Reply #23: Well, I remember it -- But what is frustrating is Dems act like victims in the Majority too

[Armstead]

IMO, the balance of power -- and the behavior behind it -- has been consistent between the GOP and Democrats, no matter what the numerical designations have been over the years.

The earlier versions of battles on DU in those years was often the same as it is now. "Damn it why don't Democrats at least try to fight back?" and its counterpoint "We can't fight back because the GOP has all the power. And we can't alienate the public, so we have to compromise for whatever small things we can get."

But then the tables turned. Look at the GOP at the beginning of 09. They had lost the WH and both Houses of Congress. They had brought the nation to the brink of disaster. Their right-wing ideology was discredited, and the public perception was that they had become an irrelevant and nasty minority.

However, the same pattern continued as Obama and the Democrats bungled along and lost far too much in the name of "bi-partisan compromise." The GOP used whatever tools they had as a minority to scuttle Democratic initiatives, and reassert their power to drive the agenda. Which led to the 2.0 version of those old battles on the left. "Damn it why doesn't Obama and the Democrats fight back?" and its counterpoint "We can't fight back because the GOP still has the power. And we can't alienate the public, so we have to compromise for whatever small things we can get."


That's what frustrating to so many people. We made a great effort and won two years ago. But then the leadership on our side continued to give up, and left the liberal base in the wilderness, while excuses became the message.