Obama won a narrow 51-49 percent victory and the composition of Congress changed only slightly. This was not a historic vindication of liberalism, and it doesn't mean that we can suddenly decide that demography will sweep us to victory for the next couple of decades. The plain truth is that although an increasing number of voters are turned off by what Republicans represent, that doesn't mean they've become lefty converts. A lot of them are still pretty nervous about a big part of our agenda, and we have a lot of work ahead to get them more solidly on our side. Also: No matter how much you hate to hear it, long-term deficit reduction and entitlement reform really are pretty important. Just because conservatives abuse the point doesn't mean there isn't something to it.
November 8, 2012
"Liberals, you should rein in the triumphalism."
Says the liberal Kevin Drum:
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239 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 239 of 239Liberals, you should rein in the enthusiasm."
Why?
Why should they be polite to people they despise. When you despise someone you're not polite to them. You get in their face. People on the right are losers and deserve to be made fun of. It's what the left has always done. It's what the left will always do. They want nothing more than to keep putting the boot to your face. They despise the right. We're vermin to them.
Blogger LarsPorsena said...
The light bulb goes off in Drum's head four years and four trillion dollars too late.
Hey, they can gloat all they want, as far as I'm concerned. They won big this year. First the ACA was upheld by the SC, and now we're hoping an unqualified president will finally get enough on-the-job training the second time around.
So gloat away. Really. Politically this year was a rout for Democrats. Like Georgia Tech over Cumberland College in 1916. I won't hold it against you if you want to enjoy it for a few more weeks.
But then let's get a couple of things straight. The Democrats now own the mess that we're in. No more Bush, no more excuses; you wanted the reins of power, now you've got them. Own them. And if you leave Republicans out of the process, then you own it all on your own. Time to be accountable, Dems, and time to quit demagoguing everything under the sun.
"Inga said...
Curious George I love the way Althouse slapped you down over abortion, that was classic. Made me smile for the rest of the day"
Yeah, she avoided every direct question. And provided a different argument.
You know, kind of like you just did. I bring up your stupidity of proclaiming 100% support of Roe v Wade, and wanting to outlaw gender based abortions, and you bring up Althouse.
Problem is Inga, I'm not the retard you are. I don't get distracted by shiney things.
I think most of the "don't celebrate too much yet" is an attempt to prevent poisoning the well before the fiscal cliff negotiations that will happen during the lame duck session.
Let's face it: Democrats know something has to be done, and they know they've burned a lot of bridges. They're desperately hoping not to have burned too many so that a compromise can be reached. And it might happen, if Obama doesn't poison the well again like he did last time with sequestration and by messing with the negotiations.
"No more Bush, no more excuses; you wanted the reins of power, now you've got them. Own them. And if you leave Republicans out of the process, then you own it all on your own."
-- That didn't work from 2008 to now, it won't work from 2012 on. Don't expect Democrats to be held to any level of responsibility for anything if things go poorly.
'Is it just me or is Inga writing and sounding more and more like she owns this place?'
It's not just you.
exiledonmainst said...
Well, let's see, Inga, Boeing laid off 3000 employees the day after the election and closed its' California operations. Yesterday a Vegas business owner laid off 22 mainly Hispanic employees directly as a result of the election. The Dow has dropped how many points in the last couple of days?
That's all very humorous, I know. The media now reports (now!) that a major recession is on the horizon. Laugh about that too, Inga. Actually, I think you will. You have certainly shown you care nothing at all about the suffering of others. When your own pocketbook and investments take a big hit, you might begin to feel a little differently.
We will all suffer as a result of this election. But the lefties don't know it yet. I will take a grim pleasure in watching them as everything Paul Ryan warned about comes to pass.
I'm saddened that ANYBODY is going to be effected by this. It is going to be tragic for a lot of people.
Legal Insurrection has a round up of all those layoffs.
But then let's get a couple of things straight. The Democrats now own the mess that we're in. No more Bush, no more excuses; you wanted the reins of power, now you've got them. Own them.
Sorry, that doesn't fly. The repubs were dumb enough to keep their House majority. That means they get 100% of the blame for what's coming; Zero gets a total pass for his fuckups.
Everybody knows dems can't be expected to deliver anything until there is not one single solitary republican in any political office anywhere in America.
AReasonableMan said...
