Killing more myths in their infancy

Digby piles on in support of Glenn's assertion that right-wing interpretations of the election results are bogus. The idea that the election results were "some sort of affirmation of conservatism is laughable. It's an affirmation of mainstream American values and a rejection of the Republican radicalism this country has been in the grips of for the last 12 years".

2 years ago today I remember driving through a weird other worldly landscape and listening to Rush on the radio the morning after Newt's big victory. As remains true for most of rural America, his was the only radio station that I could get out there in the middle of nowhere. It was a festival of chest beating and nationalism that brought to mind some unpleasant associations with certain historical figures from the 1930's. Their arrogance and disdain was on display even as they celebrated their big win --- all they could talk about was that the country had rejected the soft and squishy hated liberals.

When I arrived back in LA I was astonished to find that the major media had adopted pretty much the same talking points I'd heard on Rush. Newt Gingrich was not discussed as the dangerous, demagogic fascist he was. Instead, he was being touted as America's rightful leader. For the first time I fully realized that the press had been co-opted and the American people were not going to be informed that we were entering a new era of sophisticated, ruthless,take-no-prisoners radical Republican politics. Indeed, the press seemed to be reveling in it. It was a very bad day.

Imagine my surprise this morning, twelve years later, as Democrats come back into the majority in the House with a huge, decisive victory and the Senate is poised to tip as well and the press seems to be interpreting this election as a .... repudiation of the soft and squishy hated liberals. (Again, they are taking their cues from Rush Limbaugh who is also spinning the election as a loss for liberals.) The narrative is suspended in amber.

It's wrong, of course, just as the earlier one was. This election proves that the Democrats are the mainstream political party. We just elected a socialist from Vermont and a former Reagan official from Virginia to the US Senate. We elected a number of Red State conservatives, true, but we are also going to have a Speaker of the House from San Francisco. We cover a broad swathe, ranging from sea to shining sea with only the most conservative old south remaining firmly in the hands of the Republican party. The idea that this is some sort of affirmation of conservatism is laughable. It's an affirmation of mainstream American values and a rejection of the Republican radicalism this country has been in the grips of for the last 12 years.

And I'm sorry to have to inform all the kewl kidz and insiders, but this is largely due to the re-emergence of an active, vital, progressive base. Despite the fact that we aren't goosestepping around shouting about our Victory For The Homeland the way the Gingrich Jugend did in 1994, a revolution --- not of ideology, but necessity --- is underway:

[link to Rick Perstein article]

(It isn't just the cult of Rahm. I heard Chris Matthews try to make the case last night that Chuck Shumer went out and found a guy who used to be in the Reagan administration and another guy with a crew cut to run against the Republicans. Surprisingly, both Tom Brokaw and Tim Russert corrected him and pointed out that Webb and Tester were both opposed by Shumer in their primaries and won in spite of him. Matthews was surprised. He couldn't fathom that these two he-men hadn't been chosen by the conservative establishment but rather had emerged through the grassroots.)

In an pollster post-mortem today, Chuck Todd said the Democratic Party has become a big tent party by accident. That is not the case. The fact is that over the last few years a rather imagination-limited, but well-funded, establishment waited for a chance to exploit Republican weakness as 9/11 began to fade, while a practical, visionary activist wing emerged to build a new political landscape. This is anything but an accident. It's been in the works since at least 1998 as the netroots kept the truth about Republicans alive while the media were writhing together in orgiastic Clinton/Gore loathing and Bush sycophancy. There would have been no big victory last night without it.

And regardless of our pragmatism, make no mistake: real fighting progressives are once again active players in this game, coming in with money and energy and ideas. As Perlstein's piece shows, this new group of energized progressives are not children, 60's hippies or fools. We are not asking for a seat at the table. We're not begging for a voice. Neither are we crazed ideological revolutionaries in the Gingrichian mold. We're simply progressive American citizens who are taking our seat and demanding our say after 12 long years of being shunted aside as if we have no place in this party or this country.

They can have their bizarroworld interpretations of events and they can crown a new crop of "boy geniuses" who played nicely by GOP rules. It doesn't matter. The Republican Revolution is dead. And the mainstream, progressive Democratic majority is silent no more.