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I’ve been on quite a few listservs in my career, including ones that were supposed to wield supreme influence. But I can assure you that I’ve never been involved with any listserv as effective as this. Basically, within 30 minutes of a story in Politico about how House Republicans may try to reinstate parts of Obamacare if it were overturned by the Supreme Court, pushback – at the Google group level – got the Speaker of the House to repudiate the article.
Rather than sending out news releases or rushing to cable TV for a rant, conservatives blasted House Republican leadership on a private Google email group called The Repeal Coalition. The group is chock- full of think tank types, some Republican leadership staffers, health care policy staffers and conservative activists, according to sources in the group.
The behind-the-scenes fight among Republicans richly illustrates why House GOP leadership is so cautious, sensitive and calculating when it comes to dealing with the conservative right. POLITICO obtained the email chain, the contents of which show that health care reform remains just as emotional an issue as ever.
Wesley Denton, an aide to Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), questioned whether the “GOP now against full repeal?”
“Should we change the name of this [listserv] to ‘partialrepealcoalition’ or ‘someofobamacareisprettygood’?” Denton wrote to the group [...]
Russ Vought, a former House Republican staffer who is now at Heritage Action for America, bluntly said… “House GOP is going to cave after winning an election on full repeal … and before winning the next election to finish the job.”
A couple things. First of all, the participation of legislative aides on these kinds of groups is somewhat rare, though not completely. I think it’s telling that Wesley Denton knew to simply post in that Google group rather than send Jim DeMint out in front of cameras to blast the Speaker. And it was effective. Boehner issued a statement later in the day saying “The only way to change this is by repealing ObamaCare in its entirety… Anything short of that is unacceptable.”
Basically, the conservative movement at this point is so directly tied into the Republican establishment that they can object to pretty much anything and get their desired outcome. The establishment has functionally no power. This is a far cry from the progressive movement. I often hear talk of how conservatives take their marching orders, while liberals are more rebellious, but looking at politics over the last few years, you have to conclude that the exact opposite is true. As Digby writes, “We can only dream of a ‘professional left’ that is as influential and connected as this.”
We can spend plenty of time debating why it is that the conservative movement wields ferocious power in Washington and the progressive movement doesn’t. One reason is that the conservative movement has been at this for almost 50 years. Another is that progressive movement independence has waned in the era of Obama. And then there’s the donor funding. Anyway, this is the kind of discussion that can take us fully through the weekend, so have at it.
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I didn’t realize republican activists could navigate the internet.
So how do we create a listserve that is this effective and advances true progressive reforms and activities?
Or is one of those “you can’t get there from here” situations?
Kucinich took a plane ride. Grayson got trashed. Feingold was swept out in the craziness that is his state. Barney Frank was squeezed out through redistricting. There are NO progressive leaders…. or even common sense moderate leaders. At least none with a voice. It’s over. But thanks for the memories of hope for change. It was a nice hope. I liked it a lot.
And, David, in case you don’t get thanked enough, THANKS for keeping us informed. You are so truly appreciated. Have a good and quiet weekend.
The Corporate GOP loves the fact that Obama would force everyone to buy health insurance their insurance industry friends smell the money. The banks who invest the money the insurance industry invests and collect fees smell the money.
The Tea Baggers hate the individual mandate ( as do I ) and are rallying around this to defeat Obama. Its infact the best, most popular argument they have against Obama.
However when it comes to getting what they want the Corporate Wing of the GOP always wins I fear the Tea Baggers will be betrayed after the election.
The GOP always talks tough about abortion for example but never delivers its been decades since Reagan ran and we still have abortion but every 4 years the GOP brings up the issue passes a few statewide bills to keep interest up
then they fail to deliver.
Despite having had control of the House, Senate and WH a few times now, despite a majority of Supremes picked by GOP Presidents.
The Tea Baggers are getting played again. Its Charlie Brown and Lucy with the Football.
Where the Orange One is concerned talk is cheap Insurance Companies and Banks have the cash I’m sure ObamaCare will get a new name and a few changes to make it worse for consumers and more profitable for the insurance companies and banks.
These changes will be called reforms.
One of the reason that our listservs aren’t as effective has to do with leverage.
What happens to people who defy Grover Norquest’s tax pledge? Actual money for the legislators dry up. Funding is tied to support. So much so that the right is more beholden to the Norquest tax pledge than to the Constitution.
