Not only do the Democratic leaders -- Obama, Reid, and Pelosi (among others) -- fail to use politics to effectively pass the legislative goals they claim to have; they can't even use politics effectively to get themselves re-elected.
Let's take this monstrous tax deal, for example.
The writing on the wall here is clear: Obama promised in 2008 to let these tax cuts expire in 2010. In 2010 he actively campaigned to pass these tax cuts, but is still promising to let them expire in 2012. Anyone believe that?
But let's say we do believe it. What then? Well, the political attack ads pretty much write themselves: Kerry was immolated in 2004 on the crucible of a single sound bite. Obama is offering his opponents a wealth of ammunition.
Play a clip of him attacking the Bush tax cuts in 2008. Then play a clip of him arguing that the Bush tax cuts are preventing economic ruination in 2010. Then play a clip of him arguing that the Bush tax cuts have to expire in 2012.
TAG LINE: Can this man be trusted? Is this the 'Change' you voted for?
It gets worse below the fold.
The political suicide we've witnessed over the past two weeks extends beyond 2012 campaign slogans.
A significant portion of the Republican campaign strategy in 2010 was focused around fiscal responsibility and deficit reduction. And they have largely succeeded (and will continue to succeed) in making deficit reduction the main theme of the next legislative session.
"Ah ha!" you say. "By agreeing to an $858 billion dollar tax deal the Republicans have shot themselves in the foot!"
Quite the opposite. Did you somehow fail to notice that this is "Obama's tax deal"? Not only did the Republicans get the ruinous tax cuts they wanted; they got Obama to take political responsibility for them. In the opening salvos of the 2011 debate on fiscal responsibility, Obama has spotted the Republicans a couple of extra touchdowns on top of their historical advantage of perception on this issue. (However irrational that perception may be given the presidents historically responsible for our national debt.)
(And don't delude yourself into thinking that Obama is somehow going to get the political benefit for the tax deal. The fervent supporters of ruinous tax cuts for the richest Americans are never going to be come Obama voters. The Republicans got to eat their cake and have it too.)
Meanwhile, the consequences of trying to achieve fiscal responsibility are now even more ruinous to responsible, effective, necessary, and progressive government programs to the tune of another half trillion dollars each year thanks to the excesses of this bill.
In the middle of the Democrats getting soundly trounced in all this political wrangling, the country is getting trashed. We continue to pour hundreds of billions of dollars into stimulus packages structured so poorly that they are being almost entirely offset by reduced spending by state governments. We are now perpetuating (in what is likely to be perpetuity) an utterly unsound tax policy that has been proven to create nothing but a vast disparity in the nation's wealth. And we continue foreign wars of devastating cost (not only in money, but, more importantly, in human life).
And we "fund" all of these things by racking up a national debt and deficit which is rapidly proving utterly ruinous to our nation's economy in the face of the shifting global reality.
Two years ago I was filled with hope in the face of an overwhelming election which I believed would result in American righting its course. But instead of taking the till in a firm hand, Obama has instead rammed down the throttle.