.
That would be the headline, you know.
If -- hopefully, when -- the Administration and Capitol Hill Democrats spend as much time, effort, energy and attention looking to see how they can work for the agenda ratified by a landslide vote in November 2008 as they do looking over their shoulders fretting about what Cantor cackles, McConnell mumbles or Fox fabricates.
Obama's actually not doing too poorly in the polls and Hill Democrats seem to remain marginally ahead of Republicans in most generic polling. But this is not due to any of their collective pandering to the GOP and its core, i.e., the T'Partiers. It's not for throwing a more ambitious Stimulous Package, the Public Option and a comprehensive Energy Bill (to name but a few) under the proverbial bus. No, what popularity the Administration and Democrats enjoy are based on those times when they've stood up to the GOP, coupled with general Republican loathsomeness.
.
Democratic National Convention, August 2008. Remember these days?
.
So what would happen if, over the next few months, whenever the Administration or Senate or House Democrats (in fairness, most House Dems and a precious few Senate Dems have stood up for Americans and consistently pushed-back against GOP chicanery, lies and bad faith) felt the itch to appease and accommodate the very people who seem to work 24/7 to tear them down, they resisted that temptation and told the GOP to bugger-off?
I'll tell you what would happen:
1. The Democratic Base would treat 'em like rock stars and flood the polling places come November (as least compared to the generally anemic turnout predicted).
2. Independents would be impressed. For the 309,225,107,985,330,548th time: they admire Spine.
3. Republicans, T'Partyniks and Fox's cast of clowns would say mean things about them.
.
.
Again, and without a doubt, the nutters and racists and birthers and Foxanoids, et mal would still yell and scream and froth away. But Progressives and Democrats who've become despondent or disgusted with the weenyness (real or perceived) of this Administration (except when it comes to attacking the agenda of "fucking retarded" liberals -- not my words, the words of President Obama's right-hand man about those who worked so hard to get Obama into office) will be quite happy to rally back round the President.
It's quite simple actually. Whether or not the brain trust in the White House and in the Senate's and House's respective Democratic Cloak Rooms will "get" it, or ever will, remains to be seen.
.
.
.
Note: all pics mine. I would love to see this kind of excitement again. but it doesn't come spontaneously: people have to have a reason to be, to feel, energized.
.