Democrats are blowing apart... what's it all mean?

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As bad as it was for the GOP in 08 (and let's face it, it was pretty bad) 2010 is shaping up as an "8 killed in the intersection" kind of scenario for the left.

Their frustration is palpable. Safe seats suddenly in jeopardy at both state and national levels; changing parties at all levels as well. Senators like Evan Bayh from a relatively safe seat in Indiana; dems like Brian Baird packing it in and calling it a day.

The problem for the left is not so much that the GOP is winning as much as the left is losing.

Technical and tactical brilliance has rarely been the GOP's forte' at any level.

The Republicans have no bench to speak of, yet the doom and gloom of the democrats is palpable... like a storm cloud following them everywhere they go.

Why? What happened? How did it go so wrong, so fast?

Well, the first rule of leadership that I was taught at a Brigade Leadership Academy was, essentially, to never promise nuthin' you couldn't deliver. And to this point, that has been the entire result of the democrats 08 campaign: undelivered and broken promises.

Even as I write this, the left here in Washington is busy committing political suicide by working double overtime to jack our taxes up in the midst of double digit unemployment and a generally horrific economy.

There is something to the phrase: No society ever taxed itself into prosperity.

Those employed by government appear to view themselves as some sort of protected class. While many have been laid off, many more should be. And those remaining should have their pay slashed by 20% across the board, so they might share some of that sacrifice that the president told us about months ago.

These dismal, short sighted actions, done in an election year, cannot help but decimate the morale of any democrat to the right of Mao. These actions cannot be justified to the vast majority of independents or anyone on the right, and they know this sets the table for their eminent political destruction.

Jopel Connelly, a typically worthless fringe left columnist from the paper-that-used-to-be-the-PI-but-is-now-a-web-site lays it out:

Democrats hold crab feed on stormy seas

LACEY - Usually an upbeat evening in state politics, Washington State Democrats' annual crab feed on Monday had the feel of a ship battening down for a nor'easter or a battalion marching to the sound of the guns.

"We have not had a good couple of months," U.S. Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., the first member of Washington's congressional delegation to back Barack Obama for president, told the crowd at St. Martin's University.

Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., predicted that health care reform will pass Congress, but privately commented on the sudden announcement by Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Indiana, that he won't run for reelection.

"There's a lot of bad blood back there (Washington, D.C.)," McDermott said.

Even if one of their Washington, D.C., luminaries was waving Bayh!, Democrats in the capital of this Washington were coming off a good day.

With help from unions, a big noontime crowd rallied at the State Capitol to call for preserving social programs facing the meat-axe if the state cannot find new revenue sources. It far outstripped a no-new-taxes rally earlier in the day.

"The tea baggers had 500 people: We had 5,000 - it sends a message," said Ivan Weiss, a longtime Seattle Times editor who, in retirement, has become a leader of the 34th District Democrats.

Actually, the crowd at the save-social-spending rally may have been smaller, but progressive forces in the state remain organized and ready to fight.

But Republicans are fielding a fairly strong lineup of legislative candidates, and will make a major run at the 3rd District congressional seat of retiring Rep. Brian Baird, D-Wash. They are also directing a stream of negative boilerplate press releases at Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash.

The Democrats' response, on display Monday night, has been to adopt populist soundings - Larsen promised to "hold Wall Street accountable for driving us into a ditch" - and to depict Republicans as a party of naysayers.

If the crab feed had a theme, however, it might be summed up as "Rocky Days are Here Again."

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., while a favorite for re-election, acknowledged to the crowd that "there's a lot of teabaggers and whatever out there . . ."

"It is not a time to give up: This is the time we show wisdom and courage and stand up for what we believe in as Democrats," said Murray. The three-term senator is a member of the Senate Democratic leadership.

Old pep lines did not seem to rouse the crowd.

"Are we ready for 2010?" shouted Gov. Chris Gregoire.

"Yeah," responded a few of the party faithful. "I don't know about that," Andrew Villeneuve of the Northwest Progressive Institute, a savvy young party activist, quietly observed.

The governor kept up her queries, as if addressing a sleepy high school class. "Patty Murray in 2010 by a landslide? Right?" asked Gregoire. Again, the response was underwhelming.

The crab feed was used to roll out four Democratic hopefuls hoping to take Baird's place in Congress. After they spoke, state Democratic Chairman Dwight Pelz made the candidates show their prowess - or lack of it - at juggling and tying balloons together in the shape of creatures.

Only one of the four 3rd District candidates - state Sen. Craig Pridemore of Vancouver - actively worked tables of Democrats munching on crabs.

Pridemore came across as a proud liberal, hitting such themes as abortion rights and the right of same-sex couples to marry.

State Rep. Deb Wallace noted that she unseated a Republican legislator and has held onto a "swing" district in Clark County. Wallace argued that she would be in the best position to take on state Rep. Jaime Herrera, being pushed by national Republican strategists who see the opportunity to elect an Hispanic woman.

"I've spent the last 10 years growing companies and growing jobs," said Denny Heck, onetime legislator and TVW channel co-founder. A less known candidate, Cheryl Crist, came across as a peace advocate eager to get American out of "these wars."

The seeming dysfunction of the U.S. Senate in Washington, D.C. - where more than 200 House-passed bills await action - drew a sharp rebuke from Craig Pridemore. He noted the lawmakers of his party who have failed to follow President Obama.

"A lot of Democrats let him down and let us down," said Pridemore.

In the 2006 and 2008 campaigns, 8th District hopeful Darcy Burner received an enthusiastic welcome at the crab feed. She ran twice and lost to Republican Rep. Dave Reichert.
Former Microsoft executive Suzan DelBene, running against Reichert this year, has assembled a crack campaign team and raised more than $1 million - but didn't exactly raise the roof last night.

DelBene spent much of her time at a VIP reception, did not work tables, and delivered a tepid speech that received a like reception.

All of this, of course, speaks for itself. What's missing is any sense of reality... and vision of how to lead themselves out of the political wilderness they've strive so mightily to attain. From the lie of Ivan (it wasn't 500... WSP called it around 3000) to Murray's disrespect of a huge segment of her constituency, the delusion... the lack of a plan or a clue... a road to victory continues to elude them.

Because they don't have any way available.

The tin ear of the left simply can't be overstated. The campaign lies of the president, which now seem to amount to almost every thing he uttered during his campaign, are going to haunt those like Murray, who drank kool aid that put Jim Jones' paltry effort to shame in her support of Obama's efforts and agenda.

Those who've been so strongly supportive of Obama's efforts will have the most to answer for.

And that means they all do.

Which is why the Crab Feed was such a miserable failure.

Locally, Heck is the only democrat that stands a chance because Pridemore has been infected with the corruption virus and both Pridemore and Wallace will have the moronic bridge hung around their neck in such a way that they'll drown with it.

If Heck does anything but oppose the bridge replacement, he, too will be over.

Any decent, fully funded effort will take out Murray, who has 18 years of pork and will have 2 years of gluing herself to Obama and his programs to answer for.

And legislators will not be capable of explaining their efforts to ditch the will of the people so soon after it was expressed, so they can increase taxes in the midst of a recession to deal with a budget deficit entirely their making.

Yes, it will truly suck to be a democrat this November... because even the few who manage to win will ultimately wind up losing; all the while asking themselves the main question: how could this have happened?

I don't really know what lemmings ask themselves before they dive off the cliff into the ocean to drown. But my guess is that, come November, we're all going to find out.
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