Democrats running scared
From the Chicago Tribune:
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Democrats Chris Dodd, Byron Dorgan and Bill Ritter announced Wednesday that yes, they can get out of politics before the voters ride They won’t seek re-election. The sudden departure of a couple of senators from Connecticut and North Dakota and a governor from Colorado doesn’t necessarily spell doom for the Democrats, but it’s pretty clear what’s going on. There’s a great unease about the direction of the country and discontent about its political leadership. . . You don’t see a recognition from national leaders that people have lost confidence in their direction and their tactics. What you do see: Democratic leaders hellbent on hammering out a final version of this unpopular health care legislation in secret. . . [AO: The Chicago Tribune would have you believe that voters want to throw Democrats out of office due to what “Democratic leaders” at the national level are doing. This seems plausible. It’s possible even though it requires one to jettison the belief that voters vote for individual senators on their record. Alas, that’s where things falls apart. See, let’s take Senator Dodd as the counter example to the Tribune’s argument. Dodd is one Democrat who has decided to step down. According to the Tribune’s argument, Dodd has had to step down because, at least in significant part, of fears voters have about the direction of the country. But the problem with this line of argument, especially in the case of Dodd, is that voters are likely to replace him with another Democrat, allowing “Democratic leaders” at the national level to continue doing what they are doing. Somehow, it seems impossible to square this reality with the Tribune’s claims. Moreover, the fact that six republican senators have already announced their retirement makes this impossible task even more so.] |
Read the full opinion HERE.