Al Franken, (Dwindling) Majority Leader

David Brooks has an amusing column in which he describes the Stuart Smalley Democrats:

When times get tough, it’s really important to believe in yourself. This is something the Democrats have done splendidly this year. The polls have been terrible, and the party may be heading for a historic defeat, but Democrats have done a magnificent job of maintaining their own self-esteem. This is vital, because even if the public doesn’t approve of you, it is important to approve of yourself.

In fact, I would go so far as to say that Democrats have become role models. They have offered us lessons on how we, too, may continue to love ourselves, even in trying circumstances.

Lesson one. Think happy thoughts. Never allow yourself to dwell on downer, depressing ones.

Over the past year, many Democrats have resolutely paid attention to those things that make them feel good, and they have carefully filtered out those negative things that make them feel sad.

For example, Democrats and their media enablers have paid lavish attention to Christine O’Donnell and Carl Paladino, even though these two Republican candidates have almost no chance of winning. That’s because it feels so delicious to feel superior to opponents you consider to be feeble-minded wackos.

On the other hand, Democrats and their enablers have paid no attention to Republicans like Rob Portman, Dan Coats, John Boozman and Roy Blunt, who are likely to actually get elected. It doesn’t feel good when your opponents are experienced people who simply have different points of view. The existence of these impressive opponents introduces tension into the chi of your self-esteem.

Similarly, the Democrats and their enablers have paid lavish attention to the Tea Party this year. It’s nice to feel more sophisticated than those hordes of Middle Americans, who say silly things like “Get government off my Medicare.”

On the other hand, Democrats have paid little attention to the crucial group in this election — the independent moderates who supported President Obama in 2008 but flocked away during the health care summer of 2009 and now support the GOP by landslide proportions.

Losing friends makes you sad. It is better to not think about why these things happen.

And he goes on. 

As long as the Dems have someone to sneer at when the election is over all will be well in their world.  However, Mr. Brooks is not sanguine:

In short, it’s hard not to be impressed by the spirit of self-approval that Democrats have managed to maintain this election. I say that knowing it may end as soon as next Wednesday, when, as is their wont, Democrats will flip from complete self-worship to complete self-laceration in the blink of an eye.

 

Comments

[Charlie (Colorado)]

I can't wait.

[bgates]

it feels so delicious to feel superior to opponents you consider to be feeble-minded wackos

I prefer smart, capable opponents who can make me wonder if they might be right. I don't know any Democrats like that, though.

Democrats will flip from complete self-worship to complete self-laceration

If any Democrat says "I was wrong" without also saying "by not explaining how awesome we are", David Brooks is not an idiot.

[hit and run]

Similarly, the Democrats and their enablers have paid lavish attention to the Tea Party this year...On the other hand, Democrats have paid little attention to the crucial group in this election — the independent moderates

There are no independent moderates in the Tea Party Brooks has invented in his own mind.

There are hordes of simpletons though.

When Brooks says:

It’s nice to feel more sophisticated than those hordes of Middle Americans, who say silly things like “Get government off my Medicare.”

he speaks from first hand experience of his own feelings toward that Tea Party he's invented,while trying to pass those feelings off as belonging to Democrats.

But the pressing question is: are those hordes of the mongel variety that TM used to ride with 24/7...would you believe 2/5?

[Pagar]

"Think happy thoughts"

Do the boys and girls of the Gloria Wise boys and girls club get to think happy thoughts or is it just the totally corrupt Al Franken?

[Rick Ballard]

"Think happy thoughts"

Perhaps in contemplation of the sage wisdom expressed by the ancient philosopher, Conan, in his ruminations concerning what is best in life.

[gmax]

Self laceration or self emulation ? Cuz I got a match if it helps any.

[Appalled]

The Tea Party mostly stays away from cultural red meat or foreign policy, which makes them seem far less scary to the wavering soccer mom than even someone like McCain. Also, the face of it is awfully female, which is inherently less bogeyman (Sarah Palin, Karen Handel here in Georgia, even the witchy woman in Delaware).

I would not call the Tea Party "moderate". They'd be insulted. But this election is decidedly un-1994, when the motivating force was the Angry White Male.

[gmax]

Moderation in the pursuit of liberty is no dice!

[steve]

What is there to be impressed?

The liberals are true believers, they are devoted to their agenda more devoutly than a born-again Christian is to the Bible. In their world, there is no gray, only black and white. If you don't agree with them you are (pick as many as you wish) greedy, bigoted, uncaring, stupid and/or corrupt.

Because they know they are right, they can never lose any fight on the merits, they can only lose because the other side cheats or lies or brings in foreign money, and/or voters are not smart enough to realize how good they have it with liberals in charge. The most blame they will ever accept is that they don't always do a good enough job of telling the public how good things are with liberals in charge.

This isn't admirable, it is a sign of mental illness. Their refusing to ever acknowledge that they aren't always right is akin to a Cowboys fan who thinks the season isn't yet over. All you can do is shake your head at their utter stupidity.

[narciso]

Democrats and the media have lied inplying violence, when all their supporters, that long list of anarchist and leftwing flakes
who 'have gone postal' They misrepresented O'Donnell's campaign, Paladino has certainly
taken stupid pills, but cannot credibly have
been involved in the housing collapse unlike Cuomo, which they are promoting in the classic
Spitzer 'peter principle' system.

[Jim Ryan]

Dennis is back to posting. Ha!

[gmax]

Hey collar bones heal! And the cincy bengal once...

[Clarice]

Ras has ANGLE BEATING REID BY 4.

[daddy]

"David Brooks has an amusing column"

Who wrote it for him?

[narciso]

It's regular Pope and Swift, compared to Cohen's offering

[Danube of Thought]

Rand Paul now up by seven.

