Legal Commentary

When To Agitate, When to Vote

By Big Tent Democrat

John Cole writes:

I understand that things are not moving the way many people want them to and with the speed that some desire, but as far as I am concerned things are a HELLUVA lot better than last year. I think in all the doom and gloom, we forget that our President can now speak in full sentences, has not invaded Russia, and is not ducking shoes everywhere he goes. [. . .] [T]here is no chance in hell I am going to be demoralized come November 2010. I’ve been watching the wingnuts- we need to keep them as far away from power as is legally possible. They are dangerous, and this Obama fellow, despite some letdowns, ain’t half bad.

I think Cole is conflating two different issues. What you want from your representatives and the choices you make on election day are not the same things. I think everyone is more than a little demoralized with the Obama Presidency and the Democratic Congress (even me, who worried incessantly about Obama's political style.) They just are not doing as much as they could. At least imo. It seems a strange argument to ask people not to be demoralized because Obama is not as bad as the worst President in history. I get that it would be crazy to vote for the GOP in 2010. I doubt anyone who is demoralized is planning on that. By the same token, I doubt many in the base are enthused with the idea of keeping the Dems in office based on their performance in the last year. And, as the old saw goes, off year elections are base elections.

Speaking for me only

Full post as published by TalkLeft on December 10, 2009 (boomark / email).