It's Not the End of the World -- 7 Things Progressives Need to Keep in Mind About Last Night

AlterNet / By Joshua Holland

It's Not the End of the World -- 7 Things Progressives Need to Keep in Mind About Last Night's GOP 'Wave'
The GOP’s gains represent a predictable rebalancing between presidential elections, rather than an ideological shift in the electorate.

November 3, 2010 |


Election 2010 was, by any measure, the “bloodbath” the forecasters predicted. It was a terrible loss for the Democratic Party, but what about the progressive movement? Should liberals hang their heads in the wake of the GOP retaking the House? Was it a repudiation of everything we believe, or are these results merely a bump in the road for the movement -- a setback on the way to a better, more progressive America?

The reality is that Congress is going to be even more dysfunctional, and thanks to the incoming Tea Party candidates, Fox News and the rest of the right-wing noise machine, we’re going to be subjected to endless investigations into pseudo-scandals involving everyone down to the White House gardener’s second cousin. Maybe we’ll even be treated to an impeachment hearing or two.

The bottom line is that progressives went to bed last night fighting a right wing that’s lost its collective mind, in a broken political system, with a centrist, Wall Street-friendly party that can’t sell its successes, and we wake up in pretty much the same situation. In other words, yes, we now face the disheartening fact that Rand Paul is a member of the United States Senate, the “greatest deliberative body in the world.” But remember, we already had James Inhofe.

But despite all of that, the long-term winds that devastated the GOP in two consecutive “wave elections” and propelled a black man with a funny name into the White House are still at our backs. ............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/story/148723/it%27s_not_the_end_of_the_world_--_7_things_progressives_need_to_keep_in_mind_about_last_night%27s_gop_%27wave%27/

Last week it was the low information voter who was angry and not going to take it anymore. This week it's the high education voter who is angry and not going to take it anymore. And we know who to be angry at. A timid President who needs to stop being timid right now! A timid administration that needs to stop being timid right now. A timid lame duck Congress that needs to ignore stupid teabagger polls and spend the next two months actually doing a good job, a fast, efficient and appropriate job. You may be short termers but you damn well better not act like it. And a media that is conservative and more than willing to pander to fear and keep low information voters stupid.

We're angry at the low knowledge voter who was angry but didn't understand who to be angry at but also angry at the Republicans and their bastard children, the teabaggers, who used that to their advantage in such a craven and self serving way. We high information voters are going to make your tenure hell, not be threats, but by holding your nose to the grindstone and if you continue to be The Party of No, we will teach the low information voters who and why they should be mad. Actually, we're going to make it our mission to do that anyway. I've had quite enough of the lowest common denominator (read - low information voter) deciding my fate. It's time they understand that you, Republican/Teabagger scum, did this to them and that you likely have no intention of making anything better for them, only for you.

Thanks for sharing.

It's hard to look at the long view in light of such a painful short-term hit.