« Judas and the Suppression of Diversity | Main | Fundamentalists Respond to Judas’s Gospel »

April 07, 2006

Seven months

Damn. Serves me right:

While I was out pursuing the classic Greek ideal of the perfect mind in the perfect body this afternoon, Carla got in with the story I was going to post about: The Democrats don't completely suck, and in fairness they haven't completely sucked for several months.

(If you haven't yet read Amy Sullivan's article, what are you waiting for? And while you're at it, here's an interesting bit of follow-up.)

It's true, the Dems don't have their act 100% together yet by any means (*cough* *cough* *censure!* *cough*), and even at their most disciplined there are still some hosers in their caucuses who are sucking up oxygen that actual, useful Democrats could be breathing (*cough* *cough* *Lieberman!* *cough*). But it does Reid and Pelosi--especially Reid, who was yanking the GOP chain almost from his first day as Minority Leader--a disservice, and it dissipates our energies, to fail to appreciate how far the Dems have come.

Still, with all due respect to the proven power of the Ruby Slippers of Righteousness, there is another side to the equation. And if no one else will bring it up, I will--well, or at least I'll courageously and forthrightly quote someone who will:

[T]he election is seven months away.

These are amazing numbers for us, but it's not reasonable to forecast a Democratic revolution when there's still seven months available for swiftboating, voter suppression tactics, gay marriage amendments, and campaign shennanigans. We're in great shape seven months out, but let's not kid ourselves. The GOP machine has yet to rev up its engine of fund-raising and propaganda.

According to this latest poll, a Democratic Congress is favored by 16 points. Let's approach the next seven months like were 16 points down, like we have nothing to lose. Let's take Mr. 36% and tie him around the neck of every Republican candidate. Let's have big ideas and low expectations going into 2006--and let's be surprised if that Democratic revolution really does occur.

I don't want to rain on the parade--lord knows, I've been waiting four years for a good mid-term Republican ass-kicking--but I also want to keep our eye on the target. It's cathartic to give the corrupt Congressional Repubs a good drubbing in the polls today; but that 16 point margin the Dems enjoy now hasn't yet attached itself to any specific candidates. So far it's accruing only to the idea of a Democrat who--unlike the Repubs--isn't corrupt, hasn't bargained away our national security and won't forsake our children's economic security.

There's a lot of work to be done between now and then--and a lot of hard shots on goal that the Dems are going to have to take from the Repubs who may have forgotten how to govern but almost certainly haven't forgotten how to fight mean.

Focus. Focus, focus, focus.

Posted by Nothstine at April 7, 2006 07:48 PM