Centerfold Candidates & Political Impotence

Now that we have had time to reflect on the loss of the important Senate seat in Massachusetts and what may be an even more significant symbolic loss, the time has come to ask the most important question of all with as much sobriety as possible: why?

How could a relatively unknown and, frankly, a ridiculous candidate* completely blindside the Democratic nominee in the most liberal state in the Union? The Republicans have their answer. It’s one they have been promoting long before a Scott Brown upset , long before there could have been any evidence for it, and one which they will continue to propagate regardless of what the statics indicate. This result, they have said and will continue to say, is a referendum on the Obama administration and the health care bill in particular. But of course they say this. The Democrats have their answer. Apparently, Martha Coakley is so poor a campaigner that even stumping by the heavy-weights of the Democratic brand (Barack Obama and Bill Clinton) could save her. The sad thing is that nothing that will ever be said by either party will be anything approaching what is actually the truth, and they have no intention of doing so. But that doesn’t stop us from trying to, does it?

I have no idea what actually happened in Massachusetts the other night. But I think that at least part of the story could, with some examination, prevent far more damaging results in the upcoming midterm elections.

To introduce my point, I am going to provide two lists for you. These are the most extravagant accusations that have been made by each party, first by the Republicans now that they are the opposition party, then by the Democrats when they were the opposition party. Let’s see if we can divine a difference.

Digs Against the Democrats

1) Obama is a socialist and will redistribute your wealth.

2) The Democrats will take your guns.

3) The Democrats sympathize with terrorists and

won’t go after them.

4) Obama hates freedom.

5) Obama is going to raise taxes so much that you won’t be able to buy cheap crap from China anymore.

6) The Democrats cannot keep us safe and we will be hit by one terrorist attack after another.

7) Death Panels.

Digs Against the Republicans

1) The Republicans are lying to get us into a war.

2) The Republicans are committing war crimes/Cheney is a war criminal/Cheney has no soul.

3) The Republicans are only interested in a tax system that favors the rich.

4) The Republicans lack the competency to pro

tect black people from natural disasters.

5) The Republicans are illegally spying on American citizens.

6) The Republican’s economic policies will result in a systemic crash of the U.S. Economy.

Can we guess what the difference is? That’s right. Unlike the second list, every item on the first list has turned out to be completely false. I recently saw a bumper sticker that read, “I’ll keep my money, guns, and freedom. You keep the change,” and I couldn’t help but think, When is someone going to point how just how baseless these predictions have turned out to be?

And how are we to interpret the propagation of such untruth by the right. Does it mean that the GOP is completely incompetent at analyzing their political adversaries and predicting their actions? Unfortunately, this is the charitable interpretation.

The evidence seems to suggest that Republicans and right-wing pundits have no interest in reality whatsoever. The litmus test for their talking points is not whether something is true or not, but simply whether it is politically effective. And it’s seems the more apathetic a party leader is to what is real, the more popular (or populist) support they garner from the right fringe and more attention they get from the mainstream media (read: Palin). It’s almost as if the red meat of the right has become fantastical lying for political advantage. It’s not even clear to me whether the right knows it’s being lied to—it’s almost as if they expect the most politically aggressive and ingenuous path from their representation, and will accept nothing less. This is why the influence of the tea party movement is so dangerous. As they radicalize the GOP, they increasingly place well-calculated,--if atrociously untrue--lies at the center of the national political debate. They are causing us to waste time asking questions like, “Is Obama a Marxist?” instead of questions like, “Why is our healthcare system causing people to lose their homes, even when they have health coverage?”

What is more concerning to me personally is that the Democrats seem to have decided not to respond to these tactics at all. Perhaps they think that responding to insanity only gives that insanity some legitimacy. Which isn’t completely unreasonable (I guess). But their silence has caused the political conversation to become completely dominated by the right. These attacks are not destroying the Republican Party. They are galvanizing it. And while it may not be winning people over in the middle, it’s beginning to depress the Democratic base, which has come to believe that the Obama administration and the Democratic Congress will not be able deliver on their promises, due to either impotence or a lack of conviction. We have entered an era where the Republicans are fearlessly lying, while the Democrats are terrified to tell the truth.

This interactive map by The New York Times shows us that statistically, the most depressed voter turnout was in the most strongly Democratic areas. They just didn’t come out. And it’s not like they didn’t think the needed to—the polls warning Coakley’s precipitously slipping lead were pretty clear on that point. And it’s not like they thought that they couldn’t win, so why bother—the election was far too close for that. They just didn’t think it was worth their time.

There may be many lessons to learn from this election, but one of them must be “attack back.” Not responding the right’s lies does not imply that the Democrats can’t hit back. They need to put electoral pressure on the right by dragging their own positions through the dirt; after all, they still have exactly the same horrendous ideas that caused the downfall of the Bush administration. They should be asked why they don’t care what the public thinks about healthcare. And then they should be asked why they would want outdated bigotry to continually reduce the strength of our military (read: Don’t Ask Don’t Tell). And when that’s done, they should be asked why they think the United States is a country that believes in torture and the abuse of human rights. Imagine for a second that someone was forcing Cheney to answer for the fact that he’s a war criminal. And then they should be asked how they could expect to be entrusted with governance when they still refuse to recognize the need for protection against the deregulation that caused the unemployment we are suffering through now and that they have spent the last 30 years fighting for. And then the Public Option should be pushed through with Reconciliation, Don’t Ask Don’t Tell should be repealed, Guantanamo should be closed, and strict financial regulations (and taxes) should be erected. These are battles that can be won in the national consciousness if someone is willing to fight them. The Democrats have the chance to redefine what this country is and who the enemies of progress are, but they are quickly losing that chance.

During the presidential election, Obama rode a wave of dissatisfaction with government. He was the hope of all who want to find themselves proud of their representatives again. Now this dissatisfaction may find itself directed at the current holders of power. I agree with Joan Walsh in that, if the Democrats do not act strongly now, failing to become--and become publically--the agents of change that is so desperately desired, they will insure that the same resentment that swept Obama into the White House will sweep the Democrats just as suddenly out.

Further reading from Glenn Greenwald: Be afraid, because there is a push for more weakness, yet. This mid-term might end up becoming a turkey shoot for Republicans.

*Let's see, he has:

1) Posed naked for Cosmo because he believed he was one of the sexiest men alive and vied for the centerfold position.

2) Questioned whether Obama's mother was married when she had him.

3) Didn't object (but smiled) when someone at his rally wanted to "Shove a curling up [Coakley’s] butt." (In fairness, he claims he did not hear this comment.)

4) Made one of the creepiest acceptance speeches of all time.

Oh, and he owns a truck.