Whether Clinton or Obama wins, the real loser of 2008 will be - wait for it - the Democratic Party

[derby378]

I can already hear the knives being sharpened, so I'm just going to lay the cards on the table:

Do you remember that feeling on November 7, 2006, when you realized for the first time that Democrats had regained control of the House for the first time since 1994? Did you cheer? Did you weep with joy? Did you shake hands, slap backs, hug necks? Did you shout until you were hoarse?

I was there at the Adam's Mark hotel in downtown Dallas, watching the results come in with my fellow Democrats in one of the meeting rooms. Then came the "Breaking News" banner on CNN as we all watched, announcing that the House had turned blue for the first time in 12 years. My wife was sobbing with joy, and I grabbed her and held her close. Then I ran around in circles like an idiot until I collapsed on the floor. Not everyone was as demonstrative as I was, but it was okay. We were victorious. We were one united party. The Democrats were back. The Bush administration was going to be held accountable for its actions. And the White House was ours for the taking in 2008.

So here we are in 2008, and - well, gee, guess what? Instead of taking the fight to George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, we have succeeded only in taking the fight to each other. Instead of John McCain scrambling to hold his own against the Democratic nominee, he is settling into cruise control as Clinton and Obama continue to duke it out, with allegations of political shenanigans levelled at supporters of both candidates nationwide.

And all the while, the Democrats on Capitol Hill have been collectively too chickenshit to issue subpoenas for Bush's henchmen, let alone actively work for Bush's impeachment. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has not only stated that impeachment is "off the table," but is also working behind the scenes to derail any calls on the House floor to put it back on the table.

In other words, while the whole world is watching, the Democrats have fallen victim to a bait-and-switch that rivals the sales pitch for the invasion of Iraq in magnitude. We have been talked into plunging ourselves into a civil war within our own party. And George W. Bush is leaning back in his Oval Office chair, confident and smug in the realization that Democrats are not pressing him on his legalization of torture, his revocation of habeas corpus, his illegal wiretaps, his abandonment of our military vets, his refusal to intervene in a growing crisis over rising gasoline and food prices, and so on. The Democratic Party, as a whole, has announced to the world that they're letting an incompetent frat boy get away with his crimes against America so that they can instead pass the time shouting slogans and insults at supporters of a primary candidate who isn't theirs.

While all this brouhaha has been going on, I kept myself busy by remembering the endgame. I introduced a resolution to our state Democratic apparatus that, if passed, would demand that the next Democratic President shall not in any way pardon Bush, Cheney, or Rumsfeld. That resolution passed the county level and is now headed for the Texas state convention in June. Will it pass at the state level? I sure hope so. Will it make it all the way to Denver for the national convention? That would be marvelous. Will the next Democratic President, be it Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama, actually heed this advice and hold the Bush junta responsible for its crimes? O, joy immeasurable. But at least I have tried to keep my eye on the ball while too many people at the county convention were content to shout at each other and pull little political stunts to undercut each other.

Once upon a time, we used to be one party. We had a common vision and a shared goal. Now just look at what we have become. Take a good, hard look.

We've heard our candidates talking about finding their own voice. Now our party needs to find its own voice - a mighty roar that will drive neo-fascism out of Washington, DC once and for all.

[dubeskin]

1. Actually, I'm Quite Optimistic and Hopeful

I'm looking towards the large amount of Democratic seats that we pick up this November. Many of those questionable swing states have indicators of going blue, not just for the electoral vote, but also by electing Democratic and liberal state and federal representatives and senators. Many polls show Obama tied or holding a slight lead or loss to McCain, and win the nominee is finally chosen, with a VP candidate, and we can concentrate our engery against McCain, I am confident the American people will see why he is the wrong choice. One of the big ways we can do this is by tying Republicans to Bush, or connecting them to the failed Iraq and economic policies.

But, in summary, I am extremely confident that Congress will not only remain Democratic, but will pick up enough seats to hold a majority or near majority, especially in the Senate. And imagine a Democratic MAJORITY, one that will actually get stuff done. Real legislation.

[derby378]

6. Only thing is, I remember expressing similar sentiments in 2004

I was so sure that Americans had finally had enough of Bush in 2004. I was convinced that the tide was turning in our favor. Then the 2004 elections happened, complete with the Swift Boaters, the Purple Heart bandages, the "free speech" cages, and the self-immolation of John Kerry's campaign despite his performance against Bush in the debates.

2004 should have been a slam-dunk for Democrats. Same goes for 2008. And I sincerely hope you're right. Hold on to your optimism and show ornery farts like me how to stay positive. We need that once in a while.

