Mon 13 Aug 2007
(Lately I’m finding that my writing is being polluted more and more with unintelligible Wrestling lingo. I fear that if I don’t nip this in the bud eventually I’ll be writing the blog in Carny. We beg your forgiveness.)
Yesterday’s Plain Dealer has an interesting article on how Sherrod Brown’s victory has turned out to be a huge tectonic shift in American politics. Sherrod Brown’s issues are now the Democrats issues, and Democrats are the driving force in politics across the board.
What’s interesting is that in typical Sherrod fashion you’d never know it by watching him in action. He’s one of the worst workers (hype… working a crowd into a frenzy) I have ever seen. And yet somehow he’s quietly managed to completely change the debate with every person running for President doing the work for him.
My big problem with Sherrod Brown and other old guard Democratic Party loyalists has always been that they don’t know how to work. In the past they’ve been much better at being right than they have at moving the ball towards the goal posts. And yet all of a sudden Sherrod has seemingly turned political reality on its head. Could his quiet style suddenly have teeth now that he’s armed with the power the Senate? I’m thinking yes. The Senate is the perfect forum for behind the scenes hardball power plays and watching all the legislation that’s coming through with his hand on it, he certainly is working it.
The thing that I worry about is if it’s enough. The problems are so vast and the opposition forces so powerful that without a strong center of true believers keeping the debate honest it’s going to be easy for sell outs to coopt the debate passing themselves off as champions of issues like education, the environment, universal health care and fair trade; all the time making sure that Wall St. is given priority over Main St.
I’d like to see Ohio really own this debate, and rightfully demand the changes that Americans overwhelmingly want. As I keep saying, it’s not enough to be right, you also have to win. SF, LA and New York have gotten more than their fair share from the prosperity of the modern economy. It’s Ohio’s turn… it’s average America’s turn to reap some of the rewards.
I’m beginning to think that a big part of the problem is the huge riff that exists between much of the Ohio progressive blogosphere and Sherrod over the melodrama of the Senate primary. The reason why the blogosphere has become such a significant force in politics is because they are perfect for working. Unfortunately, many are busy licking their largely self inflicted wounds marking out to themselves (vain self obsession) instead of using Sherrod’s victory to leverage the power that every Ohio voter has in promoting progressive values.
(via DaytonOS)
UPDATE: Matt Stoller @ Open Left has an interesting diary that dovetails with this called ‘Betrayed Voters’: Preparing for a Landslide.
This goes to show that regular democrats (not you smart idealistic ones)are people …with feelings…and egos..completely willing to cut their noses to spite their face. Reps dont do this..they vote blindly to win…self interest be damned.
Brown pretty much sucks win it comes to winning people and just because he’s a D and just because he is “technically” right…it just aint enough.
You have to deal the hand you have not the one you want.
(We’re still fighting the Senate primary at stately Editor mansion as well.)
Maybe I’m not being clear. My writing is very obtuse lately.
I totally don’t agree with that. Sherrod has a huge following in his base up north. He’s just not the kind of person who naturally hypes what he’s doing. It’s easy to see that he’s uncomfortable in that role.
In reality I find it pretty refreshing to see that in a politician. He’s genuine with it comes to the things he believes in. I really like that about him. Unfortunately, as a cynical m_fer I worry that we’re going to be overrun. Is it going to be enough?
To me the only way to make sure that political change goes in the direction that you want is to maximize pressure against politicians and make sure that people are informed about things. I’ve been through too much to trust our representative form of goverment to just kick back and let it do its job unchecked. Money has polluted things too much.
This isn’t a critique of Sherrod. This is a critique of the blogosphere. Sherrod admittedly doesn’t profess to get the blogosphere. I just think that with the right amount of working we could really help him out with his (aka our) agenda.
I really like him, which was always the reason why he scared me as a Senatorial candidate and why it’s so amazing that he won. People that I relate to just don’t win elections. Thankfully, I was wrong by about 14 points.
But like shouldn’t have anything to do with it. We’re on the same team and we have the same goals. If personal grudges are keeping you from your a-game, than it’s you with the problem.
BTW, framing issues in a way that it will be easy for politicians to work a crowd has always been one of Karl Rove’s gifts. Sherrod’s campaign was about as anti-Rove as it could get, and yet he blew DeWine away.
Maybe the very idea of working is evil. Personally, I don’t think that the technique is wrong, just the motivations behind it. I don’t think that there is anything wrong about trying to get people excited about the prospects of having universal health care. I want voters to not just ask for it, but demand it. I want them to work it. I think that the blogs can be an excellent tool in inspiring that sort of energy from people.
Now, if your goal in working a crowd is to get them so worried about stupid things so that you’ll have plenty of free time to rape the treasury, that’s a problem.
I think the blogosphere has been helpful pushing the Dems to get with the mainstream and away from the republican, DLC, blue dog agenda. It is a slow process but they are moving. What we need now are leaders who remember how to work congress. I like Reid and for someone who stood up to organized crime in LV, he does seem weak against turdblossom and shrub. FISA should have never passed and the refunding of the Iraq war should have never passed. Let the Republicans filibuster (a real stay on the floor filibuster). Can someone explain Sherrod’s vote on the funding of the war?
The Dem leadership needs pressure from the roots because they seem to be listening to the to MSM in DC and they are soo clueless. At least the leadership should read the polls. Some of Democratic politicians seem to be getting it but it will take time for them to realize the power of the net and the ability to use it. In time, I think they will see, that we have their backs if they do the right thing. So far, it’s been disappointing but I keep telling myself, it will take time. Unfortunately, the troops and the Constitution don’t have time.
My hope is that Dems stop shooting themselves in the foot – like the 06 OH senate primary. If the leadership had vision and brains it would have been Brown for senate, Hackett for rep and Wulsin for state rep and we would have had a 3 seat pick up and a lot less work in 2008. That senate debacle wasted a lot of time and energy and caused a lot of hard feeling among the base in SW Ohio. My hope is that we are smarter in 08. It’s like the leaders in the party forgot how to do these things. The wheels are flying off the repubican party due to corruption but they were very good at pushing their agenda and controlling the message.