What pisses off liberals is that when Bush was running up the deficit almost no one on the right, with only one clear cut exception, Bruce Bartlett, was willing to call foul.
I don't think you were here at the time, but many of us referred to Bush's spending utilizing the "drunken sailor" label. Including me. On the other hand, if you're talking about the Repub establishment and most commentators, you're right.
Of course, if Bush was drunk, Zero has died of alcohol poisoning.
Me? Not worried. Zero will solve all of our problems now. I want my Obamaphone, and I want it now. Also, can he pay my mortgage, and go gas up my car?
jr565 said...
As an example of dems refusing to hold their candidates accountable lets look at Jessy Jackson jr. He won reelection despite being at they mayo clinic and not actually in congres because he's dealing with bipolar issues. Oh and being investigated by the FBI for campaign/ethics violations.
He doesn't have "bipolar issues". He has soon to be indicted issues. He no more has bipolar disorder than you do.
campy said...
But then let's get a couple of things straight. The Democrats now own the mess that we're in. No more Bush, no more excuses; you wanted the reins of power, now you've got them. Own them.
Sorry, that doesn't fly. The repubs were dumb enough to keep their House majority. That means they get 100% of the blame for what's coming; Zero gets a total pass for his fuckups.
Everybody knows dems can't be expected to deliver anything until there is not one single solitary republican in any political office anywhere in America.
Nope. Wrong. All the republicans have to do is keep sending budgets to the senate that don't get approved. The republicans have sent several very reasonable budgets to the senate in the last four years.
Nope. Wrong. All the republicans have to do is keep sending budgets to the senate that don't get approved.
And then what? They'll get a shot at putting up some nutjob for POTUS who'll draw 190 electoral votes?
Boeing did not lay off workers because of the election, but if you read reports from he company over the past year they speak of less demand etc.
Rusty said...
Why should they be polite to people they despise. When you despise someone you're not polite to them. You get in their face
To point out the obvious, getting in people's faces is such a core value to the left they elected someone President whose primary qualification was getting in faces and punching back twice as hard. The function of community organizers is convincing people to scapegoat others as a step in the process of using the resulting outrage to drive political change. This isn't a fringe tactic, the President of the United States made his career out of it.
Just because conservatives abuse the point doesn't mean there isn't something to it.
Tears of hope and joy are pouring from my eyes and threaten to short out my keyboard. Of course the saner ones among us are scared sh*tless about the impact of astronomical national debt coupled with runaway entitlements.
And the next Republican candidate who mentions "Roe" had better be talking about fish eggs!
And the next Republican candidate who mentions "Roe" had better be talking about fish eggs!
Agreed. Then again, it was the Democrats who trotted out a 30. year old Georgetown law student who demanded free birth control.
Well, this is a start!
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/09/opinion/krugman-lets-not-make-a-deal.html?_r=0
As for those inefficient gas station owners. Their profits are derived almost soley from concessions and not gas sales. So as Chip stated earlier, that's a hefty investment on a piece of equipment that may be used sporadically.
"Boeing did not lay off workers because of the election, but if you read reports from the company over the past year they speak of less demand etc."
And they don't think that demand is going up anytime soon. It's expensive to lay off skilled workers and companies don't do it lightly. If they see some light in the distant horizon they will keep people on. If that light is snuffed out then they will cut.
Sure, Boeing is an anecdote and anecdotes by themselves generally make for poor predictors. However, I would be interested in hearing your forecast of unemployment numbers for the upcoming 6 months or so.
Sammy @ 12:12
"No it will be a fast crash,"
What do you base this on?
Young Hegelian: The Democrats have some big problems on their hands with their "big tent", i.e. the people in it REALLY don't like each other very much.
So Republicans like to think, just like they delude themselves about the "natural conservatism" of various minority groups. The denizens of the big tent may dislike each other, but nowhere near as much as they resent the Evil White Man, and nowhere near as much as they like riding the Victim Group gravy train. In the long run, yeah, their mutual dislike will fracture their coalition. But they'll have successfully wrecked the joint before the "long run" runs out.
You think I'm wrong. Then get a liberal chick in the same room with a black guy & talk about gays, women, and religion.
...where the liberal white chick will either just glaze over and go into "it does not compute" mode, or explain away the black guy's unpalatable views as being somehow the result of his ill-usage by white guys. YH, you just don't get it. It's only homophobic, sexist, and irrational when white Christian males do it.
