Last edited Sun Nov 16, 2014, 03:44 PM - Edit history (3)

We misunderstand politics and our politicians in 2014 when we assume their goal is always to win. That was the old system, democracy.

In oligarchy, the goal is using the two parties you own in whichever way best furthers the corporate agenda of the oligarchy.

This is not a problem of bad strategy in a functioning democratic contest. This is oligarchy pretending to be democracy. Corporate Democrats did everything possible to depress turnout in the midterms, from their utter lack of a positive agenda, to the outright campaign to demoralize and insult the base online, to the "Accept Doom" DCCC email campaign:

Now, ffs swat that fly! It's driving me NUTS!

THEY don't lose when they lose an election, and I have little doubt that some elected Democrats don't mind not being in the majority (or even losing their race since they make bank even when they lose if they help block progressive legislation -- a Republican winning or a conservative Democrat winning certainly achieves that).

Corruption is rife, and things will continue to get worse for most until we build support and demand a progressive government. Electing conservative Democrats that undermine traditional Democratic values will ensure a progressive government will never occur. People will see their lives getting more and more difficult regardless of which party has power (sounds familiar) and tune out of the political process. Exactly what the financial elite want.

Conservative Democrats muddy the waters and make it very, very difficult for the average person that doesn't pay attention to politics to understand where the solution lies. Again, exactly what the financial elite want.

Yes, they do.

How often are we fed excuses for Democratic corruption that blame "timidity" or spinelessness or racism or simple ineptitude?

Compare that to how often we see any mention, let alone serious discussion, in the MSM about the elephant in the room: the vast amounts of money pouring into Washington, the revolving door between Washington and Wall Street, and the tremendous payback these politicians receive.

Those trading away our democracy and our children's futures will be well cared-for for the rest of their lives.

I have to agree with what you are saying here. Your scenario makes more sense than anything else I have read. The thought of losing intentionally for whatever gain is not a natural thought for most people.
Again, I agree that the real people in power will next choose a Republican. Then we start this whole thing over again without anyone truly seeing the deceit going on here.

I haven't been around for awhile.......posts like this give me hope that more will see the light. Maybe I will venture back for awhile....

The mask came off (for me, at least) when the Dems won majorities in 2006, yet the Bush agenda continued.

or when rigged voting machines in Ohio "reelected" Bush.

Like why Democrats feel like strangers in our own Party.

I'll wait to hear from Examiner.com before rushing to judgement.

I didn't realize the OP owned OpEdNews.

Al Franken when he was on Air America.

record low turn out. All that money and the accompanying corruption buys a shitload of cynicism.

10-12-14 - Five million more Democrats voted vs the GOP.

It will take 100 years to undo the gerrymandering maps that favor the GOP

mean diddlysquat at the state level?

In 2021 in California 3 MILLION More Democrats voted versus Republicans, the map of California's districts reflects that.

In 2012 in Texas 1.3 MILLION more Republicans than Democrats voted, the map of Texas's districts reflects this.

I have never understood this belief that the maps are screwed up, it doesn't make sense.

would be proud of this OP!

people talking about what they are doing. I believe Democrats can and should do better, fight harder. Could give a rat's ass about any of the Paul klan.

Excellent explanation by a college prof. on where we are today.
Here's a review of his book from the Boston Globe.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/books/2014/10/18/review-national-security-and-double-government-michael-glennon/tUhBBdSj8s0WW1HoWUf20M/story.html

ROFLMAO...followed by a few silent tears because it's so true.

No spine...no brass...no fire...no message.

Ya, that's a real winner Dems.

Obama Bots, read through all the provisions and see what Obama is for. How far the wrong way the Democratic party has come.

Firstly, Obama didn't actually get nearly as much done as he'd originally wanted to during the first 4 years in office.....not just environmentally speaking, but in *general*; and yet, even despite the NSA issues, etc., we didn't see masses of progressives staying home or defecting to the Greens or the Libertarians in 2012. And neither are the Democrats in danger of political extinction.....in fact, it's the Republicans, if anyone.....so no.

And what bothers me, too, is that we're not hearing much, certainly not from the MSM(and even a lot of alt-media seems to be silent, save BradBlog and a few others), about the possibility that both election screw-ups, and even outright fraud, as well as suppression of the poor, People of Color, etc.....may have played a significant, possibly even major, role in the losses that were more severe than anticipated this year.

Sure. Voter suppression played some part in the Democrats terrible midterm performance, but it's not like progressives and progressive policies saw a bad night across the board. If progressives were, in a substantial way, locked out of the election through anti-voting laws, how do we account for the wins we saw on fracking, marijuana law reform and minimum wage?

Again, yes, voter suppression is a serious issue that has undoubtedly had a detrimental effect, but when progressive policies are polling and performing well, while Democrats are bombing, I think we can conclude that there are problems that can be rightfully chalked up to Democratic strategy.

2001 it was the mighty 3rd parties, millions throwing the vote just like in 1980 (sure, the math doesn't add up in either case, and Newsweek admitted Gore would've won even with Jeb's Third-World-style skullduggery, were it not for the Brooks Brothers Riot)
2002-4 it was the mighty purist circular firing squad, seizing the party and deposing dozens of Senators voting yea on the IWR, cleverly disguising their pogrom as "election results"
2004-6 they endorsed things called "primaries," fascistic abuses of power skillfully disguised as democracy
2006-8 they started the Great Purge, where candidates that didn't fit a prescribed ideology were gerrymandered, got their money and support wiped out altogether, primaries sabotaged even when it meant losing the seat to a Pub, or even open endorsements of non-Dems: this is the only way Cegelis, Lamont, McKinney, Halter, Romanoff, Sestak, Grayson, Kucinich, Buono, Lutrin, Rev. Manuel Sykes, and Weiland got/retained their seats, which they selfishly hold when a good neocon or Pub could be sitting in it
2008-14 was worst of all: Michael Moore established a personality cult demanding 100% compliance, viciously smearing the good Dems who, out of nothing but the most rational rationality, swore absolute fealty to the President even if he doubled down on every Reagan and Bush policy, driving scores of witty DLC analysts off DU (while themselves contributing nothing but endless blue links to stories that didn't say what the headline did, or even Yahoo! maps connecting Moscow's airports after Moore threatened Evo Morales's plane)

but the kicker was that every forgettable lefty from Chomsky and Greenwald to Sheehan and Risen and Taibbi pooled their vigintillions of dollars to found DGOTV, Inc.: claiming that the Dems' accomplishments during this time (which Krugman has mathematically proven greater than the deeds of Lincoln, the Roosevelts, the best parts of JFK and LBJ, and post-Presidency Carter COMBINED AND THEN SQUARED), they said that the only way to save the country was to see it burn, cleverly using facts and low approval ratings to convince millions to not vote, even launching a campaign on DU itself of pointing out the party's self-sabotage, rightward tilt, crippling weaknesses, and fecklessness, as though those factors themselves could turn off voters

so what will '16 see? 70% of Americans have already been corrupted by the notion that politicians ought to follow through on promises, and there are even darker whispers that Putin has used his absolute power over the media and party cadres to make them believe that they should be voted out if they fail to do as promised; perhaps some swine will object to raising the voting age to 30, or to the cossacks the party sends around to whip people in the face until they promise to vote

track and show those Moore/Snowden/Greenwald worshiping saboteurs who's in charge. Nothing says GOTV like a new fracking pipeline and million+ jobs to Asia.

And Lincoln? Ignore him. Just another purist.