Now that the election is over - can we have an honest discussion about what we did wrong?

[letterwriter]

I have been biting my tongue hard and in forced denial for the last two years but the time for that is over. We can no longer continue to be in denial if we are ever going to turn things around.

In the last 2 years we have seen hope and change deteriorate into weak and stupid. As Obama joked, Republicans had a 41-59 majority in the Senate. Democrats couldn't govern with 60 seats but when Bush was president and the Democrats could have stopped him on a great many issues, the Democrats folded faster that Superman on laundry day.

For those of you who haven't noticed, the Democrats still control 2 out of 3 in the legislative process, the
Presidency and the Senate. But they act like it's over. Did Bush act like it was over when Dems took the House and the Senate in 2006? Not at all. He stayed in control. Fired Rumsfield - that was it.

Our view is highly biased. But one can not turn their back on reality because tonight reality turned it's back on us. Democrats have been the party of weak and stupid for far too long. We allow the Senate to hide behind the filibuster. In 2005 when the Dems were going to filibuster the Republicans were going to do some sort of "nuclear option" to get rid of it and the Dems caved. I was really hoping back then that Cheney had done that. Then he would have had at least one accomplishment.

Yes - we passed health care reform - a good thing - but then we ran away from it like we did something wrong. How stupid is that?

Obama spent the first year trying to be "bipartisan" when it was clear to anyone with 2 brain cells to rub together that being nice to Republicans wasn't going to work. Weak and stupid!

For some reason the Dems don't criticize or blame Bush for the mess we are in. Had they done that the election would have turned out differently. But Bush stole the election, started 2 wars, and collapsed the economy. Stealing on a level that makes people of both parties puke. And has anyone besides Madoff gone to jail? Nope! Not even an investigation. The justice department isn't interested in those who steal billions. But they made it clear that they were going to focus on pot smokers should California pass Prop 19. How screwed up is that?

Then there's Don't Ask Don't Tell. Obama has the power as President to end it by executive order. Did he? No! But then we won in court. Victory? No! Obama appeals and overturns his victory. Didn't even wait till after the election to screw the gays. How stupid is that?

When it comes to civil liberties Bush and Obama are on the same page. Domestic spying continues under Obama and the Democrats just the same as it did under Bush. Obama is listening in on our phone calls too, just like Bush did. And any time organizations like the Electronic Frontier Foundation try to challenge it, they hide behind the FISA court national security defense just like Bush did. We used to be a free country, but we are now all patriots under the patriot act.

The President has the power to close GITMO. He can just order it closed and ship the detainees here in a week. But does he? No. He caved in to the politics. GITMO is still open.

In 2006 and 2008 we didn't elect Democrats. We threw out Republicans. America didn't vote for Obama (this group excepted) but against Bush. In the 2010 election the Republicans didn't win, the Democrats lost. If you look at the Tea Party separately the Republicans lost too. Republican incumbents actually lost more races, they just lost them in the primaries. America is still throwing the bums out.

We as Democrats have a bias here that we can not allow to continue to blind us. We ask ourselves, "how can America be so stupid as to elect these crazy people to office?" And these tea baggers are in fact bat shit crazy. But what we are ignoring at our own peril is that the public can't take it anymore. Our side is almost as stupid and crazy as they are if you look at what we actually do. We run from our accomplishments like we did something wrong. How crazy is that? And how crazy are we if we continue to deny what is obvious to the 2010 voter who has sent a message that we are still expecting change. We gave the Democrats the power to change and they didn't use it. They governed as cowards.

Every year it's an election between that party of evil and the party of weak and stupid. After 2 elections of throwing out evil and finally winning all three centers of power with the promise of hope and change, what do we get? Instead of hope and change we get nope and same. So after 2 election of voting against evil this time the voters voted against weak and stupid. They voted against business as usual.

The Republicans didn't win either. Like I said, they lost their election in the 2010 primary. And one thing you are going to see is that they Republicans aren't going to integrate them into the fold. It is nore likely to be they other way. Either way - America is fucked.

I could go on - but this message is already too long.

I encourage honest analysis. We know what happened last night. We better try to understand it in an honest way. We need to invoke reality.