There is a curious new criticism of the Democratic Party. I don't mean that it's curious in that it is specious. It is perfectly valid. I mean it's curious in its source. Let me explain.
Now we are told that the Democrats approval ratings have gone down since they were not able to stand up to the president. I know we are told this because I am one of the people doing the telling. We talk about it on our radio show almost on a daily basis.
So, why do I object to this charge when I make the same exact accusation? Because I want to get us out of Iraq and I want to pass many of the pieces of legislation that the Democrats said they were going to pass if they got in charge. I have standing.
Republicans do not. They charge that the Democrats haven't been able to do anything since they gained control. Yes, that's because of you!
Man, these guys have balls. They block every bill proposed, they fight tooth and nail to keep us in Iraq and then they turn around and accuse the Democrats of not passing legislation and not being able to get us out of Iraq.
You know what might help? If you stopped being such dicks and blocking every proposal. Now, I know that they have every right to block all those bills. And I won't even call them obstructionists, as they did with the Democrats when the Democrats were in the minority. If you don't like a bill, your job is to obstruct that bill.
But what you don't get to do is block a bill and then complain it didn't get passed.
The Republicans now have the nerve to call this a Do Nothing Congress. Are you kidding? This would be a Do Everything Congress if you got out of the way. Again, you don't have to, but you can't have it both ways -- you can't stop all Democratic proposals and then complain they didn't get any proposals passed.
I wouldn't even mind this absolutely ridiculous talking point if the press didn't go along or if the Democrats knew how to fight back effectively. But, of course, neither of those is true. I have now seen article after article where Republicans are quoted criticizing the Democrats for not getting anything done. Not one reporter has had enough sense to ask any of those Republicans, "Well, did you vote against those proposals? How can you complain that they haven't gotten any legislation passed when you're the one who fought so hard to make sure that they didn't get anything passed?"
Do you really need to go to journalism school to ask these questions? Aren't they the most obvious questions in the whole wide world?
As for the Democrats, any reasonable person's frustration with them is more than justified. Every day I wonder if they have any idea what politics is and what the rules of engagement are. Rule #1: Fight back.
How did these people ever get elected in the first place? When the Republicans helped block the override of President Bush's veto on the first war funding bill (the one that had timelines that a great majority of Americans support), the obvious talking point is -- today the Republican party once again blocked the will of the American people. Today the Republican party chose to side with President Bush and Dick Cheney instead of the American people. Today the Republican party enthusiastically voted to keep our troops in the middle of a civil war in Iraq. Today the Republican party betrayed the trust of the American people and thwarted their intentions.
Hello, McFly? Every time a Democrat goes on TV, they should remind the American people that the Republicans WANT to keep us in Iraq. It is Republican votes that back up the administration's plan to keep American troops in Iraq indefinitely. Pound it home. My God, man, an overwhelming majority of the country is on your side, will you drive the stake through their hearts?
Instead we now have Republicans bailing out of the war and the press is beginning to talk about how the Republican Senators might force the president to take a new course in Iraq. You think the Democrats can't blow this? You think the Republicans won't take credit for getting us out of Iraq? Then you haven't been following politics in this country for the last ten years.
The Democrats are the Bad News Bears of politics. While Republican senators like Lugar and Voinovich are pressing the eject button on Iraq, the Democrats are pushing the Reid-Levin proposal, an atrocious bill that would begin the withdrawal of troops in April, 2008 -- if the president doesn't object. Wow, that's forceful. Don't hurt 'em, now.
I want the Bad News Bears of politics to win. I know the Democrats are right on the policy issues. I have standing. I can criticize them because I hope they change direction politically, so we can win on policy issues that matter.
The people who can't make these criticisms are the ones who so ably blocked the Bears from winning on the issues in the first place. Those would be the Republicans. But you know what, they can and they will continue to do exactly that because the Democrats won't be able to figure out how to stop them. So, they will continue to kick the Democrats around and then complain that the Democrats are getting kicked around.
The Republicans are right about one thing. Only a wimp wouldn't stand up to that.
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UPDATE -- If Thomas Edsall of the Huffington Post is right, the Democrats have finally gotten the memo and are planning to fight back harder this summer. It appears it was the dramatic swing in the polls that clarified their thinking. Frankly, I don't care what gets them to change their stance, as long as they do.
We had Rep. George Miller (D-CA) on the show this morning and he confirmed the Democratic caucus is busy trying to figure out how to fight on every issue, but mainly Iraq over the next couple of months. He says they want to pin the Republicans on these issues in exactly the way I talk about above. Let's hope that's true. Rep. Miller is one of the most progressive and hardest fighting Democrats in the House, and obviously there are some Democrats in Congress who are fighters. But with the Democrats in general, I'll believe it when I see it.