David Sirota, in a piece for Salon, sagely insists that
"Dems have to abandon their own worst habits. [...] They must acknowledge their progressive mandate, rather than denying it as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid did on Tuesday. "This is not a mandate for a political party or an ideology," he fearfully told reporters.
Aarrgghh. Harry Reid needs a slap. He needs to be woken from his torpor. This is the moment, dammit, and we can't have wishy-washy 'leaders' like Reid lying around like banana peels for Obama to slip on.
With each passing day, the bogus "center-right" meme is being articulately discredited and is now even being embraced by the MSM. It's time to drive it home and make the public aware of WHAT WE VOTED FOR by a jaw-dropping landslide:
Democrats need to discard other lies, too -- especially those about Bill Clinton. To hear the pundits tell it, Clinton's first-term pitfalls underscore why the next administration should avoid "governing in a way that is, or seems, skewed to the left," as the Washington Post's Ruth Marcus most recently asserted. History, of course, proves the opposite. Recounting Clinton's early years to Politico, a lobbyist correctly noted that the new president didn't move left -- he pushed conservative policies like NAFTA, thereby demoralizing his base and helping Republicans take Congress.
If there's one campaign promise I'd love to see President Obama (god I can't get enough of typing that!) abandon, it's his vow to work in a bipartisan manner. Kos's cry to "break their backs" doesn't end with an 8 million vote slaughter - it must continue. Politely, when possible, but all this talk of centrist policy to accommodate the Republican minority needs to end.
After all, with more than 360 electoral votes, President Obama cannot credibly claim he lacks the political capital to legislatively steamroll a humiliated GOP and its remaining senators. The same goes for Democrats everywhere. Meeting expectations requires championing far-reaching -- even radical -- initiatives.
Screw the old truism about not kicking a man when he's down. We have to help Obama keep sight of the mandate we gave him in numbers not seen since 1964, when Johnson, like him or not, was able to enact some of the most important progressive legislation in our nation's history.
Obama rose on a promise to eschew those triangulations, and he won because America realized invertebracy and sail trimming will not solve problems. Voters rejected Clinton-style incrementalism in the primary, then scorned conservatism in the general election.
Let's keep our heads on straight. Lots of folks, including - surprisingly and disappointingly, Rachel Maddow - are whining that the selection of Rahmbo as COS is a sign that Obama intends to recreate the Clinton years. I'm more inclined to see his appointment as a sign that Obama intends to do exactly what Kos recommends - that is, stomp on the de-clawed motherf@#%ers and muscle past the silly obstacles that they'll inevitably throw in his path.
The one obstacle we've put there ourselves is Harry Reid, who either needs to grow a pair or be reassigned to a less consequential post. We need to think big and push hard. If Reid is going to continue to manifest his fear of heights and of conflict, sorry, but he's gotta go.