It can all be summed up with a quote:
"If the Democrats run for cover, if we become pale carbon copies of the opposition, we will lose--and deserve to lose. The last thing this country needs is two Republican parties." -Teddy
Campaigns matter. Candidates matter. You do not take a single vote for granted. After 2000, I figured Dems had taken this message to heart. Apparently not.
From here on, we don't back down. The only thing people hate more than losers are indecisive losers. Bush was "The Decider" remember? Sure he was dead wrong no pretty much everything, but he stuck to his guns. Apparently you can win the battle and lose the war, though, as we STILL HAVE THE LARGEST SENATE MAJORITY IN DECADES!
Paul Begala ripped Erick Erickson apart for his tasteless remarks on CNN
hosted here at Crooks and Liars and stated that "And if he were on the ballot today, even with the wave that Alex talks about, it would be a landslide for Ted Kennedy. Campaigns matter and candidates matter. And Teddy Kennedy would have won today. I doubt Erick would even try to argue with that point. He would win in a landslide today."
Paul is absolutely correct. Capuano would have won in a landslide, Markey would have won by 10 points, Khazei would have won by 10 points. Why? Because either they had already won streetfights or had gone down fighting in the primaries, having almost caught Coakley.
There is blame to be had all around. The President has to stand up and be the "feisty campaigner" Obama again instead of the "inside politics fighter" Obama. We need him out there today saying about health care reform: "YES, this bill will help you. YES, this bill will help your family. YES, this bill will help your friends. This bill WILL save peoples' lives. AND, it will save the country tens of billions of dollars if not more. What part of it don't you like?"
I'm sad, devastated and heartbroken that Massachusetts will wake up in 2 months and realize they've gotten a wolf in sheep's clothing whose beliefs align nowhere close to those of that great commonwealth. They now have a senator who was congratulated early after his victory by Sarah Palin. They should be ashamed, but we must also take from it the greater message: you fight for what you believe in, you don't go to Grand Caymen on holiday 3 weeks before an election.
Get out there, Mr. President, and do us proud. These are the times that try mens' souls, but if we can't accomplish our biggest goal with the biggest majority the president will probably ever have, then there isn't any point to having such a majority.
Howard Dean said it right a few months back: "If you don't use your majorities, you lose your majorities." Take it to heart.
