We here in the blogosphere are like meat inspectors who watch sausage being made into legislation. We’re very informed. We’re ultrainformed. If our goal is to be happy, we’re too informed. But there is another way of looking at things, and Ezra Klein and William Saletan are kind enough to offer us that different perspective. What it comes down to is this. We elect politicians to get things done, not to get reelected. We hope that by doing good things that they will be rewarded by the voters, but the truth is that the New Dealers got pummeled at the polls in 1938 and the Great Society folks got hammered in 1966. Our current Congress got decimated, too. But history will record them in the same chapter as those two other storied progressive eras.
Simply put, the 111th Congress was one of the best congresses in history. We might not be feeling that way about them right now because we watched every move they made and we noted every compromise, every capitulation, and every failure. We didn’t do that in the 1930’s or the 1960’s, and there was no media outlet for those who did. We don’t focus on what didn’t happen when we read history. In the end, though, posterity will always look back at Obama’s first two years as one of the most consequential and progressive eras in history.
Excellent perspective. I hadn’t really thought about the fact that history does not record what wasn’t done. What was done was truly historic.
In Bush’s first year, he only passed two pieces of consequential legislation. He passed a tax cut by “ramming it down our throats” using reconciliation. As a consequence of that and other acts of disrespect, Jim Jeffords decided to caucus with the Democrats and threw control of the upper chamber to them. And he passed the PATRIOT Act. That’s it.
In his second year he did a little better. He passed campaign finance reform (since gutted by the Supreme Court), HAVA, Sarbaes-Oxley, and No Child Left Behind. Also, too, the Authorization to Use Military Force in Iraq. He also created the Homeland Security Department, at the Democrats’ insistence.
But his agenda was nothing compared to Obama’s record of accomplishment.
Boo:
Correct me if I am wrong but the Pukes don’t care about legislation. All Bush wanted is to pillage the Gov’t coffers for his friends.
Well, he wanted to make it nearly impossible to get debt forgiveness and to privatize Social Security. He was for a stronger role for the Feds in public education, but at the cost of greater accountability (testing) for results. He wanted seniors to get prescription drugs, but in a way maximally beneficial to the manufacturers of pharmaceuticals, not to the government’s bottom line. He wanted lower capital gains and dividend taxes, lower corporate taxes, and lower taxes on the rich’s earned income. He wanted to eliminate the Estate Tax. Other than that, he wasn’t too interested in legislation.
Did you read Milibank’s hitpiece?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/05/AR2010110505214.html
No. Should I?
Might not be a good way to wake up on a Saturday morning…lol.
No, you shouldn’t. We should all focus on crafting our own message, rather than worrying about the mindless drivel that comes out of the media and Republicans.
Thanks for this post. It is a great reminder about what we have achieved so far. Let’s continue the battle so that we can achieve even more in the future!
That reminds me of a story from my childhood. There was a meatpacking plant in town that specialized in sausages and hot dogs.
At the store one time, there were two employees from that plant looking in the meat section.
And one pointed to the brand they worked for and said, “Let’s not get that; we know what’s in it.” And then they picked a midwestern brand that was likely a similar recipe.
I hope the American people get the opportunity to see that the Republican sausage factory is not different than the Democratic sausage factory.
Great post. I would add that although the next Congress (112th) is bound for failure, if we play our cards right – win back our House majority, maintain or increase our Senate majority, do something about the filibuster, re-elect Obama – the 113th Congress has the potential to be just as historic as the 111th. We’re just getting started, folks.
I often get the sense that Steve Benen is cribbing off me without attribution. But I think we just see things in a very similar way.
Funny. Benen is a great and indefatigable blogger. And it is certainly a testament to the priorities of many (not all) folks in DC, when political outcomes are considered far more important than policy outcomes.
I’ve also been watching with interest the reactions of Democrats following Tuesday’s losses. It’s striking to me how relatively, well, upbeat people seem. Not that Democrats are pleased about losing the House. But amid the inevitable sniping over whether we were “too moderate” or “too far to the left,” I haven’t noticed much if any defeatism, despair, despondency. Dems are already relishing the fight for 2012, not moping and self-hating as we normally do.
My unconfirmed hunch is that this reaction has a lot to do with the success of the past two years, in particular the passage of health insurance reform. During the Coakley Interregnum – a moment of real terror for the Democratic party – I felt that if we made it through the fear and passed the ACA, it would serve as an immense bolster to Dem confidence. Confidence in our ideas, our electoral support, and most importantly in our belief that we can achieve the great goals embedded deep in the party’s consciousness, but buried alive for the past 30 years by constant Republican dominance and demonization. The President himself said as much following the ACA’s passage (don’t remember the exact quote, but something he said about the ACA being a reminder that the country can still accomplish “big things.”)
I definitely stand by my earlier statement. And I think a big part of the oddly confident reaction we’ve been seeing among Dems in the past few days has a lot to do with our historic wins over the past two years. More of this, please.
After January 1st 2011, we can revisit this topic and see what the lame duck session does.
Obama is in India and so successful. a lot of work went into negotiating these sales and it will put US people to work.
But no, that’s not good enough. The right will come up with some complaint.
THe finreg and ACA haven’t kicked in yet so the effects are yet felt.
Nice Saturday thoughts.
and that is what they did. I agree 100%.
What is unfortunate is the Blue Dogs and their total lack of understanding of the process. They do not support Democratic ideas, even though they are Democrats. They lost their seats because of Democratic policies that they did not vote for. This is really a shame, but this is exactly what many said would happen.
If you have a Blue Dog as your rep who lost their seat, call them on Monday and urge them to get revenge by voting as a Democrat for one time. Vote to kill the tax cuts for the rich!!
The other irony is that by not supporting the President’s agenda, the Blue Dogs gave credibility to the idea that it was a far left agenda. My guess is that the influence of FoxNews in their districts allowed Republicans to stampede them into cowardice with coordinated phone campaigns to their offices.
Booman is feisty this morning!
What’s getting me up this morning is that The Dunk is Still There
Bush thought history would judge him well too.l Obama is not fdr. Fdr only took a pummelling after flirting with deficite hawkery, which says alot. LBJ was punished as a result of the war which says alot too. Keep up with the historical revisionism though.