America won three, possibly four big things
Right off the bat we won the ability to mop up Republicans in the next election. They’ve been so discredited through this process that it is now impossible to anyone to deny that the Republican ARE the problem. Democrats from Maine to Maui simply need to run ads saying “My opponent is a Republican!” to score damaging points for the foreseeable future.
The next win was NOT taking a weak economy and driving it over a cliff for shits and giggles. It would seem self-evident that NOT ruining the economy would be a win for everyone, but teabags are already lamenting the big missed opportunity they had to really fuck everyone over – but good.
The third thing America won is more accurate picture of the resolve of President Barack Obama. This is from Andrew Sullivan who captures the win expertly.
Many of us found in Barack Obama a very post-ideological president, a pragmatist, a Christian, and a traditional family man, and naively believed that he could both repair the enormous damage done by the Bush-Cheney administration and simultaneously reach out to the red states as well. I refuse to say the failure is his. Because he tried. For years, he was lambasted by the left for being far too accommodating, far too reasonable, aloof, not scrappy enough, weak … you know the drill by now. In fact, he was just trying to bring as much of the country along as he could in tackling the huge recession and massive debt he inherited at one and the same time, and in unwinding the 9/11 emergency, and in ending two wars and the morally and legally crippling legacy of torture (about which the GOP is simply in rigid denial).
Obama got zero votes from House Republicans for a desperately needed stimulus in his first weeks in office. So I cannot believe he could have maintained any sort of detente with the Republican right, dominated by the legacy of Palin, rather than McCain.
In view of the Republicans absolute refusal to honor the “for all of our differences, we are all in this together” traditions of America, the biggest win that Obama needed to nail down is the primacy of the rational deliberative process. I’m not sure we are there, but if the debt limit can no longer be used as a hostage it is a sign that we might have scored a win on that question as well.
And what made all those wins possible was the fact that, for the first time in my personal history, and possibly in recorded history, the Democratic Party remained united and it stood firm. It grew a fucking spine finally, from Obama down to… dare I say it.. Tom Carper and John Carney.
Here is a good measure of the quality of this deal – Rush hates it, and hates Republicans for agreeing to it.
To my mopping up the GOP point above:
Josh Marshall – Every Dem campaign outside south next year starts w asking GOP opponent to pledge never to shutdown govt again or threaten default
Fear not, revenge most foul is being plotted in Tea Party HQ’s all across the south and Ted Cruz will rise again. But for now a victory has been won and the foe wounded, although not fatally. As usual the GOP and the Tea Party in particular will have learned nothing, in fact I expect the ranting to grow worse. This is war and this was merely Gettysburg, we have yet to burn Atlanta and that’s what it’s going to take.
Ten Takeaways from the Great GOP Cave-In
This is in the New Yorker and worth reading.
Totally agree with bamboozer. We (the Democratic Party) must confront and neuter the tea party at every geographic level so that they cannot do this to the nation again. This must be Obama’s and the Democratic Party’s march to the sea to disarm them. And while we’re at it, stop Hillary from her hawkish attempt to discredit Joe Biden for his brave advocacy for a less blood thirsty approach to combating the forces of terrorism across the globe. Strong defense, yes. Preemptive war no.
Stan, if you are talking about Hillary’s recent comments about her and the President being in favor of the Bin Laden raid while Joe Biden counseled against it, I am sorry, but I am with Hillary and the President on that one. Killing Bin Laden in a raid is not preemptive war. It is exactly what we should have done in the first place, instead of going to war in Iraq and occupying Afghanistan.
To Joe’s credit, he was worried about the mission failing, and the fall out of that, and that voice should have been heard. But those who were in favor of that mission deserve credit and our gratitude. I am personally pleased Bin Laden is dead by our hand, and I am never ashamed to admit it.
“For years, he was lambasted by the left for being far too accommodating…”
Thankfully all that lambasting had the intended effect, despite fellow Dems who mocked the lambasters and made excuses for the giveaways. Thank God Obama granted Harry Reid’s request to keep Biden out this time.
Lol. You are a stitch. Thanks for saving the republic. !!!
HELLO…hello…hello…
DOES ANYONE HEAR AN ECHO IN HERE?…in here…in here…
No. But I hear a bitter racist.