Will Rogers once famously declared, "I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat." Last night, the Democrats proved that they are still no organized political party. Dana Milbank writes:
Democrats in Congress had months to prove that they could legislate, to demonstrate that a government of the people, by the people and for the people could still function despite the creeping authoritarianism, the daily assaults on truth and the conspiracy-minded paranoia.
They let President Biden down. They let the country down. And on Tuesday night, Terry McAuliffe paid the price.
Virginia voters decided not to return him for a second nonconsecutive term as governor, instead electing Republican businessman Glenn Youngkin, who ran a Trump-inspired campaign of disinformation, conspiracy theories and race-baiting. It wasn’t terribly close. Republicans were leading the the lieutenant governor and attorney general races, too, and were within sight of a majority in the House of Delegates.
The Manchins and the Sinemas on the right side of the Democratic caucus and the Jayapals on the left must recognize that their carping over relative trifles has imperiled an agenda they (and their constituents) overwhelmingly support, and increased the likelihood that the people who brought us the Jan. 6 insurrection will be returned to power in next year’s midterms. The Manchins and the Sinemas and the Jayapals, by making the perfect the enemy of the (very) good, have handed an advantage to an illiberal faction that is stoking White nationalism.
There were other factors that determined the outcome:
This is not to deny other causes of McAuliffe’s defeat. It’s common for there to be a backlash against the party in power in off-year elections. The delta variant held back the economic rebound. Pandemic-induced disruptions have fueled inflation.
But Americans are beginning to see the Democrats as a do-nothing party. The problem is that they are willing to replace that party with an organized tyranny.
I went into teaching as an idealist. But, after seventy-four years, I've come to believe that we're too selfish and too stupid to save ourselves.
Image: AZ Quotes
