"But sir, they have breached the city limits...and those divisions...they don't exist!"
Posted on 11/08/2014 5:06:57 AM PST by maggief
Democrats aren’t planning a shakeup despite the thumping they took at the polls on Tuesday.
Leaders in both the House and the Senate — including Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) — are expected to retain their spots atop the party in the next Congress, while the White House, in similar fashion, says it will keep its top staff largely intact.
"The president is somebody who doesn’t make personnel changes just for cosmetic reasons," White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Thursday.
The decision to stick with the status quo sends a clear message that Democrats believe Tuesday's disastrous outcome was caused by factors beyond their control, and that they see themselves as best suited to steer a comeback.
But it's also sparked concern among some party operatives and rank-and-file members that the Democrats' rebound strategy lacks fresh voices, novel ideas and a new public image.
Most of the grumbling is happening behind closed doors, but some are going public with calls for soul-searching in the party.
“Washington always wants you to throw out bodies after a bad election, so you'll hear that hew and cry," former White House advisor David Axelrod told MSNBC on Election Day. “People will leave on their own because six years is a long time, but [Obama] also has to say, 'What went wrong; what went right; what do I need to do to make these next two years successful?' “
“I think that would be a wise thing to do," he added.
A Democratic strategist said the unrest is not quite boiling over, but predicted it will gain steam throughout the next Congress before erupting after the 2016 elections.
"My sense is that there is a growing appetite within the [House Democratic] Caucus for, basically, generational change," the strategist said. "At what point do we say, 'OK, we've exhausted this approach to leadership,' or, 'This current leadership has taken us about as far as we can go, we need some new ideas and fresh voices?' ”
"There will be a growing chorus of voices over the next couple of years," the strategist said.
Democrats went into Tuesday's elections knowing they faced a tough climate, but even GOP strategists didn't anticipate the lopsidedness of the results.
In the Senate, the Democrats lost at least seven seats, shifting control of the chamber to the Republicans for the first time in eight years. In the House, the Republicans picked up at least 14 seats and, when all the votes are tallied, could boast their largest majority since the Hoover administration.
Party leaders were quick to note that, historically speaking, they always faced tough odds in the 2014 cycle. They lamented the slew of unsettling international headlines that undermined their economic message — topics as diverse as terrorist beheadings in Syria, Russian incursions into Ukraine and an Ebola epidemic in Africa — and emphasized that Obama's low approval ratings were beyond their realm of influence.
"Since we have no control over what's not in our control we don't wring our hands over that," Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.), head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), said on election night.
Israel announced Wednesday that he won't be returning as head of the DCCC next year.
But among party leaders, he's the only one bowing out.
Aside from Pelosi, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md), Assistant Leader Jim Clyburn (D-S.C), Caucus Chairman Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.) and Caucus Vice Chairman Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.) have already launched bids to keep those spots next year.
A similar trend has occurred in the Senate, where Reid and his top three deputies — Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) — are all vying to remain in place.
That means that, of the eight top Democrats that steered the party into Tuesday's thresher, all eight will likely be in charge of steering the party out. None of them, so far, is facing a challenger.
Meanwhile, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Fla.) will remain atop the Democratic National Committee through 2016.
Republican strategists are gleeful about the prospect of facing the same leaders in the 2016 cycle.
"What’s that they say again about the definition of insanity?" Daniel Scarpinato, spokesman for the GOP's campaign arm, said in an email blast after Pelosi announced her leadership bid.
Earnest, the White House spokesman, tacitly acknowledged that the optics of keeping the same team in place could be bad — but only in the short term.
"Maybe that would generate a day or two of positive headlines if the president were to satisfy the need to publicly fire a couple of people, but that’s not the way the president operates," he said.
Thomas Mann, political expert at the Washington-based Brookings Institution, said it would be "silly" to replace leaders based on election results that were never going to go the Democrats' way.
"There's no gain. It's too symbolic, too much like everything else in Washington, where the so-called appearance seems to be what's key, and there's no evidence that that had anything to do with the results," Mann said. "This is Politics 101: Midterm elections in tough times and unfavorable geography in the Senate and the president's party gets creamed. That's pretty much it.
