I went to a forum, sponsored by local Dems, with our congressman. Fifty or sixty of my friends and neighbors were in attendance. Our congressman is a good person -- smart, informed, energetic, and progressive. He described the situation in the House of Representatives -- the difficulty of serving in the minority, especially when so many members of the majority side aren't serious about governing. The audience was sympathetic but there was an undercurrent of impatience. Why can't the Dems make it clear that cutting taxes and cutting the deficit are incompatible goals? Why do the Dems always lose the messaging wars? Our congressman's answers were not always satisfactory to his liberal constituents.
I understand his plight; i's easy to stand outside and criticize. But I also felt that he didn't appreciate how damn dangerous these right-wing Republicans and tea-partiers have become. The gap between rich and poor is becoming larger and less ameliorable. We could lose our democracy to the corporations.
Afterwards, I asked him, semi-privately, if the new Republican congressman can be educated. Will they ever come to realize that governing is a hard job that can't be done with slogans and a simplistic ideology. He didn't think much of my question and didn't answer it.
I was filled with foreboding when I left for the forum. I returned home even more pessimistic about the future.
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