Now THIS Is an Opportunity Crisis

At the risk of being accused of criminal pollyanna-ism, let me say this:

Two monster political setbacks this week have put liberals - not progressives, but genuine dirty-fucking-hippie liberals - in the strongest position we've held in decades.

For the past two years, we liberals have been good Democratic soldiers. We busted our asses and broke the bank through 2008 to elect as president a compromising, corporate-owned centrist because of his power as a symbol and potential as an agent of change.

We bit our tongues as one moderate goal after another failed for lack of a strong liberal negotiating position: the stimulus, cap-and-trade, jobs, DADT, EFCA, health care.

We grinned and bore it while Democrats wasted a majority wooing repugs, Blue Dogs and traitors who knifed us in the back.

Now the illusion of 60 votes in the Senate is gone, but we still have the 51, maybe 52 reliable Democratic votes we always had, and 51 is still more than 49. Now we can force the Senate dems to stop playing filibuster games and start jamming legislation up the minority's ass - barbed with no lube.

Reconciliation, forcing real filibusters, changing the rules, bribes, threats, cheating - whatever it takes. From 2003 to 2007, Senate repugs had fewer than 55 votes, and won every single time. They rolled over the dem minority nonstop for four years because they did the arithmetic, knew they had the majority, and refused to let stupid shit like "comity" and "bipartisanship" and "cooperation" stop them from getting things done.

Fifty-one votes is a majority. Now the Democrats have to use it.

As for the new United States of Exxon-Mobil, opening the floodgates to corporate purchase of elections is exactly what we need to force real corporate finance reform.

Compromise has failed. Cooperation has failed. Bipartisanship has failed. Moderation has failed. Appeasement has failed. Seeking a middle ground has failed. Splitting the difference has failed. Playing prevent defense has failed. Diluting strong policies and programs to attract oppponents' votes has failed. Acting "progressive" has failed.

Now let's try genuine liberalism. Let's try majority rule. Let's try take-no-prisoners, give-no-quarter, bare-knuckle, kick-'em-in-the-balls, kidney-punch, eye-gouging fighting.

Let's play to win.

Cross-posted at They Gave Us A Republic ....