Posted on 11/09/2014 5:12:48 AM PST by Kaslin
Its one of lifes little ironies that the political party most often screaming about democracy! is also the party least likely to care what the majority of citizens actually vote for.
Tuesdays election sent a clear message: We dont like what the Democrats have been doing. What did Democrats hear? Well, one senior Democratic aide told Politico, As a party, we need to change. [Voters] like our policies. All this leftie [talk], the country likes, but somehow the message about us as individual members of the conference isnt breaking through.
Yes, people love the policies of the past six years. They just have a weird way of showing it. Rather than re-elect the people whose policies they love so those policies can continue, voters treated Democrats like theyre Ray Rice and Democrats are the wife who doesnt know when to give it a rest.
Its not that voters loved the policies but somehow bewilderingly elected the people who oppose them. Voters are sick of failure. They dont like whats going on, and they voted against the people responsible. But that wont work well in fundraising emails, so the narrative has to be changed.
President Obama set this tone when he said he not only heard the voters, but he heard the two-thirds of voters who didnt vote. That rhetorical twist was a signal that the results, as embarrassing as they were for him and his party, werent going to pierce the bubble hes constructed around himself. Its Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead without the nobility of the cause behind it.
Democrats know they were rejected by voters, and they were especially rejected by many of the voters who stayed home too. Lots of Democrats stayed home because they didnt want to support their partys nominee, but couldnt bring themselves to vote for the Republican. The same thing happened in 2012, but Mitt Romney didnt claim there was some sort of secret majority who really wouldve voted for him if only theyd had time, then start moving into the White House.
Not voting is as much of a choice as voting is. Hearing them is irrelevant. They didnt say anything; they just flipped the metaphorical bird to whoever they wouldve voted for had they been forced to.
But people arent forced to vote. Some stay away because they either dont care or dont think their vote will make a difference. But not many stay away because they like how things are going and dont want them to change. Those people vote for the people they consider responsible for that change or most likely to maintain it.
Mostly, people stay away because they dont like their party at the moment and cant bring themselves to vote for the other one. (Or theyre idiots who arent aware theres an election, which means they would tend to vote for Democrats too, so Im glad they didnt vote.)
But the president heard them, and congressional Democrats know theyre on their side, so damn the voters, full speed ahead!
Its going to be a frustrating next two years. But if Republicans are smart, they can advance the cause of liberty.
Out of power, Democrats are notoriously childish. Temper tantrums will be thrown, both on the floor of the House and Senate and on cable news. Normally, with the exception of talk radio, theyve been mostly ignored. But the Internet and Fox News now reach tens of millions of people.
The media industrial complex and its Democratic Party allies wont publicize them, but they matter less and less every day. The words of progressive Democrats will be the anchor that dooms them.
In 2012, Democrats won while simultaneously calling every American some sort of ist or phobe at least once. Most people didnt know about it. But the growing influence of Twitter, and the increased importance of Facebook makes under-the-radar smears virtually impossible now.
How many people were aware of Sen. Tom Harkins crack about Sen.-elect Joni Ernsts looks because of social media? How many female votes did that cost Democrats in Iowa? The mainstream media reported it and moved on, but people kept seeing it and sharing it on Facebook and Twitter. A one-day story in the media became a steady stream where people now live online.
When First Lady Michelle Obama went on Roland Martins radio show and told a black audience not to worry about what candidates have done or said, just vote for Democrats, and then they could reward themselves with fried chicken, the Internet made that a story.
The rules have changed. The president doesnt care what the voters want, and neither do the Democrats. But its getting harder and harder for the voters to remain ignorant of that fact. Ignorance now has to be actively sought, and some will seek it, but many more wont be able to bask in its blissful glow. That could be the Democrats Achilles heel.
Why is he always in front of that gold curtain?
Thanks-—got that in my l-o-n-g list.
Posted short list here for the sake of brevity.
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