Why Democrats Are Smiling
by Eric Alterman
from The DailyBeast
The elections may have been a mixed bag for the White House, but they certainly didn’t signal a Republican renaissance. Far from it—the party’s “grassroots patriots” are now headed for war against the moderate apostates.
While the Democratic brand is obviously not what it was when so many of us were brought to tears a year ago by that beautiful scene in Grant Park, Republicans are on the verge of civil war. The sure-to be-a loser side appears to have all the soldiers and the reasonable-sounding side, and the one that can win, appears to have well, not much going on. The Republicans’ suicide will be anything but painless if this keeps up—and it will, if only to continue to juice Fox’s ratings.
Still, Tuesday was a mixed bag for the Obama White House. Clearly someone in the political office needs a vacation, perhaps an embassy post in Bora-Bora.
Overall, the news was pretty good for Obama and the Democrats from the standpoint of 2010 and even more so for 2012.
Obama traveled three times to New Jersey for Jon Corzine, an unpopular incumbent who never polled above 45 percent and who made his opponent’s waistline his most significant campaign issue. What’s more, Corzine was relying on a heavy vote for a nutty third-party candidate even to have a chance of winning. Meanwhile, a minor investment in New York City might have turned out the greatest political upset of the year and given the Obama operation a powerful shot of mojo, rejuvenating the issue of campaign finance reform in the process. But it was not to be. Obama bet on the wrong horses—make that billionaires—on both banks of the Hudson.
(Original here.)
from The DailyBeast
The elections may have been a mixed bag for the White House, but they certainly didn’t signal a Republican renaissance. Far from it—the party’s “grassroots patriots” are now headed for war against the moderate apostates.
While the Democratic brand is obviously not what it was when so many of us were brought to tears a year ago by that beautiful scene in Grant Park, Republicans are on the verge of civil war. The sure-to be-a loser side appears to have all the soldiers and the reasonable-sounding side, and the one that can win, appears to have well, not much going on. The Republicans’ suicide will be anything but painless if this keeps up—and it will, if only to continue to juice Fox’s ratings.
Still, Tuesday was a mixed bag for the Obama White House. Clearly someone in the political office needs a vacation, perhaps an embassy post in Bora-Bora.
Overall, the news was pretty good for Obama and the Democrats from the standpoint of 2010 and even more so for 2012.
Obama traveled three times to New Jersey for Jon Corzine, an unpopular incumbent who never polled above 45 percent and who made his opponent’s waistline his most significant campaign issue. What’s more, Corzine was relying on a heavy vote for a nutty third-party candidate even to have a chance of winning. Meanwhile, a minor investment in New York City might have turned out the greatest political upset of the year and given the Obama operation a powerful shot of mojo, rejuvenating the issue of campaign finance reform in the process. But it was not to be. Obama bet on the wrong horses—make that billionaires—on both banks of the Hudson.
(Original here.)
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