Can we please give Doug Jones a honeymoon?

[pnwmom]

I've already seen people here complaining that he wasn't pushing hard enough on the transition. It's easy to imagine the furor the first time he takes a position that might represent the majority of Alabama voters better than left-wing progressives.

If we want to get our majorities back, we'll have to get used to having some more centrist Democrats in our midst. They'll be with us in maintaining our majorities, and in key votes. But they won't always be with us, and that will help them stay in office.

Which is the bottom line.

[RandySF]

1. Wasnt Election Day just two days ago?

[stonecutter357]

2. I'll take Doug Jones over the JPR types any day .

[BeyondGeography]

3. Jeff Sessions has been replaced by a Democrat

If that doesn't do it for you, you can't be helped.

[comradebillyboy]

4. I kind of like centerists.

[Kaleva]

5. Alabama hasn't certified the results yet and already people are expressing disapointment in him

[Thunderbeast]

6. Very true.

If we expect space for moderate Republicans, we need to recognize that some Democrats will have differences of opinion with the party leadership at times.

I come from a state that sent Republicans Mark Hatfield and Bob Packwood to the Senate. Hatfield helped end the Vietnam War. Packwood was a pro-choice leader. Packwood resigned over a sex scandal, but he was a deal-maker that could find middle ground and get tough legislation passed.

Our country will be stronger with folks on both sides of the isle able to work together.

[NurseJackie]

7. Won't be long before someone demands that he be primaried.

Sad.

[RandySF]

8. This isnt a presidential translation

He’s a freshman senator. His office space will look like a closet compared to more senior members.

[Tarheel_Dem]

9. My suggestion is to ignore them. They are not allies, and don't have our interests at heart. nt

[Hortensis]

10. This. Many also seem incurably incapable of comprehending

politics beyond "I want."

It's like they can't see past their imagined evil of Democrats to what the Republicans are doing, or care.

Or perhaps they imagine vaguely that "once" they take over the Democratic Party the nation will rally behind them, Republicans and all, and they and the Republicans will all march off into their glorious future?

Trying to talk sense to those is worthless.

[Tarheel_Dem]

12. It never fails. We try to get out of the bucket, and the usual crabs drag us back to the bottom.

[Hortensis]

13. Good analogy. :) It's why their attempts to form a party

have always failed. They end up quarreling among each other over some relatively minor difference the same way they go after Democrats here.

[Demsrule86]

16. That is true...which is why I feel igoring them is best. You can never please any of them... the

play my way or I take my ball and go home crowd.

[Hortensis]

18. Agree.

[Blue_true]

19. Look at what has already happened, they have four groups.

Not a single one of them mattered in Alabama. The idiots blow up our chances when races are close on voting day. But if we work on increasing our turnout, we can tell them to go screw themselves and ignore their demands.

[Hortensis]

21. Agree, and TarheelDem is right. We know many of those

relentlessly hostile to mainstream Democrats either voted against Democrats last fall or didn't vote. There's nothing in that group to win over.

Leaving them to rant among themselves, though, would be the very best way to let them show themselves off. Right now too many don't realize the main energy among the supposed reformers is being provided by hostile radicals whose target in every era is always Democrats.

When people show you want they are, believe them.

[Demsrule86]

17. You can't because their belief system is not grounded in reality. I expect that they believe

one should tear it down and then rebuilt it. It never works that way though.

[Hortensis]

20. Boy, that's proven every time the first response is a worried

"but will he be cap-P Progressive," or mourning a Democrat taking a seat from a Republican as a loss.

Too common for but always amazing.

[Demsrule86]

34. It amazes me...If you look at the Democratic Party historically, we are in the majority with a big

big tent outreach...with a combination of liberal, conservative and moderate elected...in a center left country, there is no choice. Now I think some who consider themselves the only true progressives decided the 16 election meant their day had come, but it didn't. It was a fluke election in my opinion...a perfect storm...unlikely to be replicated anytime soon. All they proved is that while they can never win (Bush II and Gore), they can act as spoilers if the election is close enough...but then the remaining question is why would they do that and help elect Republicans? Certainly, these actions make you wonder if they are truly progressives.

[Hortensis]

35. :) Agree. Even those registered are not exactly normal Democrats,

proudly so, of course. How can they be when their most passionate goal is to take out existing Democrats? They're unique among all the many blocs of the Democratic Party in that, for sure.

