Friday, September 03, 2010

1994 déjà vu

In the wake of the 1994 mid-term elections that saw Republicans score a crushing victory at the ballot box, a number of high-profile media types surveyed the political landscape and declared that the election results did not reflect any shortcomings on the part of the Democrats, but rather the voters themselves.

Perhaps no one captured this ire towards the country's electorate better than Peter Jennings:
"Some thoughts on those angry voters. Ask parents of any two-year-old and they can tell you about those temper tantrums: the stomping feet, the rolling eyes, the screaming. It's clear that the anger controls the child and not the other way around. It's the job of the parent to teach the child to control the anger and channel it in a positive way.
Imagine a nation full of uncontrolled two-year-old rage. The voters had a temper tantrum last week....Parenting and governing don't have to be dirty words: the nation can't be run by an angry two-year-old."
You can find other choice quotes here. While this year's election remains two months away, Eugene Robinson has decided it is time to dust off the pages of this particular playbook in today's column:
At this point, it's impossible to ignore the obvious: The American people are acting like a bunch of spoiled brats.
You see, it's not that there are any shortcomings in the Democratic agenda, it's simply that Americans are too immature, childish and myopic to see the shining future that is being carefully built by their political leaders. The fools fail to realize that yawning deficits in perpetuity produce economic prosperity and increased government control of health care leads to superior outcomes. The people are not worthy of their rulers.  

Expect more such sentiment to be voiced in the weeks ahead. Many of our friends on the left will be loathe to admit that the agenda is unpopular, and still fewer that it has failed. The fault will be laid everywhere but where it squarely belongs.

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