The Morning After

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An oversimplication of what went wrong in Massachusetts?  Perhaps, but not by too much.

“When times are bad and people are anxious, it gets directed against the party in power.”  -Tom Mann of the Brookings Institution

Until the economy shows real signs of recovery, independents will choose to show their dissatisfaction with Obama. At this point, it matters not what factors led to the current economic situation or who is honestly to blame. When unemployment hovers at 10%, the guy in the White House is the only person on trial.  Rational or not, that’s the way it works.

So while progressives attack from the left and conservatives battle away from the right, Dems need to be hopeful that the economic numbers improve dramatically before November.  If not, then expect to see many more Scott Browns in Congress.

Here are some words Dems would be wise in listening to…

I know, right now, that the Democrats in Washington are a bit shell-shocked by Scott Brown’s win in Massachusetts. That is understandable. But the solution is not to shut down Congress for the rest of the year. I know some Democrats can’t wait to start using the fact that they only have 59 votes in the Senate as an acceptable excuse for doing nothing. That would be a disaster, and no one–whether they closely follow politics or not–will find that excuse for failing to deliver plausible. This is a warning: make Republican obstructionism your main campaign theme for 2010, and you will lose badly.

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