[Cross-posted at The Left Coaster.]
Whenever I needed a light moment in last year’s interminable campaign it was to contemplate the "new" politics of a possible President Obama going forward by a "new" Democrat, disdainful of ugly boomer cultural fights and political spats. Political science has been studied well for hundreds of years with some luminous names like Burke, Hobbes and Machiavelli in the mix, and if this Harvard Law Review freshman Senator really thought his young American hands could mold something truly new with names like McConnell, Cheney and Ensign around the attempt was going to be very interesting to watch.
My amused disdain was never in the sincere attempt at something "new" by Obama, it was in the ancient political knowledge that opposition parties will...not...let...you pull it off, it seals their fate to oblivion. When Obama proclaims a new way forward free of all the old rancor of the past he’s telling the Republicans: come with me, brothers, as I build one of the greatest Presidency’s of all time that buries you politically for two generations.
Right. As of June 2009 have the Republicans in fact gone along with this plan? Of course not. Unfortunately for all of us, truly, our "conservative" cousins have nothing to offer but a pathetic sideshow to demonstrate the quickest way for a national political party to self-destruct. Completely clueless, Cheney and Gingrich have been vociferously on television since New Year’s to nail-gun the coffin of their party ever more shut, Jesus, when will some new faces and ideas emerge from those people?
Not for a long time, I guess, but they still won’t go happily along with any Obama initiative, it’s in their political DNA to obstruct. They haven’t helped on the stimulus or energy, they’re trying everything they can to blow up health care, and they won’t even help with unwanted pregnancies. As with Atrios, I’m shocked, just shocked, I tell you, at this awful behavior. Terrible.
Anonymous Liberal has the very common reaction of wanting to tear his hair out watching all this, any liberal would, but I’m confident Axelrod, Emanuel and Obama will learn quickly after a year’s worth of stinging failure, any way forward will be hewn as it always has in politics, a fight with those who do not want change.
Nothing wrong and no shame in that, most Americans will of course understand it and accept it, it’s just the sooner the Obama administration aggressively takes on the Republicans the old fashioned way the better.
Congress is currently in recess, what’s done is done, but our great leaders on The Hill have yet to pass health care. They get back to work July 6th, and since naturally no Republicans are helping in any sense the evolution boils down to yanking out real reform from Senate Democrats. Bayh, Baucus, Lieberman, Feinstein...Jesus save us.
One Senate Democrat, even, spent a week espousing failure and capitulation because compromise was necessary for 60 votes. The guy can’t even comprehend a filibuster isn’t possible on the health care vote, let alone that it’s a ridiculous idea anyway. This is why having Republican political opposition in diapers whining about their constant failure is bad for the Democratic Party, it breeds lazy mental habits and dangerous over-confidence.
No, of course not, there won’t be any "new" politics when we get health care reform in July or August—if we get it. Increasingly it becomes clear just to get public option our recalcitrant, obtusely stubborn, ego-besotted Democratic Senators must be brought into line, only they stand in the way.
Dianne Feinstein, heckled and berated into actually representing her constituents, snapped back she could give a whit yesterday, those god damn liberals never meant a thing to her. It’s hard to tell if she’s defensive or sincere, whatever, she better get used to it, because the White House wants health care with a public option and isn’t calling off the dogs to get it.
One supposes whipping and dragging fossilized obnoxious stupid Blue Dog Democrats (Feinstein is my Senator and I took the day off yesterday; after her latest grossly obscene outburst she wasn’t worth ruining my day) isn’t the New Way Forward proclaimed and envisioned by Obama Administration, but it’s where we are, it’s not that bad. Hey it’s new for this century, guys, there’s that at least.