The Dispirited Defeated Left

I have lots of friends who I love dearly who are as left wing as you will ever find.

For a long time I have had the opportunity (even joy) to engage in spirited discussions re politics, culture, religion, and life in general.

Suddenly silence, nothing, from any of them.

I wondered. Is it just me? But I watch the talking head shows, I listen a bit to Air America, I listen to Right Wing Talk Radio, I read the blogs like Huffington. The air has gone all out of their balloon. Oh there’s a few hanger on’ers. But they are few and far between.

I know it would be easy to say they have accepted the bankruptcy of their positions; that they are unable to respond to reason and common sense.

But that never stopped them before.

Something has happened here. Could it be the calm before the storm? Did the Alito thing embarrass them so much? The Pillage Idiot thinks so. Is the lost 2006 election cycle to them painful? I think something is up.

Lawance Tribe, a political consultant was quoted:

Tribe said Friday that Democrats were increasingly discouraged in their efforts to mount opposition campaigns. "When it comes down to it, the numbers of Democrats means that it begins to feel to some like tilting at windmills,"

And at a time when Dick Morris says the country is turning left. His thesis is interesting and a warning to those of us who might become complacent.

It is always dangerous to generalize about ideological trends among the American electorate, since it will always lean right on certain issues (like defense, terrorism and taxes) and hew to the left on others (like healthcare, education, poverty and the environment). But the data are becoming overwhelming that the nation is moving left and is likely to stay that way through at least the 2006 election — and, if President Bush doesn’t adjust, for a lot longer.

A big part of the reason is the success the Bush administration has had in solving and hence diminishing the importance of the Republican agenda. Taxes have been cut, we have not had a terror attack since Sept. 11 and trial lawyers are on the defensive. The issues that remain — energy, environment, healthcare and Social Security — usually are Democratic and liberal.

The battle is still on. But, to my quieted lefty friends; come back little Sheba, come back. I still love you.