One reason the Democrats are frozen will solve itself soon

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

Part of the problem with the sluggish Democrats is that this election '08 started the day after election night '06. So the party has been fragmented the whole time the Dems have held congress.

The presidential campaign process requires a bunch of candidates who represent only a few degrees of the political spectrum between them (even including Kucinch) to magnify, or even invent, stark differences. Most of the differences are minor, but during the primaries everyone pretends they're a big deal... including members of congress. Factional differences are exaggerated. Everything, including legislation, is parsed with a narrow political eye.

Once nominees are chosen the debate become much simpler, and congress will pull together to do things to benefit the Dem candidate, and the WH will do things to benefit the Repub candidate. With one national candidate to articulate support for what congress is up to, PR gets easier. The country becomes sharply partisan.

It happens every four years. Remember what the Democratic congress did to Bush 41 in 1992. I think they set the record for vetoes... they just kept passing popular bills over and over to show up Bush. In 2004 the republicans passed all those insane "values" resolutions to fuck with Kerry.

[annabanana]

1. And the reason that election '08 started the day after election night '06

is because the media made it so. I, personally, think that was by design.

[JeffR]

2. Well said n/t

[mmonk]

3. The democrats in Congress today are a failure.

The only thing that beats is the pure darkness and banality of the republican party.