tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post4224018538499507054..comments2023-10-16T07:13:12.123-05:00Comments on A plain blog about politics: Questions 4: Changes in Congress?Jonathan Bernsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931039630306253241noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-69121760164341246632010-03-23T05:52:46.889-05:002010-03-23T05:52:46.889-05:00>This loss is also a blow to the myth of Republ...>This loss is also a blow to the myth of Republican invincibility.<br /><br />So was Obama's election in the first place, of course. I remember paranoid websites and articles predicting that Republicans would surely rig the votes so that McCain would win narrowly. Or that there'd be a massive Bradley Effect. (When's the last time anyone used that term, since 2008?) Or that the GOP would somehow do to Obama what they did to Kerry and Dukakis, successfully tarring him with some smear that resonates with just enough voters to bring him down.<br /><br />It was amazing how many liberals simply could not believe Obama would win, despite all the evidence suggesting he would. We'd been burnt too many times before to feel any assurance that we'd succeed this time. And I think this lack of confidence haunts the Democratic Party to this day. It's partly why we were placed in such turmoil after Brown's election.Kylopodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06932528611103718373noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-64875406518354165312010-03-22T17:24:34.679-05:002010-03-22T17:24:34.679-05:00I imagine that the everywhere and always obstruct ...I imagine that the everywhere and always obstruct strategy looks less attractive to Republicans now that it has failed on such an important bill.<br /><br />The Republicans may now have more trouble maintaining discipline, especially in the Senate.<br /><br />This loss is also a blow to the myth of Republican invincibility. They did EVERYTHING to stop it, yet the Democrats managed to push it through even though they only held 60 seats for a matter of months. This will lead to lower confidence, and people who are not confidence they can win outright more susceptible to deals which at least avoid utter failure.<br /><br />Similarly the Democrats will be emboldened. This might give them the confidence to reform the filibuster at the start of the next session (providing they keep their majority).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com