So, who feels like a fool for celebrating last November?

[Naturyl]

Considering how this "Democratic" Congress has buckled and folded at every opportunity, leaving a few genuine progressives such as Dennis Kucinich alone to do all the heavy lifting, does anybody feel a little silly about our optimism last November? Does anybody else feel like we got flim-flammed?

Look, I'm not bashing the Democrats. How could I do that when I can't find any? All I see are closeted Republicans - and it's the same story with the '08 candidates. 8 people up on the stage and only 2 or 3 of them are running on a platform that represents anything solidly Democratic. The rest are Neocon Lite.

In the past, I've always felt that the DLC had a place at the table. In fact, I still do. The only difference is that I now realize that the DLC's place is at the Republican table.

[rwenos]

1. You Overstate

I'm disappointed with the Dem's, but more for their caution than their ability or non-ability to get anything done. They really can't do much without 60 votes in the Senate. They've passed legislation Chimpie has vetoed. They've done some good investigation of some incredibly tenacious f*cks on Cheney's staff.

But to say one feels a "fool" is to ignore the following: (1) if the Pubs had held the Congress, we'd ALREADY have invaded or bombed Iran; (2) if the Pubs had held the Congress, Scooter Libby would never have stood trial; (3) if the Pubs had held the Congress, Bush would have passed still another tax cut for the rich; (4) if the Pubs had held the Congress, Bush would have privatized Social Security by now; (5) well, you get the idea.

[pinto]

2. I don't.

Have we stopped the creeping RW agenda? not by a long shot. Have we failed? no. Change takes time and I don't buy into the fatalism of some current political punditry.

We would rather be ruined than changed;
We would rather die in our dread
Than climb the cross of the moment
And let our illusions die.
~W.H. Auden


Hang in there.

[lligrd]

3. Me!

I am totally dienchanted with the majority of Democrats. And I say that as a life long party supporter.

[Jim Warren]

4. Big time.

So much so I hardly come to this site anymore and I used to be here everyday. I should say no more, logging out.

[cboy4]

5. It's still better that we're in charge, despite one

disappointment after the other after the other.

[Naturyl]

6. I know. It's better we did win.

I'm not saying that it would have been better if we lost. Clearly, that would be a mistake.

I'm just saying that some of us expected so much and we got so little. It makes a person feel naive.

[cboy4]

7. Exactlly, and you said it all. Some of us expected so

much and we got so little.

No question about it.

[MrSlayer]

8. I was happy but didn't really celebrate much.

I thought it was a good start and that at least now we held the committees but it wasn't a big enough win that we could really do everything we wanted. The Republicans could still block all term long. We need more seats in both houses and someone who isn't in on the big scam to win the Presidency next year. The former is within the realm of possibility even if the latter isn't.

[regnaD kciN]

9. Somewhat, but...

I still have to think: How much worse would it have been with a Publican Congress? True, we haven't shown much of a backbone in dealing with Bush, but the latter's proposals are, de facto, already scaled down by knowledge that he'll have to get them through with the support of at least some Democrats. Were the Publicans in charge, he wouldn't have even had to hedge his proposals that much, and we'd likely be seeing more right-wing moves like another attempt to privatize Social Security, a revised and even more intrusive PATRIOT Act, continued steps to establish a unitary executive, or further attempts to erase the line between church and state, knowing that a Publican Congress would back him on anything, no matter how extreme.

In short: I'd like our representatives to stand up to Bush more, but I'm grateful they're there rather than the blend of rabid fundies and neo-cons populating the previous Publican-controlled Congress.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

10. The only people who should feel foolish...

...are the people who were expecting a razor-thin congressional majority with a lot of freshmen legislators to impeach dubya, end the war immediately, and give everyone a pony.

The simple fact of the matter is that this Congress, like most of the others, is pretty average. Not great, certainly. But not atrocious.

[cmd]

37. My people voted the right way

I'm still celebrating.

[Alter Ego]

44. I wish I'd gotten a pony from Nancy Pelosi.

[Ino]

11. Yes, I feel I've been had.

Especially by John Conyers, who I practically idolized. After all his dogged investigations, meetings in the basement, his books (What Went Wrong In Ohio: The Conyers Report On The 2004 Presidential Election; George W. Bush Versus the U.S. Constitution: The Downing Street Memos and Deception, Manipulation, Torture, Retribution, Coverups in the Iraq War and Illegal Domestic Spying; The Constitution in Crisis: The High Crimes of the Bush Administration and a Blueprint for Impeachment) -- all of a sudden he thinks impeachment is a waste of time. All of a sudden he sounds like Pelosi's parrot. I'm still reeling from his about-face.

