By Troy Appel
Why are we even having this discussion? How is it possible that Republicans could still seize control of Congress in next Tuesday’s election? How is it possible that in a time when the word “unpopular” precedes everything related to President George W. Bush, the Democrats could blow their shot to take over?
Simple. Look no further than Sue Banerjee’s column in Wednesday’s Daily. In it, Banerjee lauds the Democrats for avoiding the big mistake in this year’s midterm elections. Well aware of their recent struggles in elections, Banerjee finds it perfectly acceptable for Democrats to say nothing, be “spineless when it comes to making comprehensive policy” and backdoor their way into a majority in Congress.
This presents the ultimate flaw of partisan politics: blind faith. Following 2004 it seemed every pundit had a plan to fix the Democratic Party. Today, those plans are gone. The new plan: Don’t rock the boat. This is wrong. This is not acceptable.
The Republicans badly mishandled the war on terrorism, betrayed the American worker with their economic policies and left behind true conservatives with their free-spending policies. They are flawed. Nobody can deny this.
But it’s time for the Democrats to show us something. Maybe if they did, we would be affirming a new era in Congress instead of merely projecting one.The Democrats have given in to the Republican stereotypes and aren’t even fighting them. It’s time to ask for more.
Democrats are en vogue today because they’re “the other.” But it’s time for liberals to ask for more. For four years we’ve heard the Left proclaim that the word “liberal” is not the eighth naughty word.
Now it’s time to start acting that way. Get some confidence. Get some policies. Get a clue. In 2004, Howard Dean was a fresh voice for Democrats. He understood that even if the Democrats lost in 2006, 2008 and 2010 they had to not give up. Now Democrats have chosen what promises to be a short-term majority over long-term reform.
On Jan. 20, 2009, what will Democrats have left to live for? Bush will be out of the White House. The very reason for the party’s existence the past eight years will go away. The time for ideas is now.
Welcome to the world of partisan politics, where all that matters is whether or not your side wins. All the likes of Banerjee care about is the election. Who cares what happens afterwards – her side won! The days, weeks and months that follow don’t matter; she’s picked a winner. This is no way to exact change in Washington.
The Democrats will make no grand changes. Everyone knows this. If John Kerry were president, would we be out of Iraq, in the black financially and united as a country? No. But Democrats would rejoice! Their guy won! Now it’s their turn to defend the disappointing state of America.
The Republicans have failed; the Democrats are set to fail. In two years we all are sure to be complaining again. But we can’t blame whoever holds the keys to Congress – we haven’t done a good job of holding them accountable. If bringing nothing to the table is acceptable, then the likes of Banerjee better not complain when the majority-holding Democrats fail to save the day.
But the odds are she and millions of Democrats wouldn’t dream of complaining two years from now. After all, you gotta support the team – no matter what.
Former Forum Editor Troy Appel, Weinberg ’06, can be reached at [email protected].
