Wednesday, September 23, 2009

I sure hope he's right

One Dylan Loewe, writing in the HufPo, on why...

...concluding today that Democrats will lack enthusiasm in 2010 is a major mistake. Barack Obama has not yet begun to fire up his base for the midterms. But when he stands up and gives one of his barn-burner speeches, when he calls on those who brought change to the Washington to make sure it stays that way, when he uses the infrastructure of his 2008 race to support and recruit, I have little doubt that Democrats will answer the call. It has been in the past, it will continue to be in the future, a terrible mistake to underestimate Barack Obama's ability to mobilize his base.


The crazies are going to get louder and louder. From a policy perspective, that's a challenge. From a politics perspective, it isn't. Never forget that American politics always presents a binary choice. The louder and more pervasive that fringe gets, the more they push Congressional Republicans to mimic them on the floor of the house, the more indistinguishable they become from the party itself. Frustrations with Democrats in Congress have been there in the past. In 2008, Nancy Pelosi's approval ratings were about as low as President Bush's, and Congress as a whole wasn't much better. Still, the Democrats won a Congressional landslide that November. The question is, with the fringe growing to become the only voice of the GOP, will those who are frustrated with Democrats really see the Republican party as a worthy alternative? My gut says no.

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