It's as if he did all that work because he didn't have anything else to do. And now he's too busy for it, working on legislation that will never pass Dimson's veto.

[populistdriven]

17. I still haven't forgiven him for the Conyers - Sensenbrenner sponsored Bill!

It was the most abhorrent piece of Democratic sponsored legislation I have seen.
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2005/12/lump-coal-consumers-analog-hole-bill-introduced
All because he wants to be a big shot over at BET studios

[Raffi Ella]

29. "...all of a sudden he thinks impeachment is a waste of time."

oh yeah,I truly am astounded by him!I heard him speak at The World can't Wait Protest up in N.Y. before the election,talking about "Give us Subpoena Power" in a low calm determined voice...WTF happened to that conviction of his!??He acts like he never said those things now!

He was on of the ones I pinned my hopes on and even though I get that they don't have enough of a majority to actually "pull rank" his about face disgusts me.

[malaise]

12. So why have the following people resigned?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x2222628

* Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense, November 8, 2006
* John Bolton, Ambassador to the United Nations, December 4, 2006
* Harriet Miers, White House Consul and former Supreme Court nominee, January 4, 2007
* Francis Harvey, Army Secretary, March 2, 2007
* Monica Goodling, Justice Department White House liaison, April 6, 2007
* Peter McNutly, Deputy Attorney General, May 14, 2007
* Sara Taylor, White House Political Director and microtargeting guru, May 27, 2007
* Dan Bartlett, White House Counselor, June 1, 2007
* Gen. Peter Pace, Joint Chiefs of Staffs Chairman, June 8, 2007
* Rob Portman, White House Budget Director, June 19, 2007
* William Mercer, Acting Associate Attorney General, June 23, 2007
* Jim Nicholson, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, July 17, 2007
* Karl Rove, Senior Political Advisor and Deputy White House chief of staff, August 13, 2007
* Alberto Gonzales, Attorney General, August 27, 2007

I'm happy Dems won last November, and while it's true I'd love Dems to fight these goons more aggressively, I understand politics. I also know there are corporate hacks in the party but we all know that.

[peacebird]

14. because it's easier for them to get serious big buck jobs while bush is still in office?

[OzarkDem]

41. Its not because of anything Dems have done

but more the result of their actions catching up to them.

If you don't believe me, ask any average American voter. Voter's aren't perceiving any change from Dem victories last year, they aren't picking up on any message or idea of where Dems plan to lead them. Nothing.

Our elected Dems have chosen to ignore the voting public, send no message, offer no vision. That's been a poor choice and its reflected in their low approval ratings as a governing body in Congress and elsewhere.

Winning a major electoral victory, then hiding from the public and doing nothing isn't a recipe for success.

[sendero]

45. They resigned...

.. because they variously failed or recognized that the failures of the administration made their situation untenable.

I will give *some* credit for gonzolez to the Dems, but not the rest of them.

The sun comes up every day, but it wasn't the Dem congress that made it happen.

[cascadiance]

13. I think we need a MAJOR house cleaning!

There's a huge mess that needs to be totally overhauled!

[unblock]

15. 2006 was never going to be more than a launching pad for 2008

and by all measures the stage for 2008 looks great.

patience....

if we wind up with the white house and strong majorities and both houses and THEN can't accomplish squat, then i'll feel had.

until then, i'll continue to feel screwed by the republicans in power, not the democrats trying to fight it.

[Warren Stupidity]

16. I warned everyone back then that our party would betray the voters.

However, I still celebrated kicking the shit out of the other half of the duopoly. Fuck them.

[OwnedByFerrets]

18. I dont feel fooled, I feel betrayed....nt

[ecstatic]

19. I don't regret my glee. It felt good (at the time)

The way Bush was glaring at Pelosi... The look of rejoice on Dem faces... I will treasure those memories.

I really thought Pelosi was about to raise hell (despite her alarming dismissal of impeachment... After all, it was just a ploy to get votes right?).

[LWolf]

20. I didn't celebrate.

Having already seen enough enabling in Congress, I sat back and watched to see how it would play out.

I guess I don't have the automatic faith and trust in Democrats that many do. While I'm a Democrat, I also tend to be cynical about party politics.

[Le Taz Hot]

21. I didn't celebrate.

And I kept REAL quiet for several weeks after that. I wasn't going to rain on anyone's parade, but I did know. I knew what Pelosi, Hoyer, Reid, Schumer, Emmanuel, et al were/are all about. I truly was hoping I would call this one wrong. However, I never dreamed it would be this bad.