The way that money is so important in campaigns means that it has a greater impact than voters during much of the year. The GOP can use money threats, we can use voting threats, but it isn’t as effective in the short term.
If that were true Abortion would be illegal by now, Right to work would be federal law, the minimum wage would be history. They did get bank deregulation but it was the Corporate Wing of the GOP not the Conservative Fundies who wanted that.
Its the Corporate wing of the GOP that is powerful they just use the Fundy Flying Monkeys to get what they want and create popular ( well vocal Minority Pressure).
But the Conservative Fundies never get what they want despite all the pre election promises.
Agreed Dem donors need to get some Stones and say no to the Dems when ever a lesser evil idea is presented.
The reason the tea party and far right are more successful than the far left is because
1) the far right is pretty much in sync with corporate interests, so their partners are already power wielders. The left has George Soros and George Clooney. The far right has oil and gas, banks, megachurches, defense contractors, etc. etc.
2) the other reason is something I think people on this site don’t want to accept – more Americans agree with the far right than with the far left. Thirty years of a superb messaging campaign has successfully painted liberals as freeloading, entitled, lazy, valueless individuals.
What’s interesting is that with healthcare, supposedly (if polls are to be believed) people do really like elements of the healthcare law. The fact that the far right is unbothered by that shows how supremely confident that this won’t hurt them and people will support them even as they’re being denied insurance for a pre-existing condition.
Right and on creating jobs helping homeowners, ending the wars the biggest issues I can think of off the top of my head the majority of Americans are to the Left of Obama.
The reason conservatives are successful seems simply a matter of Republicans fighting for their ideals and holding their representatives accountable. No brain surgery there; no eleven dimensional chess. They primary lesser candidates and they withhold their votes and money if they don’t tow the party line. That is why Republicans fear their base.
The Democrats, on the other hand, are so fearful, they will vote for someone worse than Bush in order to prevent a scary Republican from winning. If I’m betting on a fight, I bet for the guy/gal who is willing to throw a punch, not the guy/gal running around the ring trying to avoid getting hit and crying “Why can’t we all just get along?”
We used to hear a lot of talk here at FDL about the importance of primaries but when the time came to put up or shut up, FDL shut up–no talks of primaries for Obama, no push to bring third parties into the main stream discussion, just silence.
Most stories about Republicans on FDL mock their emotional, irrational, animalistic nature. Democrats are supposed to be superior to these baser instincts. Well guess what? Emotionality, irrationality and animalism are all very effective tools when it comes to politics so get over yourself.
If you want change, have the balls to fight for it. Tap into that animalism and emotionality for once. Primary them, withhold your vote, withhold your money, withhold your support until they comply–throw the damn punch!
Until progressives are willing to walk the talk they will remain a sideshow to be mocked by Obama and the Democratic leadership. There is no excuse for being outsmarted by the right-wingers. I couldn’t be more disappointed in my fellow progressives for being so clueless as to how to rectify the problem. Get smarter. Throw some punches and stop whining.
You are so right. It is over but now everyone is going to “pay the piper”. It has to all crash before we can rebuild again.
Where have you been? MIA if you don’t know.
Primary Obama. LOL..
And here’s your response to my Primary Obama bus ad campaign back in April of last year. http://my.firedoglake.com/figaro/2011/04/12/primary-obama-bus-ad-campaign-goes-live-in-d-c/#comments
shekissesfrogs April 12th, 2011 at 4:14 pm 11
“This is a really good idea.”
LOL … indeed!
If Obama would have done single pay healthcare it would have been so popular that the republicans could never have pulled this off.
But it was more important to appease big pharma and the insurance industry. The first real indication that he wasn’t the guy people knew and loved from the campaign trail.
Now, if you didn’t look up his voting record while in the Illinois State Senate I do believe that it was possible to get confused. He talked about what a champion he was for this, for that, for the other. He voted “Present” 130 times. Not yes, not no. Present.
Michael Moore said it best. Why would the republicans try to field a decent candidate this election when they get everything they want from the Obama Administration.
I don’t know what to do in November. I would never vote for a republican. But I’ve already done the ‘candidate of least suckage’ thing. And it hasn’t worked very well. Not well at all. I’m of the level of society (single older working mother)that’s watched my paychecks shrink with each time my hours were cut. I’m trying to save my home. Nothing that this man has done in over 3 years has stopped my continual decline in poverty in my old age.
I need a freaking bailout.