Unfortunately, Mark McKinnon is right:
Republicans also are gaming how conservative Democrats like [Sen. Jim] Webb [D-VA] will figure into the new calculus. “The big buzz in D.C. is whether Obama tacks to the left to appease his base or moves toward the center to appeal to moderates,” says Republican strategist Mark McKinnon. “The reality is he doesn’t have a choice. Not if he wants to actually get anything done in the next two years. There is a bloc of 11 [Democratic] senators who will be up for reelection from conservative states, and they are likely to establish a formidable group that will block any progressive legislation that is high on the liberal agenda.”
This actually understates the case. How is anything high on the liberal agenda going to pass through John Boehner’s House to even be given consideration in the Senate? It’s important to get some progressive victories in the lame-duck because we’ll be playing defense for the next two years. And, no, it won’t be the White House’s preference.
Also of interest are pages three and four of the Rolling Stone post-election interview with Democratic pollster Peter Hart, David Gergen, and Matt Taibbi. For example, when Peter Hart was asked what the administration and the Democrats must do now, he responded by saying that they must focus on jobs.
Hart: First, get the economy working. Job one is the only job, and that’s getting people back to work.
There’s only one problem. The House Republicans don’t believe that the government should spend any money to create jobs. And, even if they did, the Senate Republicans have veto-power (through the filibuster rule) over most appropriations and all non-budgetary legislation.
Obviously, there are things that the president can do unilaterally that will be pleasing to the progressive base. And he doesn’t have to follow Clinton’s 1995-96 strategy too closely, although he does have to position himself as the champion of all the popular things the government does that the GOP wants to gut or privatize. He can’t avoid a fight, so he’ll need to adopt a populist tone and leave all that “Change We Can Believe In” by the wayside.
It’s going to be an ugly, depressing two years.
