Are Democrat Supporters Pissed?

Much has been written (and aired) about growing discontent among the core demographic of Dems and Indies who claim, rightly or wrongly, to have propelled Barack Obama to victory last November. The hint of change that was wafted by then-candidate Obama, it is said, was the reason so many cast Democratic ballots to give the party control of the White House and both the Senate and House of Representatives.

Hardly mentioned at all is the concept that people were frightened by the scary-ass ticket of the old guy and batshit-crazy woman, or that the GOP was rudderless after running aground their flagship, the USS Feckless. Change is nice, but incompetence and lunacy usually helps people to decide how to flip the lever.

John Avarosis from AMERICAblog weighs in on a WaPo offering that includes the following snippet:

Democrats said a struggling economy is only partly to blame for the poor fundraising performance and acknowledged a more perilous problem: satisfaction among activists that the party now holds the White House, 60 votes in the Senate and 60 percent of the House.

"There was a little sense of complacency that set in despite our best efforts to warn people," said Rep. Chris Van Hollen (Md.), chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. "We made it very clear: Beware."

Avarosis posits that complacency isn't the problem - it's the lack of intestinal fortitude by the party that holds all the cards.

Democratic activists are pissed, and see no reason to fund a party that doesn't have a backbone or the desire to keep its promises.

Say what you will about the Republican party - while they may be utterly out of step with what most people want, completely unable to generate new ideas and implement policies that make a difference in the lives of Americans - they are able to maintain unity and consistency of message. Through heavy-handed tactics and Lord of the Flies strategies, the GOP makes the most of their limited toolset to drive through their agenda or put the other side's into a ditch.

Perhaps with so many folks deserting the party due to the zealous purity cleansing that's going on, the GOP finds it easier to keep all of their bobcats in one bag. They've effectively eliminated most of the voices of dissent, leaving them the small tent party of Richie Rich, Chuck Norris, and Lil' Abner.

Democrats seem unable to grasp how small the window for change can be, while treating the dem platform as a zero-sum game. If a rising tide lifts all boats, then wouldn't the broader interests of progressives be bolstered by administration victories on issues like health care reform, revamping of the financial system regulatory environment, and the pressing of incremental changes to labor and foreign policy?

Such a tide doesn't produce notable results right away, but through gradual build-up over time. It's easier to start from a higher plane when you're coming off of a victory, especially a resounding one. With conservatives playing an obvious stall game, hoping to cap significant movement on major legislation until they believe the numbers are more to their liking, the lack of unity and purpose evidenced by progressives is of tremendous benefit to the other side.

Democrats have long struggled with the hardball tactics required to advance a cause, while Republicans have been unapologetic in their goal-oriented approach to power. Even in the minority, shouting insane mistruths from the sidelines, they are dominating the conversation and causing the progressive agenda to slog through fields of mud, a task made even more difficult by the feet of clay belonging to congressional leadership.

So yes, I think it's safe to say that if supporters of democratic candidates in 2008 aren't pissed, their temperature is definitely rising, and there's only so much pressure that can build before the whole thing blows.

Leadership has limited opportunity to remove the kettle from the flame, and should they fail to heed the warnings, they have only themselves to blame.

Image via Wikimedia Commons