[Danube of Thought]

"1994, when the motivating force was the Angry White Male."

Well, at least that was the meme adopted by the herd of independent minds. The herd also proclaimed the "year of the woman" when the women were Dems; this time it's just the year of the mean girls.

[hit and run]

From some http://www.lisagraas.com/2010/10/paul-supporter-who-wrestled-woman-to.html>blog,here's the http://www.meetup.com/members/4459867/>profile of the stomper at the Rand Paul rally:

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1N3cxhPVIxc/TMccd7zDwlI/AAAAAAAACiU/F38g33McJQ4/s320/Capture.JPG>

Democratic Underground,among other things,is . . . uh . . . interesting.

[Army of Davids]

Angle up by 4 on Reid per Ras..

Poor Joey Behar..this just isn't her year.

[Janet the tea-vangelist!]

I would click on "Show less".

[hit and run]

FTR,I'm not saying that that profile makes the stomper to be some kind of plant - I think he's obviously a Rand supporter.

But that kinda puts a lie to the contention that tea partiers are a bunch of ideological clones who march in lockstep.

[daddy]

"Cooking And Recipes"

Well there's the problem right there.

[narciso]

There seesm to be more commonality between the assailant and the victim, (Venn diagram)
Pazzano was the one who held Valle down, not
the stomper, you know it's very "Iran/Iraq"
sort of thing.

[hit and run]

People Over 35 Who Want to End the Fed by Swing Dancing on Marijuana,Shooting Guns for Fun and Swapping Recipes While Backpacking.

Celebrate Diversity!

[hit and run]

narciso:
Pazzano was the one who held Valle down

Oh. Got it. Reading Is Fundamental.

[Rob Crawford]

Anti-globalization? Wasn't the assaulted harridan also riding that hobby horse?

Send them all to jail. Him for assault, her for incitement to riot and inducing a panic.

[daddy]

Speaking of assailants, FOX is reporting that recent incidents of bullets hitting the Pentagon on different days seem to have come from the same firearm, and now there is a report of bullets striking a Marine Corps Recruiting Center in Quantico, Va. with an ongoing investigation to see if they are related.

[Jack is Back!]

Tea Party attracts a lot of people, hard to vet them. Could be agent provocateurs and by his interests would not surprise me. But that said, Ron Paul has always attracted a little bit of unbalanced tin-foil hat wearing listeners to the Kenneth Frequency. And I wonder how much of this stuff is staged especially a week before a tight election?

[Dianne]

I think the word that sums it all up is "delusional."

They don't think Paladino has a chance of winning. Lord, I hope he wins. I'm voting for him. And if O'donnell was in my district, I'd vote for her too. The more the media and the left tries to destroy someone, the more it makes me want to vote for them.

[Curb your toe, or stub it.]

Alright, distinguish 'curbstomping' from 'kicking to the curb'.
======================

[narciso]

My local rush hour RINO talkshow host, took his usual digs at O'Donnell once again, and
even Angle, the pony express hasn't apprised
him, that the latter is ahead, and the former
is within 6 by one poll

[Hey buddy, how do you get this thing, out of second geeeaaaarrrr?]

Shriners everywhere are suddenly missing clown cars.
===========

[Jim Treacher]

David Brooks is a jerk. It's easy to mock the Dems now, but does he really think we've forgotten his boner at the crease in Obama's pants? You actually might have made a difference back then. Get your own bandwagon, jackass.

[Janet the tea-vangelist!]

The more the media and the left tries to destroy someone, the more it makes me want to vote for them.

Me too Dianne. That is exactly how I feel.

[narciso]

On that note, Janet, in the LUN

[Janet the tea-vangelist!]

Yeah narciso...one commenter said she pisses off the right people!

[bunkerbuster]

What a concise, realtime demonstration of the vast hypocrisy and absurd lack of self-awareness among the tea partiers who blog here. Priceless…
How can people, the same breath, blame liberals for looking down on them, then assert liberalism is a "mental illness'' The ad hominem ranges from sexual and homoerotic references to honesty, intelligence and loyalty -- a real catalogue of stale, but obviously deeply felt, put-downs, all in the name of celebrating the claim that Dems can help but put down conservatives…Priceless!

Bgates "doesn't know" any smart Democrats. And he's just so mad that liberals look down on him…lol..

Pagar can't help but throw in that Al Franken is corrupt…as his only response to the notion that liberals think they are morally superior…Hilarious

Steve unloads the full blunderbluss, blaming Dems for being simple-minded, stubborn, "utterly stupid,'' sore-losers and, phew, mentally ill. But wait, there's more: Steve also reminds us they think they're superior…

Narco weighs in with the charge that liberals are liars but, blessedly, he types way too slowly to work in how terrible it is that liberals accusing political opponents of lying…

Dianne drops by with "delusional,'' on the way to admitting her voting decisions are based on animus toward liberal views, a pretty potent glob of hypocrisy, coming as it does in a post about how terrible it is that Democrats would exhibit animus toward conservatives…

Jim can't help but think about Brooks' dick on the way to a threadbare schoolboy fag joke. Well, I guess at least Jim isn't diametrically hypocritical: Brooks says nothing about the Dems looking down on conservative's sexual preferences…

Keep'em comin' hypocrites! This site is a treasure trove of hilarious unwitting confessions…

[solar motion light]

Let us make some kind of revelation regarding this statement that was stated below. To further understand the essence that was stated.

When times get tough, it’s really important to believe in yourself. This is something the Democrats have done splendidly this year. The polls have been terrible, and the party may be heading for a historic defeat, but Democrats have done a magnificent job of maintaining their own self-esteem. This is vital, because even if the public doesn’t approve of you, it is important to approve of yourself.