Okay. It's over.
Wealthy conservatives in America have played the long-game. For 40 years they have mapped and organized the takeover of public institutions to benefit themselves. This election proved the success of a consistent minority repeating the same things over and over again to influence the majority. Now Democrats have conservatives and liberals, Republicans have conservatives and radicals. Can our system handle it? I think so. Can the rest of us benefit from it? Yes.
The Tea Party is now "the man." Let's see how they actually use their power over taxpayer dollars. Ideally, they will bring some true conservative values back to the Republican party. Given who bought them their seats, however, their priorities will likely promote corporate anarchy more than the Constitution (or free markets). At the very least, CSPAN will become better entertainment. Keep those costumes and signs Tea Partiers! You'll need them to make the case for a 10% federal spending cut -- especially if you really do put the Beltway Bandits under the knife. These folks know how to avoid a head-stomping.
The marble halls of Congress have a civilizing effect. Despite their disdain, the government-haters descending on DC will be impressed by our democratic institutions. Their passionate, anti-social actions during the campaign will result in a shake-down. Who really means what they said? Much to their disappointment, they will find no communists, not even any socialists. They will find a great benefits package and over a million dollars to spend on their new office, though. Things that most Americans don't even dream about.
Most important, however, is that these new Members will have to give up their main political bludgeon, what psychologists call "loss aversion". They have continually framed political choices as "us vs. them" and "win or lose" with the knowledge that people usually choose to avoid immediate loss even at the expense of future gains. This is why fear is so effective. Now they are going to have to explain those choices at home to angry constituents. Which Tea Partiers will take responsibility for outcomes? Who will evade them? Democrats, start your engines.
This is an opportunity for self-reflection. The Tea Party illustrates how we Americans have reached the limits of our own understanding of ourselves. Our greater challenge now is to resolve the fight that has been depicted between the myth of the individual vs the group.
In the House, the Democrats can use this two-year hiatus to reflect on their four years in power. This nearly finished session of Congress was one of the most productive ever. The fact that this story never gained positive traction is part of a larger communications failure. The Democrats will be both more liberal and in the opposition now. These are great conditions for organizing a modern story about America rooted in a consistent belief system.
This belief system must address the modern role of government in peoples' lives. From saving miners' lives to ecoli free spinach, consciously giving credit to the benefits that a government provides is the starting point. Many Americans seem to have forgotten about the tightly woven dependence we have on each other -- mediated by government. The confidence we have in society and ourselves. Elected leaders -- especially Members of Congress -- need to reclaim their role as public educators who point out what we can do together. Lacking this backdrop of collective narrative and common goods, acts of solidarity on behalf of everyone become welfare. Instead of an investment, public dollars become a subsidy.
The first thing everyone can do starting tomorrow is to stop saying "special interests". This lazy bit of rhetoric is the equivalent of throwing orphans into the sausage factory with corporate titans. Some interests ARE more special than others. The Tea Party rose to power on these bland generalizations. It's time to get specific. Democrats, progressives, non-aligned and real Republican conservatives should take every opportunity to force a clear articulation of priorities, trade-offs and explanations.
And finally, because Capitol Hill is going to be pretty boring for progressives, Members and DC-based groups are going to be looking outside for new partnerships, coalitions and state infrastructure building opportunities. Create some innovative and inclusive gatherings for Members and staff. Bolster their efforts to build a new narrative about the common good! The two areas I see opening up quickly are subject matter expertise sourced in districts and more organized new media influence.
The fight we are in for isn't the head-stomping, name-calling one. Let them have their sandbox. The next democratic terrain will be to recreate our institutions of governing outside of DC, sharing the lessons with each other. Relationships built on personal knowledge and trust are our future. Corporations may be individuals, but they can't hang out in the trenches together. This is about our soul. The horizon is bright.
Follow Lorelei Kelly on Twitter: www.twitter.com/loreleikelly
Huffington Post: Election Results 2010: HuffPost Bloggers React (SLIDESHOW)
For instance, there is a 'shadow president' to match the actual president, a shadow secretary of state to match the actual one, and so on and so on.
