The Democratic Congress is bound to take some heat. In some ways, they already are. I have heard from multiple sources - from comments here at Daily Kos to blunt statements of fact from progressive talk radio hosts - that we are expecting a lot from them. Even the slightest whiff of "politics as usual" could send the netroots into a feeding frenzy.
As always, I plead for a little perspective. To that regard, I offer an attempt at an extended metaphor.
You are a facilities manager. You just landed a great job managing a large, luxurious apartment complex - indeed, one of the best in town. The residents selected you themselves to take care of their pressing facilities problems. Your first day, you see what their one, major, overriding concern is.
In the field adjacent to the complex is a gigantic, rotting pile of shit.
(Metaphor extended below the fold)
History of the Shit
This is not your shit. It's not even the residents' shit. The owner told the last facilities guy that there was a huge pile of dung in the city, and since it might be harboring anthrax spores and, anyway, could be used as fertilizer someday, it would be a good idea to keep an eye on it. And what better way to watch it than to have it right next door.
So the last facilities guy hired some hotshot construction company to haul the huge pile into the field next door. A few residents complained, but the owner explained that the shit would make the field fertile, and that they would all benefit from the huge crops that would grow there once the shit was appropriately spread.
The shit was successfully moved in record time. Man, those construction guys really knew what they were doing. It started out as a kind of small mound, but eventually grew into a huge mountain.
Dealing with the Shit
The previous manager started using the volunteer tenants association - the ones who usually tend the grounds and do night watch services in the community - to try to spread the shit around some and turn it into the promised fertilizer. But it was just too much. There was so much material there that it got spread all over that field, and yet still the mountain remained. Even worse, a lot of those volunteers started getting sick, coming home reeking of offal, unable to remove the stench from their clothes. A few people even disappeared into that mountain, never to be seen again.
Unable to make the dreaded mound into something productive, the previous facilities manager decided it would be a good idea to start trying to contain that shit. So he built a solid gold wall around it, using funds from the tenants' rent and insurance premiums. It kind of worked for a while, too. No one could see the shit any longer, and there was sufficient sealant to make sure the odor didn't waft into tenants' homes. The owner even held a meeting with the tenants, telling them what a great job he'd done prettying up their field. Look how sparkly that gold wall is!
But the sealants are expensive. The old manager had to shut down the daycare facility and the gym to maintain the wall without raising the tenants' rent. Eventually cracks started to form in the solid gold wall that couldn't be sealed, so the smells started creeping out. And to make matters worse, everyone's beginning to suspect that the neighboring apartment complex is adding shit to the pile when you're not looking, just to provoke the owner into wasting more money on walls.
This shit is your problem now
This brings us to you, the new facilities manager. The huge pile of shit nearby is their biggest concern. Sure, they want the daycare back up, and they'd LOVE a little landscaping, but clearly that crap must be dealt with, and soon, because it's really starting to stink up the place.
You've already talked to the owner, but he is adamant about keeping the shit around. Even worse, every time you talk to him about it, he insists on calling it "our shit", even though he's the only one who wants it there. He's also showing signs that he wants to invite the neighbors across the street to a feces-throwing party, which would be a complete disaster. You've had to borrow heavily from banks to keep this wall standing and odor-proof, and that's not even counting the enormous costs in laundry detergent you'll have to pay for those volunteer tenants coming back from that pile of shit with a stench that never quite seems to wash off.
What are your options?
- Stop funding this shit. Your supply of tenant volunteers to tend that wall is dwindling. Even offering hefty discounts on rent is no longer working, because everyone knows if they volunteer, they're going straight to that mound of shit. So you just stop buying the sealant, add no more gold bricks, and leave the shit to its own devices, hope it'll degrade on its own. The advantage - tenants can get back to what's important to them, and their rent can pay for some new equipment in the gym and a couple new sitters for the daycare center. Disadvantage - even though the shit didn't have anthrax before, it might now, since it's been festering there so long. The mound is so big at this point there's bound to be methane building up in there too, and it could potentially spill a toxic cloud over the apartment complex in the future. You sure don't want that on your record. Even if it happens anyway, you need to show the tenants you at least tried to deal with the problem.
- Micromanage the shit. Keep buying sealants, but keep a close eye on how it's applied. Make sure it goes to the places that really need it, not to the itty-bitty hairline fractures. Advantage - it does save money, and by being more involved with that shit, you might come to better understand what processes are required to be rid of it once and for all. Disadvantage - it doesn't actually solve the problem. The shit is still there. And the owner will push for more walls and probably start some more shit-parties.
- Pass the shit. Make sure the tenants know it's not YOU who wants that shit there - it's the owner's shit. Send out flyers every day, and hope the owner notices the angry tenants at one of his few community meetings. This still doesn't solve the problem, but it does put pressure on the owner to deal with the shit instead of just pointing at the shiny wall. Probably won't make the tenants happy with you either - they selected you to be proactive, not to blame people for their problems.
- Draft the Tenants. If you conscripted a bunch of the tenants to move the shit away, you could actually solve the problem. The shit would still be around, sure, but you may be able to disperse it enough that it's no longer a problem for your complex or the city. Of course, there's no guarantee it'll work, and the tenants certainly won't go for it. They'd probably try to recall you from the job if you tried.
- Appeal to the mayor for help. That's actually already been tried, and most of the other apartment complexes in the city have told you flat out they want nothing to do with that shit. This is pretty much your problem, though there is a slight chance they'll be willing to deal with a new face. That last facilities guy was kind of a jerk.
- Replace the owner. If you can convince the other staff to go along with it, you can take the decision making ability out of the hands of the owner for the good of the tenants, and you try your luck with the next owner in line. Unfortunately, that takes time, and while you're trying to find someone who will actually deal with this issue in an appropriate manner, there's still a huge pile of shit next door.
End of Metaphor
That's where Democrats find themselves today. A huge problem, with a bunch of solutions that won't actually solve it. By all means, be critical. But also realize the gravity of their task.