"Reid and Pelosi are both skillful leaders," he added. "I think it'd be silly to change leadership now."
Still, some Democrats contend that, after the election thrashing the party just took, it would be equally silly to rubber-stamp a leadership team just because it's currently in place.
Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.), for one, is calling for a delay in the Democrats' leadership elections, slated for Nov. 18, for "at least a month" to allow members to "take inventory" of the party's future.
"I have no person to take anyone's place, but I would hope my recommendation would be more acceptable this time than it was in 2010, when I said, 'Hold on, let's take inventory,'" Pascrell said. "I think it's wrong if we jump into this decision now, because I think that there's much more at stake this time."
Why should they change?
They are enabled by EXEMPT McConnell and EXEMPT Boehner,
two evil SOBs who condoned the destruction of the
US Constitution and American.
The dems once painted Republicans as out of touch....who is out of touch now?
Could say it is a Josh in Earnest from the White House? Certainly Joshing makes sense. /s
I once heard a comedian say “you gotta stick with the lie”....even when you get caught, like on Cheaters when the dude gets caught with his hand down some girl’s pants.
“We just friends!” When Joey shows him the videos “Naw man, that ain’t me....” and so on as he strolls on off.
TONE DEAF! DELUSIONAL!
Whether it be unrepentant Communists who claim what happened in Russia and China was a mere aberration and not emblematic of Marxism, or today’s degenerate Democrats, the Left will always remain doctrinaire, unapologetic and hopelessly wrong.
That's right, this pResident sends people to Benghazi to die. He lets others do the firing.
IMO, the are keeping their positions by turning their thuggery on their own caucus.
I think it's awesome. I hope they don't change. I hope Reid stays the face of the dim senate...and Pelosi stays the "face" of the dim house.
Seriously...I know it's frustrating to hear them spout their non-stop propaganda...but lets get real. The American people aren't buying it...and if your enemy is destroying themselves...why step in and stop it?
I say...YOU GO GIRL (and wee-little man)!!!
The Dems are hardcore psychotics who have the ear of a large part of the electorate, and that part of the electorate loves when Progressives behave like the goosestepping morons that they are.
IMHO
"But sir, they have breached the city limits...and those divisions...they don't exist!"
Probably both.
Unless the Pubbies have an epiphany and realize that we were voting out Dems, not voting in RINOs. I'm not convinced yet that is the case.
Conservatives Watch your backs.
Obama and the liberal cabal of media/political and social misfits are going to proceed over the next two years to Run you into the ground. They are going to pull the pins and detonate the Geopolitical/social/financial Time Bombs they’ve been assembling over the past 6 years and the blame for the resulting atmosphere of Poison will be assigned directly to the republican / tea party takeover of the House and Senate.
So divest your ego of the fallout and just watch it happen. It’s inevitable...
This is the Democrat playbook. Predictable as the sunrise.
Four great military truisms.
1) Do not reinforce defeat. If you have lost a battle, it is far better to preserve what you have for the next battle than to keep throwing resources at a loss.
2) A static defense is slow suicide. If all you do is defend, never attack, sooner or later your enemies’ attacks will break through your defenses.
3) Never interfere with your enemy when they are making a dreadful mistake.
4) Never allow your enemy *any* advantage that is in your power to deny them, Mr. McConnell and Mr. Boehner.
Exactly right. The people weren’t buying it during the election, and they certainly aren’t buying it now. The Dems are appearing to be insane at this point.
i endorse this thinking by democrats, it's all good, no need to change a thing
If it was up to me, I'd show the election results of Tuesday for months to come till November 2016. Amen ... Conservatives Watch your backs. Don't Forget!!!
The democrats and their martingale system.
Why anybody would want to stay under that leadership is beyond me, but so be it.
GOP strategy should be to force holder to remain in office by rejecting all nominees, continue the punishment on fast and furious, IRS, and whatever dreck that individual started.
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