It's not that you're incorrect about liberals being "do as I say, not as I do" when it comes to their pet causes. It's that you think it fazes them in the least when you point this out.
As for blacks and Latinos, they're basically at war for the title of most favored minority. What the Latinos want -- amnesty for the illegals here --- NO ONE can give them, because it would upset the balance of power in multiple states, and erase black power in states like CA.
Liberals threw American blacks under the bus in favor of Latinos a long time ago. And EVERYONE (that is, everyone who matters, not that irrelevant loser, Joe Citizen), right and left, wants amnesty and open borders. Which they will get this term, both/either by "comprehensive immigration reform" and/or stealth legislation/executive fiat.
There is a lot of talking about changing demographics and that eventually whites will be a minority. I'm betting that's the point when they will say there is no further need for Affirmative Action.
Oh wow it looks like Iran fired at one of our planes!
Oh wait, this happened last week BEFORE the election?
Is the media now so in the tank for Obama that they literally are holding off on reporting things like this because people might want to ask for a response from Obama and he might get questioned by his challenger on his respons, which might impact an election.
Would the media di that for George Bush I wonder?
Colonel Angus said...
There is a lot of talking about changing demographics and that eventually whites will be a minority. I'm betting that's the point when they will say there is no further need for Affirmative Action.
That seems pretty optimistic. I suspect they'll keep race preferences [affirmative action includes less controversial policies so I like to distinguish] as long as they can identify any desireable employment area where any protected class is underrepresented. And since you can find underrepresentation anywhere by slicing the analysis pools into ever smaller groups that basically means forever.
RV: Boeing's move is just one of many more to come. If you can, offer some antidotes of companies staffing up by 20% or more.
Roesch, the point is not that Boeing laid off workers because of the election result. It's the timing. They've known they were doing layoffs for awhile now, based on federal funding reductions, and there is a law that they need to publicly state their intent to lay off 60 days in advance of the actual layoff. They ignored that rule and waited until after the election because the WH told them they'd pay any fines on their behalf. The WH stiff-armed them into flouting the law. Not like Holder would bring any charges against them anyways.
roesch/voltaire said...
Boeing did not lay off workers because of the election, but if you read reports from he company over the past year they speak of less demand etc.
No, but, as government contractors, they were told not to do it before the election.
And what, dare we ask, could have prompted less demand?
A lousy economy, mayhap?
Colonel angus,
If whites ever do become the minority, will they be treated the same as other minorities? I,e. can they say things like white is right and have it be a term of empowerment.can racial solidarity along white lines be as common as racial solidarity of other races. Will we have white studies in college? Maybe the skin heads will be the forerunners of the next white civil rigs leaders.
antidotes
The economy is an antidote to the poison of staffing up!
roesch/voltaire said...
Boeing did not lay off workers because of the election, but if you read reports from he company over the past year they speak of less demand etc.
-----------------------------
Go to the 'Wall Street Journal' today's edition. See the 'B' Market place section...Boeing is on pace to outsell Airbus for the first time since 2006..then get back to me.
WHY were conservatives so hell bent on controlling women's health options, yes I mean access to abortions.
"The Center for Reproductive Rights has challenged the constitutionality of Mississippi's 2011 law, which requires abortion providers to be certified in obstetrics and gynecology and have hospital admitting privileges."
Does the clinic perform a surgical procedure or not?
EMD said...
"The Center for Reproductive Rights has challenged the constitutionality of Mississippi's 2011 law, which requires abortion providers to be certified in obstetrics and gynecology and have hospital admitting privileges."
Does the clinic perform a surgical procedure or not?
Amusing that the left believes regulations are not always for the benefit of the consumers - but only in the case of abortion. If you're against a regulation on any other topic you're for children starving in the street while dying of cancer.
jr565 said...
Colonel angus,
If whites ever do become the minority, will they be treated the same as other minorities?
Are we moving towards or away from the tradition of "Rule of Law"? Does looking looking Mexico mean acting like Mexico? These are not racist questions but quite serious ones.
roesch/voltaire said...
Boeing did not lay off workers because of the election, but if you read reports from he company over the past year they speak of less demand etc.
Wonder why that is huh.
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