Reconciliation? Dems Better Get It Together

I’ve never been one to goose-step my way through life.  I have routinely asked questions of supposed authority, and that’s why I am asking the Democratic Party (starting at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.) what the hell are you doing?  No wonder your supporters are so angry.  You used to be the party of schools, the party of medicare, the party of roads, both paved and the proverbial high way. You were the party of civil rights, liberties, and freedoms.  Now you are the party that takes hard-earned middle class tax dollars and hands them over to the unfortunate and underprivileged banksters and those poor and marginalized insurance companies. 

The election in Massachusetts is not a referendum on President Obama’s policies, but a referendum on leadership.  I gave you my time, my hope, and my money…and then you collectively sold me out to corporate interests and K Street operatives.  You let so called conservative Democrats dictate the course of this discussion when you should have kicked those blue dog, special interest hounds off the porch.  The American people spoke to you and told you exactly what we wanted, and in exchange for our money and our support, you agreed…right up until the “so help me God” part of the oath. 

We don’t want bigger government, we want better government.  We don’t want health care reform, we want health insurance reform before 2014 and a public option that creates competition.  We want more jobs, more regulations on financial institutions, and increased opportunities for small businesses, not corporate welfare to Wall Street and the continuation of asinine financial policies that got us where we are today.  We don’t want more war, we want more peace.

Don’t you get it?  Your falling approval numbers have nothing to do with Republicans, they never liked you in the first place.  It’s your base, geniuses.  I took a political survey on the phone just the other day.  I was asked, “Do you approve of how Congress is handling the healthcare debate?”  I said no.  “Do you approve of how President Obama is handling the healthcare debate?”  I said no.  It’s time you live up to your promises on those big ticket change items.  Change around the edges of the status quo just creates a fray…it’s time to tear it up, not pare it down.

Let’s get creative not conciliatory.  What about reconciliation?  I don’t mean becoming more compatible.  How’s that community organizer attitude working for us?  Make health reform a budget issue and the magic number is 51.  At 51, you can tell Joe Lieberman to fuck off.  You can tell Blanche Lincoln there are doughnuts out in the hall, go have one.  Ben Nelson, light a shuck back to the corn belt.  Mary Landrieu, don’t let the door knob hit you.  You know it’s possible.  The Republicans have not seen a 60 vote majority in the Senate since 1923, and somehow whether it’s tax cuts for the rich, a contract on America, drill baby drill, or a deceptively-conceived war, 51 votes were all that it took.  Sure, the ultimate decision would then be up to an appointed bureaucrat’s interpretation of an undefined Senate rule, but hell, if the Dems don’t like the Parliamentarian’s decision, fire him like the Repubs did during the Bush administration…twice.

Ok, Dems, let’s cut to the chase.  The people, we, the people, are fed up with the fact that when you are faced with the decision of committing to the voters or committing to the corporate interests who fill your campaign coffers, you dismiss the voters assuming loyalty to the party as a given.  Assume again.  I am taking my loyalties (and my money) to the Primary level and recruiting real progressive Dems, not Dems in pandering clothing.  You take money from health insurance executives, and then obstruct reform, you don’t get my vote.  You take money from the banking industry’s financial executives and vote for bailouts, and then vote against regulation, you don’t get my vote. 

Lanny Davis wrote in the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday that Democrats should meet Republicans in the middle.  For Democrats to follow this fallacious strategy is just plain stupid.  Scott Brown wasn’t able to win the “Kennedy” seat in Massachusetts because of Obama-care or because of some tea bag rhetoric seeped in fear of government take over.  He won because President Obama and the leadership in Congress have failed to deliver, to so many once engaged in the process, the change they pronounced and promised from the campaign pulpit.