It’s amazing how quickly things change: three of my four predictions last week proved wrong.
DADT repeal and the Dream Act, both of which I thought would pass, were thwarted in the Senate by the GOP’s unprecedented threat to filibuster a defense authorization bill. The Democratic leadership clearly miscalculated by trying to bring the bill to the floor without having the votes.
On the middle class tax cuts, Democrats completely dropped the ball by refusing to hold votes before the election. This is the spineless Democratic behavior that drives the base crazy, and it comes just when they need inspiration. To hold two separate votes on tax cuts—one for the middle class and the other for the wealthy—was a no-brainer. The public vastly favors extending only the middle class cuts (even Republicans by a 2:1 margin), and it’s been a signature issue for Obama.
It’s a shame that the Democratic leadership let such a golden opportunity slip by; nothing would have clarified the differences between the parties more sharply, and it’s exactly what the Democrats should have done going into the election.
This week also witnessed the rollout of the GOP’s “Pledge for America”, which turned out to be little more than industry wish lists, patriotic slogans, and regressive social values. It was trashed by so many Republicans that I had to wonder why they even bothered to release it. Given widespread discontent with the economy, Republicans are poised to make huge gains if only the public doesn’t think too hard about what the GOP actually stands for. Why remind them when you don’t have to?
Instead, “The Pledge” gives Democrats another chance to make the election not simply a referendum on the economy but a choice between competing visions. The Democrats, for all their imperfections, have demonstrated over the past two years that they stand for the public interest and social progress. Over the same time, Republicans have essentially turned into lobbyists for the corporations that fund their campaigns and give them lucrative jobs when they retire from public life; they’ll do anything to subvert the public good—opposing healthcare reform, Wall Street reform, environmental protection, even food safety. Besides their regressive economic policy they’re regressive socially, openly hostile to women’s rights, gays, and immigrants.
If elections were decided on the merits of party policies, we’d be looking at another Democratic victory. Yet here we are five weeks before the election, and a major Republican victory is highly probable
But it is not a given. There is still time to contain the damage, if only the base, all progressives and all Democrats bury the hatchet and work together. To this end, I urge everyone to read the Matt Yglesias article on how high the stakes are. Major provisions of the healthcare law are just going into effect, improving hundreds of thousands of lives, and these are the things Republicans want to repeal. Stop complaining and get in gear, Yglesias says; staying home will set back progress for years to come.
I couldn’t agree more. Those dedicated to reason and social progress cannot sit this one out.
Jason Scorse