The shadow government wields no political power, but does formulate and announce what their policy decisions would be if they were in power. It demonstrates that the party out of power has an aparatus that is 'ready to go' should they be voted in, and is a great training ground for future candidates for the actual elected offices.
Maybe it won't work here with our long tradition of 'rugged individualism', but maybe it will...
When I last visited Congress, they were running the entire Congressional branch of government on about $500,000,000 per year. This is for a branch of government that appropriates about a trillion dollars a year. That is a pretty low overhead rate.
Of course, there is a price for having so few resources. They have to rely on lobbyists for almost all of their information. Otherwise, they wouldn't have any information at all. That's the real reason that lobbyists have so much power in Washington. We have essentially outsourced all of the congressional information gathering to the private sector.
Why didnt Obama follow through on all the election promises he made!
It takes guts and gumption - something the GOP white boys have never lacked in!
There's a good chance this Congress will have to raise the debt ceiling and fairly soon too, or else send the U.S into default and world markets into a tailspin. When that happens, Rand Paul's juvenile Libertarianism is going to be tested in a way that could bring down the entire financial system--again. And he's just crazy enough to think that would be dandy.
I wish I could as philosophical about our future as this author. When things don't get better--and they won't--the head stomping will escalate, not moderate.
Yeah. I suspect your view of the future is more likely. I hope not, but...
It's gonna be tough.
Part 1
The battle that I see playing out in Congress and the Senate, and yes, the White House, is actually a simple one and one that has only one rule: Please disclose your strategies for
1. reducing the debt (and be specific)
2. helping to create jobs in America ( again, be specific)
3. tightening the budget ( and once again, I'd appreciate specifics.)
During the midterm campaigning, everyone spewed talking points, but nobody could give us specific cuts, expenditures or other strategies that would help bring the USA back on its feet. This was very evident with the tea party folks, who continually ranted that they wanted a smaller government, but again failed to mention how. They wanted to function according to the constitution - but which one? Our Constitution has been amended a number of times. GOPers picked up this song and dance and tried to give us the "privatizing social security is good for you speech". Most importantly, however, their leadership apparently set itself one important goal : to make sure that President Obama is a one-term president.
sigh...
At the same time the GOP and the pea party movement was evading answering questions about their goal for America, they attacked the Democrats for failing to restore law and order, a thriving economy and enriching the rich after "only" 2 years of mayhem in the political and economical playing field. So instead of running on accomplishments, the Democrats had to defend themselves from these needless attacks, losing their opportunity to tell the country their agenda for the next 2 + years.
What did we get from all this campaigning? All the money spent by lobbyists, private citizens, and Unions? Confusion. We are a country divided. We don't work towards a common good. We hate each other and refuse to compromise. President Obama says we need to go forward. That is true. We don't get a do-over in life. Going back to the "good, old days" is not going to fix us now. Forward is the only direction. I truly hope that we can accomplish this, and that we don't become impatient, because it doesn't happen overnight. Change and hope take time and diligence - and a detailed plan, not talking points from certain TV personalities.
I wish us luck, because we need it.
1. reducing the debt (and be specific)
2. helping to create jobs in America ( again, be specific)
3. tightening the budget ( and once again, I'd appreciate specifics.)
During the midterm campaigning, everyone spewed talking points, but nobody could give us specific cuts, expenditures or other strategies that would help bring the USA back on its feet. This was very evident with the tea party folks, who continually ranted that they wanted a smaller government, but again failed to mention how. They wanted to function according to the constitution - but which one? Our Constitution has been amended a number of times. GOPers picked up this song and dance and tried to give us the "privatizing social security is good for you speech". Most importantly, however, their leadership apparently set itself one important goal : to make sure that President Obama is a one-term president.
We deserve it, one way or the other. But does the rest of the world?
And maybe we should consider them.