[Double T]

2. ALL, and I mean ALL, incumbents in the House and Senate need to lose their jobs in November.

These DO NOTHING BUT DESTRUCTION idiots need to be taught a lesson, once and for ALL. I'm sick of the ONE PARTY SYSTEM of government.

[Kittycat]

3. I'm 3 weeks from helping for a new progressive party.

This needs to end.

[defendandprotect]

9. We have to change their ownership . . . . . and have citizens finance the new occupants!

[Double T]

10. Great point and I agree with YOU.

Caps on money spent by candidates and each legitimate candidate has equal funds NOT provided by lobbyists and their corporate masters.

[mopinko]

17. citizens are.

almost 1.5 million donors, average donation of roughly $100. no pacs, no federal lobbyists.
what the heck else do you want?

[RC]

4. We are still one party. The problem is

half of us are DINO's, properly called Republicans.

We need to get rid of the republicans that are in control of the Democratic party.

[cali]

5. um, no. I'm not an idiot. I didn't hope for a miracle

I'm still thrilled we took the House and Senate, and I'm glad we'll be making further gains this year. With Obama, at least, in the White House, we don't have to worry about attacking Iran on trumped up evidence. When Stevens and Ginsberg retire, we'll have moderate and reasonable justices nominated and confirmed. Gitmo will be closed. Habeas will be restored. Those things aren't small to me.

[derby378]

7. But first, Obama has to set foot in the White House...

The point of my remarks is to warn my fellow Democrats that they are in real danger of losing the White House again, and if that happens, Gitmo stays open, habeas corpus is still MIA, Bush will be pardoned for everything he ever did, and Teheran will be a smoking, glowing crater for no damn reason whatsoever. Oh, and the polar ice caps will melt.

We can stop all of this from happening. But in order to do so, we're gonna need a miracle after all. One that unifies all of us as Democrats.

[cali]

12. and what would that miracle be?

I speak as someone who does not believe in miracles.

[derby378]

13. If you prefer, think of it as a moment of punctuated political equilibrium...

And I can't tell you what such an event would be. All I know is that if it doesn't occur before the Denver convention, our party may be in very serious trouble.

There are still calls for a "unity ticket," with the losing primary candidate receiving the VP nomination as a consolation prize. I don't see this as being likely, and I think the candidates have publicly stated that it's not going to happen, but a "unity ticket" might help heal the breach in the short-term.

[defendandprotect]

8. In our elation, we failed to understand that a larger majority was probably STOLEN . . . !!!

[Muttocracy]

11. Good for you. What we really need is the veto-proof majority.

It seem we OUGHT to be able to get that.

[derby378]

14. One can certainly hope

I don't think any American wants to pay $5 for a single gallon of gas, let alone 25% more per month on basic groceries that aren't even organic. Higher gas prices are driving small businesses to shut their doors forever. McCain probably won't do anything to fix this. I hope that either Clinton or Obama will.

[Beregond2]

15. "Once upon a time

we used to be one party." Uh, when exactly? I'm 53, and I've never seen it. The Democrats have always been a wildly fractious, disparate group. And that's just fine with me. Do we want to be blandly homogeneous like the Repugs? Yes, our differences put us at a disadvantage in campaigning. But on the other hand, we attract a much wider section of the electorate underneath our big umbrella.

I can't even think of any "common vision and shared goal" in our history. Democratic dreams for America have varied from the conservative hawkishness of a Scoop Jackson to the liberalism of a Social-Democrat like Wayne Morse. Such shared ideals might be nice, but I don't think we have ever really had them. The main thing that unites Democrats is a hatred of Republicans and the unearned privilege and power they represent. Given the depths to which they have sunk in the past eight years, I think that will be enough to put us back into the White House this time. Whether we will do anything worthwhile with that position once we have it is another question.

[derby378]

16. In November 2006, I think we had that potential

And our common vision was to start dismantling the Bush legacy piece by piece so that we could repair Medicare, Social Security, protection against torture, etc.

When I was in that party at Adam's Mark with my fellow Dems, we cheered as one, and we celebrated our victory as one. We started to become a "party of values" that valued human beings and their well-being as being vital to the survival of the State.

[mopinko]

18. lemme tell you something about obama.

do you know how he got where he is? by helping other dems get where they want to go. do you know how he is gonna run? arm in arm with downticket dems. that is who he is. take it to the bank.

[Time for change]

19. Yes

I'm sick and tired of all the anti-Clinton threads on this forum and elsewhere. That is not helping one bit. Obama has essentially won the nomination. His supporters should go after Republicans, not Hillary Clinton, who is much closer politically to Obama than 99% of Republicans.

[Jakes Progress]

20. Thank you.

Sanity in a short post. Thank you.