As for being "real" progressives, wouldn't that be measured by, you know, progress? They make a lot of noise but reliably reject progressive reforms by Democrats as never good enough (just look at their passion for repealing and replacing the ACA). Plus, their own replacement progressive goals are always subordinated to ousting Democrats and are never achieved.

And as for stopping Republican attacks on progressivism, coincidentally, Republicans are also determined to repeal Democratic programs and oust Democrats. If I were them, I think I might find Republican propaganda very useful but otherwise much prefer to avoid thinking about that.

Yes to spoiler effect in 2016, but it may be encouraging for 2018 and 2020 to know that the "revolution," always too small and uncooperative a bloc to have any big effect on the rest of the party, has already fragmented into a number of competing groups.

[Demsrule86]

36. And in order to be effective these folks need a close election. I don't think we get one in 18.

I would not be surprised if Stein and her cabal targeted what may be close states with candidates in order to take out the Democrats...they have done it before.

[Hortensis]

38. Yes to that. Most people are drawn to their passion and certainty,

their conviction that we don't have to accept less. Long ago I was.

But then what? Reality is, progressives are all those from the far left to the moderate right who consistently believe in and support progressive government. We need to look farther than a label when deciding who we want to join to further progressive government. And that includes above all evaluating groups by their actions, methods, and achievements, not just their ideals.
And then choosing, eyes open.

When people show you what they are, believe them.

[Demsrule86]

39. So true!! Believe them.

[mcar]

11. The doomsayers are out in full force

He'll never win reelection

His win is not a harbinger of good things for 2018, so stop being happy about it

He only won cause Moore was so bad and...he only heat him by 1.9 points so he's terrible and awful.

And on and on.

[Demsrule86]

15. You don't know that. Claire McCaskill is still in office.

You never know.

[mcar]

24. I was repeating what the doomsayers have been saying

[Demsrule86]

33. I see sorry...Claire is endangered for sure...hope we keep our red state Dems, we need them.

[RandySF]

22. Reminds me of how people treated Obama as soon as he was elected.

A lot of progressives are so sporadic in their engagement that they don't even understand that there is a time lapse between the election and taking the oath of office. And this is why it's so hard for us to hold into majorities.

[NBachers]

29. I remember a post here: "How long until we have a member named ImpeachObamaNow?"

[Demsrule86]

14. I think he should get a permanent honeymoon...you can't expect a Senator from a red state to always

vote with us...although, they have all hung tough this year...it makes it easier since everyone hates the Trump shite. There is nothing wrong when the votes are there or sometimes not there in letting a Senator vote in such a way that it protects his/her electability. We need them. We can not have majority without them.

[rpannier]

25. I don't know about permanent

If he suddenly voted for restrictions on abortion and in favor of bathroom bills, he would be fair game (IMO)

[pnwmom]

31. If he wasn't the DECIDING vote, if the Dems had plenty of votes to pass progressive legislation

without him, I wouldn't care about any of his votes.

[Demsrule86]

32. There will be no abortion rulings in congress...other than late term...it is going to come from the

courts and unless we take the Senate in 18...no way to stop it. He will have to vote for some redstate shit...and he ran as pro-choice so he doesn't have to vote for abortion shit. Also, Perriello actually screwed up the ACA with regards to abortion and was still endorsed by Bernie Sanders and others in Virginia to be the gubernatorial nominee. If we can keep this seat in Dem hands, it will be a miracle, but we should try. And one of the ways you do this is not forcing them to take tough votes unless desperately needed.

[yardwork]

37. Stupid things won't be up for a vote in Congress if we regain the majority.

[rpannier]

23. I've missed those posts

And don't link them to me please
It makes me happy that I have had that good fortune

[George II]

26. Right - give him a freaking break. He was elected less than 48 hours ago!!! One has to wonder....

....if the criticism is "planted".

[Glorfindel]

27. K&R n/t

[spicysista]

28. I'm still really excited about it all!

My husband, being a son of Alabama, is still on cloud 9 too! I hope things work out well for Senator Jones and the people of Alabama. We lost our senator, Mary Landrieu, in part because she tried to walk that fine line between supporting the national democratic agenda while still maintaining those LA interests.
We need to give democrats in red states the room needed to walk those lines.

[IronLionZion]

30. Doomsayers have been desperately spreading despair to ratfuck other special elections

Either there's no point supporting Dems running in red states/districts or the Dems are not delivering free unicorns as some of the yuppies in the bubble feel entitled to.

No matter what happens, I can guarantee the DUers who find fault with Senator Jones are not living or voting in Alabama. They'll ramp up the defeatism when we get to re-election time.