Back when the Dems were in the political wilderness, we were constantly accused of not having any ideas, even though we had plenty. The tradmed just wouldn't give us any airtime. As Jonathan Chait observed in 2005, "The truth is that liberal ideas aren't getting any circulation because Democrats are out of power, not vice versa."
The President's legislative track record over the last few months is the best proof of this. How else could Obama and the Congress have passed so many major bills - and still have so many more in the pipeline - if the Dems lacked ideas? The "no ideas" charge was always a canard.
Today's GOP, on the other hand, is being given an absurd amount of deference and every imaginable opportunity to present their views through the media's mouthpiece. It's as though they still hold power in some sort of bizarro fifth, sixth and seventh branches of government that only manifest, ghost-like, before the eyes of Beltway columnists.
And yet despite being offered the chance to go toe-to-toe with Dem ideas (a chance we were never given), they flail utterly. We just saw Rob Portman, the GOP's annointed candidate for Senate in Ohio, have this to say on healthcare:
I don’t think there is a Republican alternative at this point.
And remember this?
That was the Republican Party, detailing their "budget" to the American people. As John Boehner said:
It’s just a bunch of numbers.
And yet it wasn't even that! Ah, the GOP - they never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.