The Right Wing Never Gets Discouraged After Elections

[Yavin4]

Win, lose or draw, they re-configure, get even more organized, get even more meaner, get even more money, and they come out fighting with fire for the next cycle. Did losing their majorities in Congress in the 2006 and 2008 elections dissuade them? Did it make them more moderate? Did they do any introspection? Hell no. They kept fighting and fighting.


Progressives, on the other hand, fall into depressive funks after election victories and losses. They don't stay organized, and they turn on each other. They tend to think that one big victory will solve all problems.

Let me quote Ted Kennedy's 1980 Dem Convention speech:

For me, a few hours ago, this campaign came to an end. For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die.



http://www.historyplace.com/speeches/tedkennedy.htm

[DefenseLawyer]

1. The leaders of my party don't want what I want.

That's the reality. This crap about how we're disorganized or "in a funk" is nonsense. The Republicans stick with their agenda because it is their agenda. We inevitably say one thing, then do another because the people who run the show on our side have a true agenda which is a lot closer to the opposition than it is to us. Having your cake and eating it too is no easy task, but that's the game our party plays- lip service to democratic values, full service to the people that write the big checks.

[DCKit]

5. Well stated. nt

[RandomKoolzip]

6. +1.

They're making us dilliusioned and framing our goals as "unserious" on purpose.

[TomCADem]

9. Then Vote Them Out In The Primaries. Simple. The Right Did It

You have a Republican party that is even more radicalized because Republican incumbents like Bob Bennett and Specter felt heat from the right, and were defeated.

What's the next excuse for not winning?

[DefenseLawyer]

13. Simple!

Problem solved!

[0rganism]

15. betcha lots of republicans don't want what their leaders want, either

They just don't KNOW it.

[dtexdem]

16. Hear, hear!

What does the Democratic Party stand for? It doesn't seem to be for the citizenry.

[slackmaster]

2. They're all on Prozac

:D

[Blue Meany]

3. They are all careerists, and they have jobs to go back to in

conservative media, think-tanks, etc. There is a permanent infrastructure on the right that is always preparing for the next fight, the next opportunity. This, I think, is why they are so successful. They are always ready to seize every opportunity on a moment's notice. The left takes a long time to mobilize, and much of the liberal infrastructure (unions) has been destroyed.

[blm]

4. exactly right.....they dig in deeper....

.

[former9thward]

7. A somewhat hypocritical quote by Kennedy.

Considering that minutes after he uttered those words he refused to shake hands with President Carter and run all over the stage attempting to keep out of being in a picture with Carter.

[Speck Tater]

8. Natural selection has always favored the ruthless. We need to find Ruth and get rid of her

so we can be Ruthless too.

[TomCADem]

10. When The Right Gets Angry, They Win Elections, The Left Boycotts Them

Look at this thread. There some folks on the "left" saying that they do not like their representative or the Democratic party. Well, listen up! Primary seasons has not even begun. Heck, at the House Congressional level, there is an unprecedented number of open Democratic primaries, since the Republicans hold such a large majority.

There is no reason why the Democratic base cannot simply elect the progressives they want.

But, the left has been conditioned to Blame Democrats and Give Republicans a Free Pass. Look at this Board. The Greatest Hits are typically made up of attacks on Democrats regardless of how radical and outrageous the Republicans act.

Thus, the left is taught to stay home and bitch about how their party is not sufficiently liberal, rather than going out and making their party more liberal. The right, on the other hand, is serenaded by the media with stories about how their grassroot efforts are part of a Tea Party revolution. The corporate media ignores the massive astroturf that is organizing them.

[SpartanDem]

17. +1,000,000

[EFerrari]

20. Show your facts.

[SpartanDem]

11. Well hatred and fear are heck of a motivator

I think a big part of it is they just hate/fear the thing we support more than we like them. These peope view thing like abortion/gay marriage/expanded social programs as being bringing about this end of the country and will turn out droves to stop it.

[Fire Walk With Me]

12. Definitely. A good lesson. Recommending.

[Evasporque]

14. The zombie hoard just keeps coming....nt

[mmonk]

18. Republican voters are manufactured consent and even when they lose,

they control the debate and direction.

[EFerrari]

19. The only funk I see here today is you people telling progressives they're in a funk.

lol