A scrutinizing look at which party is winning politics, issue by issue, at the national level right now, on Liberal Oasis. Here are some highlights, but the brief analyses there are what's worth reading:
Restrictions on class action suits and the bankrupt bankruptcy bill: GOP ("At least they got something.")
Social Security: Dems ("An unequivocal, high-profile failure that’s fractured the [GOP] caucus.")
Terri Schiavo: Dems ("A missed opportunity [for Dems] to emphasize the party’s position against government interference in deeply personal decisions...People already thought Dems lacked spine, whereas the GOP's fealty to religious extremists had been somewhat masked for the last few years via code words, and has now been exposed again. The GOP loses more here.")
Foreign Policy: GOP
Judges/Nuclear Option: Dems
Overall Assesment:
Republicans:
"So far, they're failing. They’re not just failing on high-profile issues. They’re failing on issues they’ve chosen to make high-profile."
Democrats:
"They're experimenting with unity, but are unable to display any on issues that had already been in the queue for years (bankruptcy) or suddenly appear (Schiavo)...
In turn, overall party messages are still fuzzy, limiting their ability to take advantage of GOP missteps."
I would be very careful with the advice Liberal Oasis has for Dems to compromise a little more (they think the public would like to see this). I think Democrats should keep "holding out" on all important issues and then eventually compromise only on one or two (and on nothing as important as Social Security) when Republicans are desparate and will give them decent terms. I'm no game theorist but I'm a mediocre chess player and this seems likes the best strategy to me.
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