[Virginia Dare]

22. Not me..

my racist tool Felix Allen got the boot. I think having the Dems back in charge of the committees has been good. Do you think Gonzo or Karl would be gone now if the repubs were still in the majority? Do you think Blackwater would have been brought to task? I don't think the Dems have done a great job, a few of them have, Waxman for example, but I still think it's better than the alternative.

[Mutineer]

23. I'm thoroughly disgusted

I was so hopeful and what have they done? Zilch. Nothing. Except kiss GOP ass.

[elehhhhna]

24. Moi. I worked on Lampson's campaign. He won. What a waste.

[mmonk]

25. I didn't celebrate because Nancy Pelosi's words were still

dancing around in my head. I kept being assured by people she really didn't mean impeachment is off the table. But my internal logic told me this wasn't a good thing to say unless she was serious.

[Raffi Ella]

26. Democracy isn't an overnight process.

Especially since We barely won majority and considering how corrupt our elections are it speaks volumes about The People that we won at all.

Sure,I'm frustrated and angry but I believe the elections last November saved our Country.They damn sure were and still are a thing to celebrate.

[OzarkDem]

40. Its not unrealistic to expect some change in the status quo

There really has been none. Nothing has changed, there's not even a new message or talk of a new direction.

Democrats in office are not even giving hope to a disgruntled and overburdened public. They never speak of a vision, they don't offer hope or change. Its as if they don't even exist, they are largely invisible.

[rodeodance]

27. just plain down!

[Ishoutandscream2]

28. I'll give you a more definitive answer next November

Right now, however, I can't say I'm the happiest person in the world.

[onelittleindian]

30. DLC

what a short sided post, the DLC got clinton elected.

[Gregorian]

31. No. I think it might be shortsighted.

I was embarrassed by Speaker Pelosi when she said it was off the table. But I have a pretty good bs detector. And it has not gone off with her.

We are over on this side of the electronic divide. I do not feel that I am extremely far to the left. But still, we are only a fraction of the Democratic constituency.

They are over there on the other side of this internet. Were I to be standing in the chambers of Congress in the place of our representatives, I am not so sure I could move the mass that is required to satisfy all of the demands we have.

So yes, we have Pelosi saying no, and we have Kucinich saying go. But what is the reality behind that? I don't think we know.

I could take the path that criticizes, or I could say that I don't know what is really going on. I'm still deferring until the curtain drops.

My insides say to be disappointed. But common sense says, they're on our side.

[mike_c]

32. the dem congress has been a tremendous disappointment....

I was ecstatic that Pelosi would be speaker. I feel betrayed.

[ginnyinWI]

33. Not a bit!

Some people at DU always are going to see the glass as half-empty, no matter how much good news there is to notice and applaud.

We'd be in a lot worse way if the GOP had retained control!!

Gonzo is gone, Rummy is gone, and we've had investigation after investigation that never would have happened if the Dems hadn't taken majority. It's gonna take a while to slow this freight train down, that's all. Give them a break already. They have to work against the worst presidential administration ever.

[RebelSansCause]

34. indeed, i for one, am completely demoralized n/t

[Perry Logan]

35. Dude! Your premise is 180 degrees wrong: the Democrats showed the highest unity score in 51 years.

You can repeat this meme as much as you want. The facts still prove you wrong:

The Democrats in Congress showed the highest Democratic unity score in 51 years and backed the majority position of their caucus 91percent of the time.

"President Bush's success rating in the Democratic-controlled House has fallen this year to a half-century low, and he prevailed on only 14 percent of the 76 roll call votes on which he took a clear position.

"So far this year, Democrats have backed the majority position of their caucus 91 percent of the time on average on such votes. That marks the highest Democratic unity score in 51 years."
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=1728952&mesg_id=1728952
http://public.cq.com/docs/cqt/news110-000002576765.html

Don't let the media rhetoric fool you. The Democrats have acquitted themselves quite well--especially given their bare majority in both houses, and a relentlessly obstructionist Republican minority.

[flashl]

36. For the despondent ....

The Following is an Excerpt from the Foreword to 10 Steps to Repair American Democracy From Senior Editor, New Yorker Magazine, Hendrik Hertzberg.

Americans and politics: it’s the ultimate love-hate relationship.

