What Lesson Did Brown Teach Obama/Democrats? Apparently Pass Bad Stuff Faster
by Warner Todd Huston (1/29/10)
Once Scott Brown took away the Democrat majority in the Senate by becoming the Republican’s 41st vote based in large part on the fact that Massachusetts voters were unhappy with Obamacare, one would think that President Obama and the Democrat Party would learn a vital lesson. A look at a dozen or so stories across the media over the last few days shows that the Democrats have indeed learned a lesson from Scott Brown’s victory. But is it the right lesson?
Once Scott Brown took away the Democrat majority in the Senate by becoming the Republican’s 41st vote based in large part on the fact that Massachusetts voters were unhappy with Obamacare, one would think that President Obama and the Democrat Party would learn a vital lesson. A look at a dozen or so stories across the media over the last few days shows that the Democrats have indeed learned a lesson from Scott Brown’s victory. But is it the right lesson?
Did they learn that they’d better slow down their freight train of extremely left leaning policies? Did they learn that with 58% of Americans standing in opposition to Obamcare they’d better reassess their direction? Have they learned from an entire year of raucous healthcare townhalls, multiple loses at the polls, and tea party protests that brought out over a million people that they might be agitating the American people?
Nope.
Looks like the lesson they’ve learned is that they have to pass their bad policies faster before they really lose power in the November midterm elections. It seems that a certain self-righteous arrogance is what we are seeing from Democrats instead of an acknowledgment that the voters have chastised them in Virginia, New Jersey, and now blue, blue Massachusetts. Democrats have not learned that they’d better listen to the voters but instead have decided that they better move on their agenda even faster. It’s hubris that they’ve assumed not a mien of humbleness.
For his part the president has boldly claimed that even as more Americans every day are turning against his ideas he’d rather make of himself a “really good one-term president” and pass his cherished policies than win a second term. In yet another TV interview Obama told ABC’s Diane Sawyer that he doesn’t care if he pays a political price at the hands of an unhappy electorate.
The president has previously admitted the convoluted process of cobbling together the huge bill had alarmed voters, but said today he will not back off of tackling large issues despite the political jeopardy involved.
So it’s Katie bar the door, and full steam ahead as far as this president is concerned—voters be damned.
The president isn’t the only one. One-time Senate Majority leader Tom Dashchle—a man who himself was thrown out of office by his constituents—told reporters about the lesson Brown taught him. Oh, it isn’t to slow down and think harder, no-siree. As far as Daschle is concerned the Dems need to hurry up and ”do the right thing” and pass the hard bills that Americans are against. That, to Daschle, is “political courage.” Some may call it political suicide, others extreme arrogance, but, well, you know.
Another voice of the Democrat establishment is campaign wunderkind David Plouffe who the president has called back to Washington to help the donkies retake victory at the polls in 2010. Did Plouffe advise his patrons to step back and reevaluate their position? Uh, nope. Plouffe immediately began by saying that the Democrats should hurry up and pass Obamacare.
In a recent mass emailing, for instance, Plouffe told supporters that they have to push even harder on every policy that has caused the voters to rise in anger against them.
The President’s resolve has never been stronger to keep fighting for health insurance reform, for lasting job creation, and to rein in the big banks and fight the undue influence of lobbyists. Wednesday’s speech will be a pivotal moment for us all to get on the same page and continue the fight together.
Lesson learned? Hardly.
These few aren’t the only ones. The Associated Press is reporting that Congressional Democrats are gathering to unite on a health care strategy and that strategy is to pass through the House of Representatives the same Senate bill that drove Massachusetts voters to vote against their Democrat candidate for Senate.
Lesson learned: Hubris, not humbleness.
So what are the Democrat’s rewards? Check out these headlines:
Poll: Americans glad Dems lost supermajority
CNN Poll: 3 of 4 Americans say much of stimulus money wasted
Republicans Pull Ahead on Generic Ballot
If these headlines are any indication the voters really are trying to teach the Democrats a lesson. But if I can paraphrase a saying, Is Demmie learning?
“The only end of writing is to enable the reader better to enjoy life, or better to endure it.” --Samuel Johnson
Warner Todd Huston
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