To my fellow Democrats around the country, on behalf of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, I extend this message:
You’re welcome.
Today, Massachusetts did you a favor.
Massachusetts replaced the late Sen. Kennedy with a Republican. A seat which has been safely Democratic for 57 years, a seat once occupied by John F. Kennedy, now belongs to a man who sought to deny aid to Massachusetts 9-11 workers, who posed nude for Cosmo, and who would deny emergency contraception to rape victims.
Why would Massachusetts, arguably the most liberal state in the country, opt for such a man?
Because Democrats refuse to offer anything better.
President Obama and Congressional Democrats have proven themselves either unwilling or unable to make good on the promises they made to get elected. Universal healthcare? Fixing the corrupt financial markets? Ending the unnecessary wars abroad? Which of these have been accomplished? Which are even remotely on course?
Massachusetts has asked you, quite clearly, "why bother?" We’re not talking about replacing Ben Nelson or Joe Lieberman or any other weak-kneed DINO here - we’re looking to fill the vacancy left by the Lion of the Senate. But why bother? Why elect another strong Democrat, when there are so many weak ones who refuse to get in line and get things done? Why spend our time and money campaigning and canvassing and voting to send someone to the Senate who will be hobbled on her first day by weak leaders and weak colleagues? Why send another Democrat who – within weeks – will be apologizing to us, if only she had the votes to overcome a Republican filibuster, she’d be able to get something done? If only we compromise on this one more point, we can get it passed. If only we wouldn't be called such dirty things like "compassionate" and "liberal," we'd stand up for you. If only.
Today, Massachusetts has done you a favor.
We’re the canary in the coalmine. Our inability to elect Martha Coakley over Scott "Independent Republican" Brown is a warning. And now you - the rest of the Democratic party – have the chance to react.
It’s time to put up, or shut up.
You have the largest legislative majority my generation has ever seen. You have (had?) the will of the country on the issues. You have (had?) a mandate. You still have the moral imperative to get things right.
There are 285 days left until the midterm elections. Instead of campaigning on the road, why not campaign from your seat? I’ve got news for you: old-fashioned campaigning isn’t going to work this year. The economy still sucks. Jobs are still missing. Crooked bankers are still making billions on the backs of the suffering of regular people. We’re still losing lives overseas to unnecessary wars. We’re about to pass a healthcare bill that represents a bow-wrapped gift to the insurance lobby.
Want those Democratic and Independent votes on November 2? Then do those things which make Independents and Democrats want to vote for Democrats.
You now have a 59 seat majority. Maybe as low as 53 if we count out the truly worthless D's. If you can’t something done with that kind of majority, expect to see it shrink even further. Expect to be the party in the minority
You want some ideas? Here are a few.
- Clean house: Fire Harry Reid. Strip Joe Lieberman of his chair. Bench Ben Nelson. As Cenk Uygur likes to say, it's time to break out the hammers and blowtorches and go to work on your fellow "democrats." If they can't get in line, let them know there's a price to pay for that.
- With all due respect to the ladies in the house, grow a pair and take a stand. If you draw a line in the sand, allow them to cross it, and draw another one, ad infinitum, you’re not just weak; you’re a detriment to the party. Partisan politics are partisan - be willing to pass laws without Republican votes. There are ways to do that, you know.
- Make the Republicans filibuster. Seriously, make them stop you. Make them try to do what you were unable to do when they held the majority. Make them stand on the floor of the Senate and read from their mothers’ cookbooks. Don’t just give them the win. Make them earn it. Take the footage of them reading mom’s recipe for roast suckling pig and contrast it with your speeches about fixing the economy, and universal healthcare, and bringing our troops home and, and, and ...
Democrats: you have 285 days to react to this. Massachusetts just took one for the team – but don’t worry about us, we’ll recover. We dealt with Romney for longer than we’ll have to deal with Brown. A few years from now ole’ Scottie boy is going to be looking for new work (perhaps Levi can get him a gig with Playgirl).
Make this count. Get out there and be Democrats.
You have 285 days. Go.