On one side, our sentiments about our political arrangements—that is, about our Constitution, not only the written document but also the institutions and customs and practices encrusted around it—go beyond love to outright worship. Ancestor worship, even. We consult the Constitution of the United States and the Federalist Papers—the Pentateuch and Talmud of our civic religion—as the ultimate repositories of political revelation, eternally valid for every age and circumstance and incapable of improvement. Our founders—excuse me, Founders—were all-seeing, all-knowing, godlike. What other nation has a capital city named for one long-ago politician and dominated by temples dedicated to the quasi-deification of others? We are, our leaders endlessly assure us, the greatest nation on Earth. Therefore, our institutions and practices, which make us what we are, must be the greatest institutions and practices on Earth. End of discussion.

Lucky us! Except that we do nothing but complain, and our complaints, oddly, all seem to have to do with our institutions and practices. We hate politics. Politics is crooked; it’s fixed; it’s dominated by money; it’s manipulated by special interests; it’s shot through with dishonesty and pandering and betrayal and irresponsibility. And we don’t like politicians much, either—living ones, anyway. (The dead ones, after a suitable interval, become demigods.) We revere our institutions, but we scorn the people who comprise them. We scorn them because they’re out of touch. Why don’t they give us what we want? We scorn them because all they think about is getting reelected. Why don’t they have the courage to defy the opinion polls? They must be especially wicked to have screwed things up so badly, because, after all, they start out with the advantage of being embedded in the greatest institutions on Earth. They’re hopeless. It’s hopeless. So we’re hopeless.
* * *
To ponder the shortcomings of our political system is to court despondency. But acknowledging the underlying dysfunctionality of our political institutions and practices has powerful therapeutic value. If we kept in mind the ways in which our political institutions distort our democracy and hobble our politics, we might gain a deeper, more useful understanding of the sources of our various national discontents. If we didn’t assume that our political system was perfect, we wouldn’t assume that everything we don’t like is the fault of bad people. We’d judge our politicians more shrewdly—and more charitably—if we reminded ourselves regularly of the perverse incentives that our antiquated system imposes on them. We’d be less tempted by lazy moralism and more interested in sensible reform.

[KharmaTrain]

38. It Was A GOOP Loss As Much As A Democratic Win

Going into the '06 elections, few thought the Democrats would win control of the House, yet even things up in the Senate. But the mood of change had begun in this country, a change that's still going on but that many here seem to be missing out on.

Following the '04 elections, the Democrats were on the verge of political extinction. The big fear of '06 was that the Repugnicans would gain the few seats they needed for veto proof majorities in both houses (think about that for a sec). The Democrats had dug themselves in a huge hole and it was going to take not one election to change both the political culture and dynamic.

Hell no, I'm not disappointed. I'm grateful every day there are Democrats determining the agendas of both houses and that more and more people are identifying themselves with Democratic party ideals and objectives...but I didn't expect miracles.

The '06 election was more a repudaition of the Repugnicans (as I predict '08) is...the Democrats won, but they sure didn't seal the deal with that election. It was just a first step. It was to put the brakes on a regime gone out of control and a Repugnican party that turned the treaury into their piggy bank. It doesn't help that the current Repugnicans have taken a slash and burn approach to "governing"...obstructing every thing they can to protect their power, ego and splintering party. The GOOP is imploding due to its own largess...while we can take advantage of this situation, we hardly should take credit...they did it all by themselevs.

Change is coming, but its gradual. That's why the '08 elections are so important. In '06 we didn't really know if a netroots candidate could win (anyone remember that rap??) and now the candidates come hat in hand to the web to seek support. People are starting to see through the Repugnican lies, shams and con games, but they're still not sold on Democratic alternatives. Most have been inundated with two decades of talking points and lies...deprogramming takes time.

If you aren't happy, that's a good thing...now go out and help get more Progressives elected so we can move the pendulum of change along a little quicker.

Cheers...

[OzarkDem]

39. It seems like a very, very long time ago

My expectations were optimistic yet realistic. I thought there would be some movement forward, a moderate advancing of even a limited agenda.

Even our new Democratic governor has been a huge disappointment.

[bklyncowgirl]

42. It was good to see the GOP handed a defeat.

I cheered as each Republican went down in flames--even more fun since I was stuck in this lousy Motel 6 where the only all news station available was Fox--talk about long faces.

That being said, I was pretty sure that I'd be disappointed by the performance of these Democrats once in power, and I have, sadly, not been disappointed.

[Alter Ego]

43. I don't.

Things would be worse if we still had Republican majorities.

[NNN0LHI]

46. Republicans are fucked

Get used to it.

Don