Everyone has a favorite reason for why the Democrats lost big last night and as usual, the progressives at DailyKos are closer to reality than the Republicans or the talking head pundits.
Some are blaming this on the Obama/Democratic failure to get anything substantial done over the last 2 years. Some are blaming it on failing to promote the token changes that we did accomplish. Some are still blaming the economic mess that George W. Bush created. And some are blaming it on the Dems perpetual lack of spine. But most of you are still missing the big picture.
Corporate money is the single largest power in politics for both Democrats and Republicans. Whether the money goes straight into a campaign coffers, or is used to indirectly attack an opponent, politicians quickly become dependent on Big Corporate Money if they want to win. Even if a politician begins his/her career with good intentions, they usually end up owing corporate benefactors and relying on them to assure the next re-election.
Over the course of many generations, Washington has become full of these "corporatist" politicians who fall into one of two categories: (1) Republicans-- who publicly embrace their corporatism, and (2) Democratic centrists-- who generally try to hide it.
Together, the two groups control a solid voting majority in Congress. They've worked into leadership positions to ensure that only corporatist candidates receive their party's help in the elections. Some corporatists even managed to win the presidency where they appointed Supreme Court judges who ruled in favor of corporate-friendly policies. And of course, all of the corporatists are helped by the corporate media, who work to squash real progressive voices and preserve the status quo.
But the status quo has nothing to do with WHO is in power at any given time-- it's all about how the game is played. When the Republicans are in power they ramrod their corporatist agenda through with the help of the Democratic centrists. When the Democrats are in power the centrists prevent the progressives from doing anything of real value for the people. They hem and haw, claim "bipartisanship", and water down legislation to the point that it is worthless to the average citizen-- and actually helps the corporations even more.
So what are the American people supposed to do? No matter who they elect they continue to do worse in life. Their wages remain stagnant and their healthcare/energy/college bills skyrocket. Their mortgages flip upside down while the banks who caused the crisis get bailed out with their own tax dollars. They work harder and harder, and get poorer and poorer, while the wealthy corporate owners just get fatter and richer.
The American people know something is horribly wrong with the system but they're too simple to see what is happening. So they continually blame the party in power for failing to fix the problem. The result is that it doesn't matter who controls the White House or Congress-- with few exceptions, the masses will always tend to oust the incumbants in the vain hope that maybe SOMEDAY, something will change.
But it never does change. Because the corporations and the powerful moneyed interests own this little shell game, this political masquerade, this kabuki theater, and they won't ever LET it change. They win no mater which party is in power-- and they're happy no matter which way the pendulum is swinging.
In the public's mind, the Obama and the Democrats controlled the Presidency and both houses of Congress for almost 2 years yet they STILL don't have jobs, STILL don't have any home equity, STILL can't afford healthcare, and are STILL stuck fighting two wars abroad (with glimpses of a third in Yemen). Who else's fault could it be? How could they possibly reward this performance? What other options do they have? What other message can they send?
THAT is why the Democarats lost big last night.
THAT is why the Republicans won.
THAT is why the Blue Dog incumbants were swept out of office along with progressive incumbants like Russ Feingold and Alan Grayson.
This wasn't a Red Wave at all and it wasn't a Blue Wave in 2010. This is a steadily growing tide of frustration and anger, and it will continue to cause new "waves" every 2-4 years until something serious changes.
Maybe progressives will finally figure out how the game has been stacked against them. Maybe they'll learn how to frame their positions more effectively, and amplify them through non-traditional media. Maybe they'll be able to show average Americans that the only way to fight the corporatists is to buy the politicians themselves. We've got to expose the corruption in both parties, but we also have to provide a viable finanical alternative for honest progressive politicans who want to win elections. We have to pool our campaign contributions and offer them to anyone who is willing to completely forego corporate money.
We have a long, long, long way to go... but we'll NEVER get there until we collectively wake up and face the real problem.