Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory

[flewellyn]

So, this election's been a mixed bag, but there have been some serious setbacks for progressives, and for the Democratic Party (which I note, right here, are not synonymous). The Democrats held on to many seats, but lost some others that seemed like easy victories. In particular, I'm thinking of longtime Democratic representative Earl Pomeroy, of

Comments

[sihaya09]

This post is very thought provoking and full of things I think are quite true.

[bear_foot]

well the ones that make my eyebrows rise are the conservative republican gays...

[rowandoll]

And yet, it's the LCR's that are winning in the courts on DADT. They know that their party won't fight for them in congress, and will actively demonize them every chance they get, but the DADT battle, and the Prop 8 court battle are being spearheaded by republicans in the courts, and decided on by primarily republican judges.

I don't get it either.

[bear_foot]

"we want to regulate what you do in your own house"(Repub) but dont say anything when we get caught with 18yr hooker

[rowandoll]

I'm not disagreeing. At the same time, the DADT case is again being handled by LCR. The Prop 8 battle is spearheaded by Ted Olsen. The people making the decisions in those cases (both in favor of extending marriage and allowing gays to serve) come from republican appointees.

This is the disconnect, and the question: What is it about republicans that, in the courts, the result is a push for gay rights while the democratic party works to fight it, but legislatively, republicans as a group, demonize gays, while the democratic party believes gays owe them everything, but provide very little? What makes the parties reverse themselves in the courts, and how does that translate legislatively?

[mercuryfading]

<3

Spot on, Flew.

[roseneko]

One of my favorite quotes, from the sadly short-lived series Sports Night:

"I used to donate money to the Democratic Party." "What happened?" "You get your heart broken enough times, you learn your lesson."

[spooke]

Well put.