Help Me, I'm A Democrat...WAAAH!

I read on a Kos post (I believe) a few days ago that, even if somehow victory is achieved on November 7th, a Democratic congress will be dogged, scrutinized, and generally made fun of from pillar to post at the hands of our corporate media who will continually hold it to an infinitely higher standard than the Repug thieves who have spent the better part of the last six years passing legislation and rewriting existing laws in their favor and pillaging our government every way possible.

I think we’re already seeing the first signs of this with this CNN non-story (and as always, God forbid that they would actually report on Howard Dean and the Dems “50-State Strategy;” that would blow this narrative to pieces since everyone would be shocked to see the progress the party has made since 2004).

Oh, the Democrats are disorganized. Oh, the Democrats don’t have positions on the issues (granted, the party has to get its act together on Iraq, but it DOES have plans – the problem is that we have to agree to one and stick with it). Oh, the Democrats are wusses.

(By the way, I suppose only a purist like me would object to the fact that the term “wuss” basically is guttural slang, derived partly from a scatological reference to the female anatomy. Basically, it’s about as low as you can go when it comes to an insult that is likely to appear in a G-rated forum.)

And to reinforce it further, we even have a slide show, and the first photo is of Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi with looks on their faces like the doctor just told them that the rabbit died (don’t get any rumors started now, OK?).

Next, we have Dave “Mudcat” Saunders, the strategist for former Virginia governor Mark Warner, stating that “the wimp factor in the Democratic party is real.”

Funny, but somehow I don’t think you’re likely to believe that Saunders really feels that way after reading this story.

Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer then appears on the next slide stating that “we talk to people about issues in a complicated way – people end up looking at their watch,” and though I admit that I don’t completely understand what you can do about that (would people do that now if you spoke to them about the Iraq war?), I respect Schweitzer for running a successful campaign in a truly red state. Given that, I’ll cede to him that the continual challenge for Democrats is to try and break down complicated issues in terms people understand (something Bill Clinton, for example, managed to do well, to the continual frustration of the Republicans who never had an answer for him).

Doug Hattaway appears next, stating that “we have to talk to people’s hearts as well as their heads” reinforcing the notion from Schweitzer that the Democrats are too brainy and have to “dumb down” their message (I’m sure Dr. Chuck is smiling over that).

I respect Hattaway (the spokesman for the Gore/Lieberman presidential campaign in 2000), and I have a feeling this is another example of a quote being taken out of context to reinforce the narrative.

In the next four slides, we have quotes from Dick Gephardt and Max Cleland which reinforce the fact that perceived Democratic weakness has been integrated into the “narrative,” which is correct, but then we have a quote from Paul Begala stating that “the Democrats ceased to be the party of the working guy in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s,” and someone named Bruce Reed stating that “the biggest problem we have is that we keep losing elections.”

As far as I’m concerned, the quotes from Begala and Reed undercut what Cleland and Gephardt have to say – Begala and Reed lend legitimacy to the “weakness” narrative that Cleland and Gephardt are trying to explode.

To sum up, what we have here is your basic hit piece. CNN could EASILY do something like this to demonstrate Republican weakness, but they won’t of course. True, the Repugs were more unified in 1994 in proclaiming their Contract On America with Newt Gingrich leading the way, and the Democrats by their very nature would have a difficult time replicating that, but that’s a lot different than trying to make the case that the Democrats could not govern effectively, by all appearances hamstrung by something called the “wuss” factor.

Finally, I have only this to say to the Democratic Party as a whole (echoing my lefty “A” list betters, I’m sure).

Stop talking in terms of metadata (e.g., “we need a more unified policy on Iraq, we need a more unified policy on what to do about Social Security”) and DO WHAT YOU SAY YOU’LL DO and MEAN IT! Craft a more unified policy on Iraq, craft a more unified policy on Social Security, etc. (or whatever other issue you choose).

And you know what you should say to someone who tells you that they don’t like your plan? Too bad, that’s what.

Oh, so you’re trying to pay your bills with crappy health insurance and the prospect that your job will be offshored at any moment, and the Democrats are at least TRYING to help with that, but you think they’re “too liberal” or “too wonky” or something?

What are you going to do then? Go to the Repugs for help? That’s funny.

Who the hell do you think is primarily responsible for making such a mess of things in the first place?

So there’s your plan, Democrats. Let CNN and their brethren report on “the wuss factor” to their hearts’ content while we keep working hard in anticipation of a change for the better on November 7th.

And by the way, the line “the real test is in 2008” at the end is the most disingenuous one of all in this bilious piece of propaganda.

The real test is right now!

Update: Atrios noted that the author of this CNN hit piece, Candy Crowley, once wrote that Dick Cheney "oozes credibility."

Need I say more?