The Democrats did the impossible. They got their asses kicked from sea to shining sea, and that shine wasn’t from the sun reflecting off the pristine waters of the Atlantic and Pacific. The shine comes from oil slicks on the Atlantic, the Pacific and across the globe. Yecch. The Democrats loss this year was like being up 3 games to none in a 7 game playoff series. In baseball, arguably America’s sport, a comeback from 3 down had never happened. Never. All sports fans, but especially fans of the greatest and most famous sports rivalry, the Red Sox and the Yankees, know exactly what happened in 2004. The impossible happened. The only difference is that the Yankees never took their victory for granted.
Look at the political advantages the Democrats had available and yet for some inexplicable reason they did not even put their advantages into the game. At least the Yankees did not bench their best when they were up 3 – 0 in the series. The first advantage Democrats had was that the economy was improving. Instead of boasting about it repeatedly the Democrats paid homage to the Republican myth of too much spending and the debt being too high. At the same time, the Democrats gave lip service to income inequality but never proposed anything about how and why it needs fixing. And even less was said by the Democrats to connect the debt myth to inequality. Of course they did not say anything, about the debt myth since they had already agreed to play under Republican definitions of how an economy operates. That resulted in all Democrats going to bat with 1 strike against them in nearly every debate and in every election contest. All they had to do was insist on explaining how fixing income inequality would improve the economic position of every person; rich, poor, white, and black; then tell them how they will do it.
They allowed the Republican Party to denigrate the President of the United States, simply because he is a Democrat. I did not hear of a single Democrat responding to a Republican taunt that if a Democrat voted along with President Obama they were effectively equivalent to the President. All they had to do was come back strong with a retort along the lines of “Of course I voted for policies favored by the President. He and I are both Democrats, we are going to agree on a whole lot more than you and I are going to agree on. By the way, can you describe the Jobs plan you have?” Instead, many Democrats folded into a fetal position and whispered, “but you belong to the Tea Party”. Whether the Republican was a Tea Party supporter the voters that are watching the debates or following the coverage are likely the voters that have not already decided. Since running from their own party is essentially the same as an abdication, the Democrats now came out of each debate with two strikes against them.
Then it came down to the last few weeks before the election. Surely by then the Democratic Party as a whole must have realized just how much trouble they were in. If you follow politics and sports, it’s like the Republicans hit a grand slam in the early innings, somewhat like a goofy Red Sox center fielder, who was also a heck of an exciting player. This is because the Democrats never told a cohesive story about the Republicans. One that emphasized that the Republicans shut down the government as a plot to abolish ObamaCare because the Republicans were unable to do it legislatively, the way the system was designed. Democrats did not make a simple case that every time John Boehner or any other Republican asks rhetorically, ‘where are the jobs, Mr. President’; the American people should be asking Boehner that as the Speaker of the House, it is his responsibility to get legislation proposed., and the president put a jobs proposal on the table. Running from Republican taunts the Democrats could and should list job proposals, action on immigration, plans to address income inequality, and critical ideas and solutions on what the US can do to limit the impact of Climate Disruption on the future of America, and the entire world.
Instead the Democratic leadership stood there as a group, hoping that each candidate would solve their own campaign. And without a cohesive plan nearly every Democratic candidate just stood there and took strike 3 called.
People did not vote for any Republican agenda as the Republicans and the media claim. How could people choose an agenda that consists of only repeal measures and no positive message, other than you hate the President. People keep blaming the large number of Democrats that did not vote. Tell me, if you were an undecided voter, why on earth would you vote for a Democrat? They told you nothing about what they stand for or what they would do to make your life better. They walked into this 2014 election cycle aware that the Republicans had no policy to articulate. Instead of putting together all the things that Democrats want to do, the Democrats took a 3 – 0 series lead and did nothing to get that 4th game and start a comeback. They just showed up but did not participate.