Ari Berman Got His Wish: The Blue Dogs Are Gone

Remember late October, when Ari Berman could write something like this?

"Democrats would be in better shape, and would accomplish more, with a smaller and more ideologically cohesive caucus. It’s a sentiment that even Mr. Dean now echoes. “Having a big, open-tent Democratic Party is great, but not at the cost of getting nothing done,” he said."

Well, most of the Blue Dogs are gone now. Guess what? So is the Democratic majority. I get as frustrated with the Blue Dogs as anyone, but the Democrats literally cannot govern without them. In most cases, the Blue Dogs represent districts that would never vote for a liberal Democrat. Having Blue Dogs in the coalition puts a check on liberal ambitions, but it makes it possible for any kind of liberal legislation to pass in the first place. That's not fun; it's very frustrating. The alternative is worse. Utopian fantasies like Berman's do nothing to further progressive causes.

George W. Bush and Kanye West

Lotsa people talking today about the ex-president's hurt feelings over Kanye's post-Katrina comments, which to some extent means re-fighting that war. I think Adam Serwer has it right:

"The response to Hurricane Katrina was a reflection of basic administrative incompetence and cronyism, not active racial animus. Bush made an active effort to court black voters, marginalized (mostly) Islamophobes, he appointed a diverse Cabinet, and, defying the nativists in his own party, he brokered an immigration compromise that policy-wise, was better than anything we're going to see for a very long time. The spate of noose-themed hate crimes during 2006-2007 seemed to make him genuinely angry."

What's more, the RNC chairman under Bush rather explicitly repudiated the party's longtime "Southern strategy" of appealing to white racism as a way to gain votes. There's lots that was wrong with George W. Bush -- I still think he he's in the conversation as one of the worst presidents ever -- but racism, even passive winking racism, wasn't one of his sins.

Tom Ferrick on Philly's Future

Uh-oh:

"As to Philadelphia, we are screwed.

The city, which has a large portion of the state's poor and the state's largest school district, is dependent on state government aid in so many ways it's hard to enumerate. For the last eight years, we had the great and good luck of having a former Philadelphia mayor as governor. That era is officially over.

Now we have a conservative Republican from Allegheny County, who is a pleasant enough guy but who couldn't give two hoots about the city.(Whose voters gave his rival, Democrat Dan Onorato, 82 percent of their votes on Tuesday.) On Tuesday, the city looked like a blue island in a suddenly red state."

The National Mood

Matt Yglesias::

"One reason it’s difficult to read midterm elections as reflecting shifts in the “national mood” is that the actual set of voting people is quite different. According to exit polls, for example, the relative proportion of youth voters and senior voters shifted quite dramatically."

Well, but doesn't that also reflect the "national mood"? Two years ago, young voters were inspired and motivated to get to the polls. This year? Not so much. That made a difference in the results, yes. But their absence doesn't mean we're missing information on the national mood -- it's reflective of it.

Holding the GOP Accountable

Via James Fallows, sense-making from Andrew Sullivan*:

"My view is a relatively simple one: the GOP ran on cutting spending. I think their first move should be to propose a path to balancing the budget in the foreseeable future. I want to see their actual proposals on entitlements and defense. They refused to reveal them before the election. Are we supposed to wait till 2013?"

Damn straight. My personal prediction? GOP rhetoric about fiscal responsibility will prove as hollow as it ever was -- enthusiastic about tax cuts but unable or unwilling to force the pain of even proposing real budget cuts to match. There'll be talk about how the tax cuts will "pay for themselves," even though there's no real evidence that happens.

* I'm still boycotting Sullivan, but I can't help it if James Fallows quotes him, can I?

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."