NYT: No Reveling for Democrats, Despite Achievements

[steve2470]

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/15/us/politics/15memo.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

WASHINGTON — Senator Christopher J. Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat who played a pivotal role as the 111th Congress passed several major pieces of legislation, said his party had a fundamental problem.

“Democrats don’t know how to celebrate,” said Mr. Dodd, suggesting that his colleagues should be reveling in the achievements of what Democrats and Republicans agree is one of the most consequential Congressional sessions in decades. “In the face of unyielding opposition, this president and this Congress stepped up to pass historic legislation for the good of the country.”

As they finally wrapped up their business for the summer with Thursday’s approval of additional border security money, Congressional Democrats remained on the political defensive, bracing for potentially steep House and Senate losses in the coming midterm elections.

It is a point of frustration to Democrats that much of the public seems unimpressed by the litany of legislation signed into law in the first two years of President Obama’s term: the $787 billion stimulus package, an anti-age-discrimination law, long-sought tobacco regulation, expanded community service, credit card consumer protection, the landmark health care law, Pentagon contracting changes, Wall Street regulation, tax cuts, credits and more.

more at link above

[daleanime]

1. Then what was the 'stuff' that happened after Obama's election?

You know when we had people singing in the streets of several major cities?



Problem is the victories you want to celebrate don't look like victories to us.:banghead:

[jaxx]

4. Ah but they are victories. Look at history, they'll be there.

Health care brought kicking and screaming into the future, this will stand as a big one. Bringing back financial reform after the deepest recession since the depression, this too will stand. Both brought about by some very courageous Democrats who went against the right wing and thumbed their noses at them for their noperisms.

[daleanime]

5. We are going to disagree...

Health care was kicking and screaming while it was shoved into Insurance Companies pocket, it's been kind of quiet after that-some one check to see if it's still breathing. Did better on financial reform, but failed to close the deal completely.



And 'thumbed their noses at them', we've let the right wing drag us so far right that we're all in danger of going over the cliff.

[Taverner]

2. Surprise, surprise, the CorpoRATs are turning on him

A scorpion is a scorpion, after all

[The Traveler]

3. I think Dodd has a point

Health care reform, financial reform, I could go on but we know the list. I cannot call a single one of these legislative achievements satisfactory in their scope or implementation.

But ... I keep telling myself that when you are ten miles into the woods you aren't getting out with a one mile hike. If I regard these as the first steps in a longer legislative sequence, then I feel better about them. We haven't gotten out of the woods yet, but we've made a mile or two.

And I have to call that progress of a sort. It wasn't pretty. I didn't expect it to be. But I did not expect the opposition to be so fanatic, so dishonest, so bigoted, so hateful ... and so well supported by cable network news and print media. And I did not expect so many betrayals by certain Senators in our own party. Still, with all that opposition, some mileage was made.

This is not to say Trav is a happy customer. I see what is happening to this country and it does not please me at all. But I also see who has done, and is continuing to work, the most damage. And I don't want them holding the reigns again.

Trav

[Nite Owl]

6. They just weren't the achievements

that real people wanted. They watered things down and lost the vision.

No public option and it may in the long run save money for someone but not us.

On the financial reform people wanted some vengence! They wanted to see the banks broken up and fined, they wanted all the nagging charges gone, something we can actually see.

The stimulus package did do alot but it needed to be much bigger.

Could these things have been actually passed? That would have taken using the bully pulpit a lot and reigning in the Blue Dogs and Conservadems, like actually threaten them with no party support and primaries. Leadership was missing and compromise started at would could have been the end result.