Kos was right. The failure today, to take a huge step towards RELEVANCE for the Democratic Senate Minority, by tactically voting with a handful of Republicans on the Coburn Amendment, was a HUGE "opportunity lost" for the Democratic Party.
The passage of this amendment (which would've substituted funds for "the Bridge to Nowhere" in Alaska, for rebuilding roadways destroyed in flood ravaged Lousiana) would have at once sent a stinging defeat to Republican Party Boss Ted Stevens, AND brilliantly pointed out the FRAUDULENT MYTH of Republican "fiscal responsibility," while going a LONG WAY towards "re-branding" Democrats as folks who can be trusted with taxpayer dough.
Even Alaskans would have found new respect for Democrats if we could've pulled this one off! But no...
By being the MAJORITY party on this amendment, by voting as a bloc along with a few Club for Growther Republicans, Democrats would've instantly become players again in the public eye, rather than mere whiners on the sidelines. They would be seen as the party of principle and sanity, while the Republicans sunk further into incompetence and infighting. The public is already watching as Republicans become more and more disconnected from reality.
Democrats would've instantly been perceived as acting "differently," of showing some courage, some strength, and some discipline. All qualities much of the public has been convinced that Democrats lack.
And the BEST part of the whole day would've been the giant wedge this would've driven even further into the fissure developing in the Republican "coalition." (Conservatives Vs. "Real Conservatives." Ok, we don't get it, but let them have at it.) Spittle would be flying out of Stevens' mouth screaming at fellow Republicans, while the Club for Growthers would be popping champange corks.
This is a split we need to facilitate, not stop dead in it's tracks!
We need people on the Senate floor who can think on their feet, get the troops in order, vote as a unit, AS DEMOCRATS, and take tactical advantage of GIFTS like this! Imagine, a political gift from Oklahoma, and the Club for Growth!!!
But with the notable except of Sen. Feingold, Democratic senators melted down. They could not see past their own pet projects, their own political safety, their own parochial power. They failed to see any need to break out of their safety jackets for a HUGE TACTICAL VICTORY and a LONG TERM MAJORITY.
Was preserving the good graces of Ted "Wilderness Driller" Stevens, so your own local "Bridge to Nowhere" stays in a bill later, worth NOT doing the right thing and voting for this amendment? Was it really SO DANGEROUS?
It's funny to look at the grudgingly gracious thanks
Daily Kos got over on the Club for Growth's blog for "unexpectedly" joining in on this cause.
And perhaps it's not just a case of "the other side isn't always wrong," but a glimpse of what kind of progress we might achieve in this country if we ever really could think and act outside our narrow personal interests, and actually take responsible stances for the country as a whole.
If there's a lesson here, it seems to be that a minority will always be a minority until they find the courage to take a few chances, stay unified, and form tactial majorities when they can. Sometimes even "doing the right thing," as we should've witnessed today, can actually accomplish that.
Sadly, most Democratic Senators don't seem to see that point.
Or maybe somebody just needs to explain it to them.
Which is where we come in?