And the Democrats have lost
November 12th 2006 09:27
the election for good behavior.
The Democrats have won the Senate as well and their power sweep is complete. Nancy Pelosi will be the Speaker of the House and Harry Reid, speaker of the Senate.
But by winning, they have underscored Republican virtue. For all the display of Democrats victory, what has been remarkable about this election is the Republican stoicism. Just look at how George Allen conceded defeat even though his concession gave the Senate to Democrats. Think of 2000 when Al Gore first conceded and then called Bush to take his concession back. Think how much bitterness that was caused and the damage done to America.
But Republicans are blaming themselves and trying to rectify their own mistakes. Like true individualists, they believe they have to show something for their power, unlike the democrats who seem to consider that being in power is their natural state.
Consider their campaign as well. They did not have a plan for Iraq, they did not have a plan for anything. They did not seem to think that they should have one as well. And you have perhaps for the first time, a party that won purely on the basis of negativity.
A great analysis from the ChicagoBoyz says it best,
There's another way of looking at this. In 2000, 2002, and 2004, Democrats explained their defeat by looking to see what the Republicans had done to inflict defeat on the Democrats. In 2006, the Republicans seem to be explaining their defeat by looking for all the ways they themselves loused up. The Democrats are showing their investment in the cult of the victim. They didn't lose because of any fault or failure of their own; they lost because of the nefarious acts of villainous Republicans.
It's another manifestation of their epistemological breakdown regarding the principle of cause-and-effect. The Democrats do not fundamentally believe that they are in control of their own fate -- or ours. They were victims in 2000, 2002, and 2004. The only reason they weren't victims in 2006 was that the nefarious Republicans didn't successfully pull off their nefarious plots and plans this time. And in general Democrats demonstrate a broad belief that there's no relationship between acts and results, cause and effect. What matters is motive, not behavior. If you do something with good intentions, the result will be good.
.
Read the rest
The Democrats have won the Senate as well and their power sweep is complete. Nancy Pelosi will be the Speaker of the House and Harry Reid, speaker of the Senate.
But by winning, they have underscored Republican virtue. For all the display of Democrats victory, what has been remarkable about this election is the Republican stoicism. Just look at how George Allen conceded defeat even though his concession gave the Senate to Democrats. Think of 2000 when Al Gore first conceded and then called Bush to take his concession back. Think how much bitterness that was caused and the damage done to America.
But Republicans are blaming themselves and trying to rectify their own mistakes. Like true individualists, they believe they have to show something for their power, unlike the democrats who seem to consider that being in power is their natural state.
Consider their campaign as well. They did not have a plan for Iraq, they did not have a plan for anything. They did not seem to think that they should have one as well. And you have perhaps for the first time, a party that won purely on the basis of negativity.
A great analysis from the ChicagoBoyz says it best,
There's another way of looking at this. In 2000, 2002, and 2004, Democrats explained their defeat by looking to see what the Republicans had done to inflict defeat on the Democrats. In 2006, the Republicans seem to be explaining their defeat by looking for all the ways they themselves loused up. The Democrats are showing their investment in the cult of the victim. They didn't lose because of any fault or failure of their own; they lost because of the nefarious acts of villainous Republicans.
It's another manifestation of their epistemological breakdown regarding the principle of cause-and-effect. The Democrats do not fundamentally believe that they are in control of their own fate -- or ours. They were victims in 2000, 2002, and 2004. The only reason they weren't victims in 2006 was that the nefarious Republicans didn't successfully pull off their nefarious plots and plans this time. And in general Democrats demonstrate a broad belief that there's no relationship between acts and results, cause and effect. What matters is motive, not behavior. If you do something with good intentions, the result will be good.
.
Read the rest
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