses to fight because he or she thinks that the fight will be lost for sure or that it is not worth fighting for some other reason.
I agree, again in every detail, with Digby. Let me talk about the other defeatism that stands as an obstacle on the flip.
With the exception of the dim bulb Dodd, [no Democrat (Lieberman doesn't count)] said anything really harmful. "I'm going to wait" is not my answer. It is not Feingold's answer. And in a perfect world it would not be the answer given by ANY Democrat, or Senator for that matter. But that's not our world.Now there are different ways to say "I am going to wait." The manner in which our Democratic Senators did so is an exercise in stupid politics and weakness. Here is a simple lesson for them -- Next time, excoriate the Bush Administration for their arrogance, apparent lawlessness, "JUST LIKE IN THE PORTS SCANDAL," and their inability to "come clean with the American People," but Censure is a serious matter and one not to be decided lightly. Say that you will seriously consider the Resolution from Senator Feingold, "A MAN OF PRINCIPLE," but that you are not taking a position at this time.
Senator Reid, of the undecided Dem Senators, comes closest to this. But the opportunity to criticize the President must not be passed up. Argue from strength. Not ready to take a position? Then don't. But do not act afraid. Whatever you think of the resolution and its effect on Dems' image on national security, the pathetic show of weakness by these Dem Senators has done 10 times the damage - feeding every negative Dem sterotype of weakness and lack of principle.
Now, does this mean the fight is over? I say decidedly no. We must cajole, urge, fight with and plead with our Democratic Senators to do the right thing on principle and politically.
What we must NOT do is what too many in the blogs are already doing - declaring defeat; calling Dems cowards and worse; condemning them instead of cajoling them.
When we do this we declare defeat TODAY! IF we have lost already, there is no chance of success a week from now, a month from now. Senator Feingold has welcomed the fact that his resolution will be taken up in the Judiciary Committee. We should also. We should understand that only the first act of this drama has unfolded. There is more to come.
Declaring defeat NOW let's them off the hook now. It's not a question of trusting them, as one friend of mine wrote to me today. It's a question of understanding and thinking about what will be most effective in bringing pressure to bear on them in the battle to come.
I submit that declaring them a lost cause TODAY is not only not effective in this fight, it is harmful. Before we decry the defeatism of our Democratic officials it is best that we avoid it ourselves.
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