2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumCan Democrats Seize the Romney Opening, and Not Let Go This Time?
Mitt Romneys pending nomination as the Republican Party candidate for President is a gift to any Democrat willing to forcefully address the structural problems confronting Americans today. Democrats had a golden opportunity to do so in 2008, when the immoral greed driven and callously gamed and manipulated Wall Street derivatives bubble first burst, bringing most of the worlds economy to its knees. Reality had a powerful populist bias during that elite driven meltdown that was virtually impossible to hide from, but Democrats by and large did a damn good job of doing exactly that. Defying all previous expectations Democrats generally took a pass on populist anger when the Banks imploded, leaving that torch for Koch Brother funded Tea Party extremists to use in their efforts to burn down government. It was an epic fail that fueled a media embraced movement not for greater corporate accountability, but for smaller government instead.
We could argue endlessly over what if anything Democrats in Congress, and/or Democrats in the White House might have done differently back then to get a different result, but now we dont have to. We can concentrate on the present instead. Its almost like that magical old fashioned do-over. Democrats get a second chance to get it right With Mitt Romney the all but official leader of opposition to President Obama, he personifies the alternative to a Democratic agenda. But Romney also is the ideal poster child for concentrated wealth and privilege in America. And its not just any old wealth that Mitt Romney is fused with, it is insider Wall Street wealth that hes hopelessly linked to.
Romneys massive wealth wasnt gained the old fashioned way by inventing and/or building things that Americans want and use. Instead he concentrated on leveraging assets and shuffling corporate components in pursuit of short term profits for himself and other Bain shareholders, indifferent to the ultimate fate of the companies he invested in or the workers that they employed. In a wealth shell Mitt Romney pretty much represents exactly where America went wrong for most of our citizens. By debunking and discrediting the economic game plan of one highly unlikable mega rich elitist who happens to be running for President this year as a Republican, Democrats can re-write the entire economic narrative that has misinformed America since 2009.
We can reverse pulling defeat from the jaws of victory and help most Americans draw the lessons that they should already have learned from the economic meltdown that felled us in late 2007 IF we dont quiver at the first accusations. of socialist class warfare and flee toward the false sanctuary of a will of the wisp center. So far our President has held fast against political slander. If President Obama fully seizes upon the grand teaching moment that Mitt Romneys ideologically bankrupt Presidential campaign offers, we can emphatically restore Americas endangered commitment to the common good. That would be a transformational victory, one that we once again find within our grasp. Early indications are promising. Full speed ahead Mr. President!
Teamster Jeff
(1,598 posts)Tom Rinaldo
(22,911 posts)But doing well at articulating the real issues and choices facing our nation is an important part of a President's job. It helps make the right choices more likely to prevail if a President does that part well. I thank god for Obama's talent in that regard rigt now, as long as he keeps using his communications skills to drive home essential messages, and drawing the appropirate lines in the sand. After the election, assuming he wins, we all should be vigilent at keeping the sand from shifting. For now I wish Obama all the best, and I am coun ting on him to come through, with activist support that underlines what is at stake this year.