Washblog

On the other end of the line I found, not failure, not dreadful disappointment, not crippling compromise, but an informative, well-run, telephone town hall with my state legislators, Mary Lou Dickerson and Reuven Carlyle. While the the "top" of the Democratic Party was engaged in inexplicable SNAFU, Reps. Calyle and Dickerson were explaining the issues to reasonable, intelligent folks who showed real concern about government.

Yes, the questions were a little long. Progressives, please, the word "question" means something different from the word "lecture" or even the word "speech". Here's a hint: if your "question" includes the word "because", then you are probably going wrong.

Even with the longwinded questions, I found Dickerson and Carlyle shrank from nothing. They hit tough and controversial issues. They even disagreed. In my view, they went as straight for the truth on revenue and cuts, tunnels and seawalls as politicians ever go. They showed us why we elected them and I believe listening actually happened on both sides. Thoughts were provoked on both sides. Certainly I saw my state representatives in a new, positive light - and I'm pretty cynical, by some estimates. Apart from the inevitable budgetary bloodletting, massive policy changes and monstrous new legislation will not immediately result, but maybe that's not what we need right now anyway.  

Look, we all know that last night was both a catastrophe and totally predictable, In 2006, the Democrats were given a chance and, despite deep divisions and a failed DCCC/DSCC model, they suceeded. They got another chance in 2008 and despite a near split they succeeded.

Last night, they failed, but I feel neither animus nor resignation. A failed model will eventually fail. At this point, the leadership of the Democratic Party can turn any Roosevelt into a Hoover.

President Obama came into office with confidence, but he did not stride in. The era of Bush/Kennedy, "blueblood" entitlement is over. Barack Obama did not come in a "frontrunner", like his major opponents. He didn't try to coronate himself into office like Kerry nor slink into office like - ehem - certain incumbents who will go unnamed. Instead, he used a grassroots, Progressive-driven, 50-state strategy for success. Once in office, the Democratic party cut him off from his base and the people. Now the President - along with our Governor and all the Dems - are going to have to face the music. Dickerson and Carlyle get it. Let's hope the rest figure it out fast. Did President Obama also cut himself off? Of course, but just a year into his office, we can hope that the President remembers what works.

As that base, we who think things through need to think harder. We need to dig for the roots of problems and connect together new answers above and, hopefully, beyond the old tropes. Concurrently, as Democrats like Cantwell and Murray tunnel towards us, we need Reps. like Dickerson and Carlyle to tunnel towards them.   The Coakley defeat should remind the party that they must think things through - but it won't - so we have to do the digging.  

I believe we'll come up with the right answers and - even now - I believe there are politicians out there who get it and will help us.