tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post5670437727357250163..comments2023-10-16T07:13:12.123-05:00Comments on A plain blog about politics: Backing DownJonathan Bernsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931039630306253241noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-21427921939920440302010-03-21T09:54:42.945-05:002010-03-21T09:54:42.945-05:00It seems to me like Speaker's careers end esse...It seems to me like Speaker's careers end essentially at random. I don't know if you'll be able to say that about Pelosi this time next year.Noumenonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01597461989960782762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-12280748414492852422010-03-20T20:48:41.317-05:002010-03-20T20:48:41.317-05:00Jonathan, let's not beat around the bush. The ...Jonathan, let's not beat around the bush. The Republican Party is the Party of macho swagger. It may be impolite to say so but we all know it is true.<br /><br />Republicans see weakness in listening to critics, and more weakness in backing down.<br /><br />As you note it doesn't always work. Tom Delay's career is over, as is George W Bush's. The Cheneys get air time but are not respected. Rush Limbaugh has good ratings but is a buffoon to half the nation.<br /><br />Still. it works well enough so that in a two-party political system like ours it works for each of the two brands.<br /><br />Republicans take orders and follow the leader more than do Democrats. They get discipline (filibuster everything!) but they also followed GWB off of a cliff.<br /><br />The Democrats give up some efficiency, but they are there to turn to when the nation is in the mood for a more nuanced approach.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-25220075716172393102010-03-20T14:59:05.268-05:002010-03-20T14:59:05.268-05:00Do we know for sure why they're dropping the s...Do we know for sure why they're dropping the self-executing rule? Granted, if in doubt, it's usually best to assume that congressional Dems are backing down or giving in to pressure rather than doing something politically savvy. But might it be that it's dawning on them that it's good, possibly great, politics to be able to say to voters this fall, "I stood with you against the insurance companies, and now you'll never be arbitrarily denied health care again"? And: "The Republicans unanimously tried to stop us, and are promising if they win to put the insurance companies back in charge"? These seem like terrific attack lines to me, and they're strengthened if Democrats have declared themselves as clearly as possible in favor of HCR.Jefferson Smithhttp://conservativesarealwayswrong.googlepages.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-25893842484237506302010-03-20T14:35:28.979-05:002010-03-20T14:35:28.979-05:00The symmetry doesn't hold because the Republic...The symmetry doesn't hold because the Republican party depends far more than the Democratic party upon voters who are fundamentally unreconciled to the status quo ('radical' would be, I submit, a good word for such people at either margin of the ideological spectrum, but I won't insist upon it). Conversely, elected Democrats are more dependent upon centrists and casual participants, both of which are more likely to find process-oriented criticisms relatively more compelling, and ideological or partisan ones less so.kthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12807643816565849458noreply@blogger.com