Liberals: Time To Do What You Can Do

Back in Kansas, a friend of mine - a pastor, and a liberal - has sent this note to Governor-elect Sam Brownback:

"Dear Sam Brownback, I am pleased that Kansas has a governor who respects the sacred nature of life. In the upcoming legislative session, I urge you to apply your pro-life principles to all people and support the repeal of the death penalty in the state of Kansas."

I'm no fan of Sam Brownback. I once wrote an editorial for the Emporia Gazette comparing him to Tom Hagen in "The Godfather Part II." There's a lot about his theo-ideology that I detest and think is dangerous to the rights of Kansas women, in particular.

But...

Ever since his conversion to Catholicism, Brownback has made more skeptical noises about the death penalty and more enthusiastic noises about helping convicts find their way to rehabilitation. This might actually be an opportunity -- seriously! -- for liberal Kansans who are interested in that variety of social justice.

More to the point: He's going to be the governor for the next four years. Liberal Kansans can spend that time bitching about him (or bitching about the state's voters) or they can work on rebuilding their coalitions while spotting opportunities for common ground with him in the meantime. I think such collaboration will be more difficult in Congress, but: Just because your allies have gone away doesn't mean your causes have. I'm proud of my friend for turning her electoral despair into positive action. We should all follow her lead.

The Tears of a Boehner

I Tweet:

"Every single Republican now praising Boehner's 'humanizing' tears would've mocked the manhood of any Dem who cried."

John Boehner Starts Ducking Responsibility

From tonight's speech by the Speaker-in-waiting:

"While our new majority will serve as your voice in the people’s House, we must remember it is the president who sets the agenda for our government. The American people have sent an unmistakable message to him tonight, and that message is:“change course.”

Wait a minute. I know it's common convention to refer to the president as THE leader of the country, but Congress is a co-equal branch of government, is it not? There's no need for Republicans to wait for a Democratic president to start setting a Republican agenda -- and Boehner surely knows it. Sounds to me like the real agenda of the next two years is to blame the president for the failure to get anything done. The groundwork is already being laid.

Meanwhile, Back in Philly

Glad to see the ballot questions easily won. Businesses that want city contracts are going to have to pay their employees a decent wage, and they'll be required not to discriminate against gay employees. And that's as it should be: there's no reason my tax dollars should be subsidizing discrimination or enabling companies to keep their employees poor. If the contracts are worth it - and I'm guessing they will be - good behavior will be worth it to those companies.

Will the GOP Really Cut Spending?

Jonah Goldberg:

"To listen to all of the liberals on CNN and MSNBC tonight, the most outrageous position you can hold is opposition to raising taxes. To listen to Maddow, Spitzer, et al., raising taxes is simply what all non-extremists think is necessary, even decent. Cutting spending? Well, that’s foolish."

Not so much foolish as "unprecedented." Republicans have always cut taxes; they've never had it within them to cut government spending enough to balance the budget on its own. And that's fine! The reason they don't is because those spending programs have constituencies!

I don't think British-style austerity measures would be beneficial to the economy or to the American people, really, but you've got to respect what the UK government has done: It has promised big cuts and delivered them, in a serious attempt to balance the budget. The Republicans have not told us how they would balance the budget. I don't expect them to make any serious attempt.

Depressed, Liberals? Give Thanks for Kentucky's Gay Mayor

I can't get too depressed that the GOP is taking over the House of Representatives. Not my favorite thing, but I'm confident that gridlock will carry the day. Some of my liberal friends are feeling depressed, though, so I'd like to point them to this:

"Kentucky’s second-largest city has elected an openly gay man as its next mayor. Vice-Mayor Jim Gray was victorious tonight in his second campaign for the city’s top job, beating incumbent Mayor Jim Newberry."

Now, Lexington is a university town ... sort of. (I kid!) It's just one of two Kentucky counties that Obama won in 2008. But with those caveats out of the way: Hey! One of Kentucky's largest cities just elected a gay man as mayor!

It's not much. Maybe even not enough. But I think it's a sign that, despite whatever losses Democrats and liberals are taking at the polls tonight, the culture is slowly but surely sliding to the left in some important and very meaningful ways. Congratulations to Jim Gray.

Rand Paul Successfully Does Not Insult Jewish People

David Frum Tweets:

Re Rand Paul: notice no attacks on Federal Reserve, no coded attacks on Jews ... he's going national.

I guess I should feel encouraged that subtle anti-Semitism must be abandoned if one wants a voice at the national table. But something about this Tweet doesn't make me feel encouraged.