The Democrats May Be Strutting Too Soon

Posted by in Blog, Featured, Politics on December 24, 2011 10:27 am / 9 comments

It appears the Democratic Party and some of their strategists are doing some pre-Holiday strutting about their chances to regain the House majority based on the recent GOP leadership mistakes in the payroll tax cut legislation process.

This is both absurd behavior and, yet again, a display of gross ineptness in playing the politicking game effectively. Over confidence can be a wicked double-edge sword in politics and the Democrats may regret their current behavior come 2012.

From an article in The Hill:

Tad Devine, a Democratic strategist, said he believes Democrats can recapture the House in part because of growing public resentment over wealth disparity.

“The issue is really starting to be clarified for middle-class voters. It’s emerging as the biggest issue of the campaign, the fundamental unfairness of society where the wealthy are getting very wealthy and the middle class are falling behind,” Devine said.

He said House Republicans hurt themselves by taking a stand against a short-term extension of the payroll tax cut only to fold and pass it a few days later.

“The Republicans have shot themselves in both feet,” Devine said.

It is true enough the Republicans made a mess of the payroll tax cut issue, as I wrote yesterday, but to believe this single issue could turn the tide and enable the Democrats to regain the House majority is lunacy. The final chapter of this saga is yet to be written and Democrats could easily end up on the “losing” side when it’s all over.

Further on in the same article:

“It was gross mismanagement. If there were a lawsuit to be filed, it would be filed against the Republican leadership. They misplayed their hand dramatically,” said Ross K. Baker, a professor of political science at Rutgers University.

Baker said he thinks Democrats can pick up the 25 seats they need to recapture the House majority and credits the payroll tax fight as a game-changer.

Victories in politics, especially on small issues like the two-month payroll tax cut extension, are short-lived and momentum is fleeting. Come March when the next debate is over, the long-term legislation is written and the other issues that the two-month extension compel action on are complete, then and only then will we know who wins this battle politically.

Maybe the Democrats should do less strutting now to prevent having to slither on their bellies in March.

 
 

9 Comments

  1. It’s Over: Payroll Tax Bill Passes – Fox News | Botswana – iWooho.com says:
    December 24, 2011 at 11:45 am

    [...] New payroll tax fight aheadCBS NewsAnalysis: Isolated on tax cut, House GOP blinksBoston.comThe Democrats May Be Strutting Too SoonThe Right SphereWashington Postall 13,321 news articles » // © [...]

  2. It’s Over: Payroll Tax Bill Passes – Fox News | Botswana – iWooho.com says:
    December 24, 2011 at 11:49 am

    [...] New payroll tax fight aheadCBS NewsAnalysis: Isolated on tax cut, House GOP blinksBoston.comThe Democrats May Be Strutting Too SoonThe Right SphereWashington Postall 13,319 news articles » // [...]

  3. packeryman says:
    December 24, 2011 at 12:30 pm

    We Independents will vote with Dem’s in 2010 if the Republican party nominates anyone except Romney. Any other candidate Independents will vote against and pull the Dem lever. America is fed up with the antics of the tea bagging lunatics in the house. Most Americans understand that our government can’t work without compromise. This my way or the highway, no compromise crowd has to go. They have proven to the American people they don’t have the political savvy or capacity to govern. Look at the recall in Ohio and the one about to happen in Wisconsin.This reactionary political ideology of “the flat earth folks” (self righteous bible thumping religious fanatics and tea bagging lunatics) belongs in another era. It will cost the GOP the House and Senate.

  4. PulSe says:
    December 24, 2011 at 12:38 pm

    You LOSE !!!

  5. Tom Dougherty says:
    December 24, 2011 at 12:55 pm

    PulSe, thank you for that insightful, articulate and intelligent commentary. You are truly one of the great minds of our time.

  6. Tom Dougherty says:
    December 24, 2011 at 12:57 pm

    packeryman, I agree with your position on extremism but personally am confident the GOP nominee will be Mitt Romney, and he will pull the Independent votes. Thanks for your comment!

  7. Thomas L says:
    December 24, 2011 at 1:59 pm

    I feel like Tad Devine should look at Gallup’s polls more often:

    “A separate Gallup question finds a slight majority of Americans (52%) now say that “the fact that some people in the United States are rich and others are poor” is an acceptable part of our economic system. This is a change from the last time Gallup asked the question in 1998, when a slight majority of Americans said that such inequalities were a problem that needs to be fixed.”

    http://www.gallup.com/poll/151568/Americans-Prioritize-Growing-Economy-Reducing-Wealth-Gap.aspx

  8. Tom Dougherty says:
    December 24, 2011 at 2:37 pm

    Thomas, Devine sure doesn’t want my thoughts. While I favor tax increases on upper brackets (me included as I’m in top 5% and trying to get to 1%) for a period of time to bring balance to budget and dramatically reduce or pay off national debt, obviously along with considerable spending cuts and entitlement overhauls, I have no problem having more money than others. “I’m in favor of helping the helpless but I don’t give a shit about the clueless.” A quote borrowed from Dennis Miller.

  9. The Democratic Party’s War against Promotions – American Thinker says:
    December 24, 2011 at 4:26 pm

    [...] the continued economic stagnation of a Democratic Party zero-sum game and the opportunities for …The Democrats May Be Strutting Too SoonThe Right Sphereall 962 news [...]

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