September 28, 2005

Kevin Drum on Why Democrats Aren't Winning

I think Kevin sums it up pretty nicley when he writes,

This is one reason I haven't blogged much about Roberts. The liberal blogosphere has made opposition to Roberts practically a litmus test of "getting it," of understanding that liberals can play every bit as hard as conservatives. But you know what? It's the netroots that doesn't get it. They think unyielding opposition to Roberts shows how tough we are, but what most Americans see — including all those moderates whose votes we need — is a guy who seems conservative, but also mild mannered, intelligent, and well qualified. It's true that he took nonresponsiveness to whole new levels during his confirmation hearings, but let's face it: that particular Kabuki dance started after Robert Bork flamed out spectactularly for being a little too forthcoming to Senate questioners. Roberts just refined it a bit.

The fact is, by every previous standard of Supreme Court nominees, Roberts is well qualified for his position. Is he conservative? Of course he is. But that's because the American public elected a conservative president and a conservative Senate. If we want better nominees, that's what needs to change.

And the way to change that is to change the minds of centrist voters who are tiring of George Bush and the Republican party but still wary of Democrats. They may say they're fed up with Bush, but when it comes time to pull the lever on election day they also need to feel like it's safe to vote for a Democrat. Right now they still don't.

When you have people like Dean, Kos, and other far Lefties running around screaming like fools they aren't going to get very far. Off the cuff comments about massive regulation efforts, that they know what is good for the rest of us, and so forth, it is hard to se myself ever trusting the Democrats any time in the near future.

Posted by Steve at September 28, 2005 04:48 PM | TrackBack
Comments

"But that's because the American public elected a conservative president and a conservative Senate. "

Can't say this enough. Our nominating that waste of carbon Kerry was not because of Republican trickery, it was our own incompetence. We lost, and we're going to get two more conservatives on the S.C. Dem bloggers don't like Roberts? Let Bush nominate the other Roberts (Robin). That'll fire one over the bow.

Posted by: Karl on September 28, 2005 08:25 PM

"...it is hard to se[e] myself ever trusting the Democrats any time in the near future."

Really? When the Democrats in the Senate voted about half for Roberts' nomination?

Or when Clinton's SCOTUS nominees won even more GOP support than that?

As the GOP now exemplifies Lord Acton's maxim about power and corruption, many Americans, including Bush voters, would say the same thing about the GOP, I guess.

Posted by: sofla on September 30, 2005 05:55 PM

Sofla,

I am not a conservative. I don't like the anti-porn thing, I'm fine with abortion being legal, I want government out of my bedroom and my wallet to the greatest extent possible. As such, while Roberts is probably going to be fina Cheif Justice, I'm not jumping for joy. Perhaps if he felt strongly about gutting the commerce clause and how it has been used to expand the scope of government to its current state....

Posted by: Steve on September 30, 2005 07:26 PM

"It's true that he took nonresponsiveness to whole new levels during his confirmation hearings"

This is the kind of statement that makes Drum nearly as blind as the Democrats he derides. What, he didn't have time to see the Ginsburg nomination? Please.

Posted by: jd on October 2, 2005 05:06 PM
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