So the president’s no longer in a bipartisan mood and the GOP can’t stop financial sector reform. Cap & trade can pass via reconciliation because it is a revenue bill. It is just possible that Democrats in Washington can win a series of victories between now and November, including (perhaps) a Supreme Court fight and a nuclear treaty.
Health care reform went first and passed only after a long, bitter fight; but because bipartisanship failed, the way is open to promises fulfilled by majority rule. Of course, for those who think Obama is Hitler this would only be further proof of their thesis, not evidence that elections have consequences even when Democrats win them.
As for Republican chances this Fall, Kevin Drum takes note of the Grand Old Party’s continuing failure to offer an alternative platform:
“Time for a change” may be one of the two all-time classic campaign slogans, but usually you need to give people at least a rough idea of what kind of change you’re campaigning on. But Republicans are afraid that even a rough idea is going to expose the fundamental incoherence of their positions. It’s quite a tightrope they’re walking.
The center cannot hold. FOX News yanked Sean Hannity’s tea party headline gig in Cincinatti. Progressives are marching on Wall Street to win the center. The April 15th tea parties were smaller this year and will continue to shrink as the economy improves and death panels are not erected.
November 2010 has the potential to be a perfect progressive storm.
