Since last week's midterm elections, the conventional wisdom among the Beltway village media is that the Dems need to compromise on their policies to win Rethuglican support. One wonders where the voices were for compromise by the Rethugs when Dems won sweeping victories in 2008 when record numbers of voters came to the polls. And we don't recall the Rethugs bowing to "the will of the people" in the face of the Dem landslide, we recall continuous obstruction during the nation's worst economic crisis in 70 years.
Small wonder that the Dem's progressive base is growing increasingly angry at White House staffers' hints of caving to Rethug demands on extending the tax cuts for the wealthy, among other issues. Eugene Robinson has been touring the country, and writes that progressive voters are asking "why don't they fight back?" As Robinson notes, the tax cuts for the wealthy / increase the deficit should be a made-to-order issue for Dems, who seem to be giving up before the fight even starts. Although they're corrupt and cynical, the Rethugs are something else, too: tough, vocal and singleminded. The Dems? Not so much.
