Uselessness

Bill Scher and David Sirota have a pair of good articles about the utter failure of the media, the official Democratic party, and the Democratic establishment surrounding the party to do a damned thing to prevent the Republicans from railroading John Roberts to the Chief Justice position.

A while back I had said that if the Democrats don't do anything to block Roberts, they'll have demonstrated their weakness and lack of resolve. Lo and Behold. Once again, they come across as spineless and ineffective, thanks to a strategist class that fears confrontation and a political culture of fear in general. Once again, they are seen as having no committment to their principles. Once again, they give the American public little reason to believe that they're worth electing.

And, once again, they hadn't learned to SHUT THE HELL UP:

Yet, it was the same Democratic strategist class that helped create the perception in the first place that Roberts is "widely expected to win confirmation." If you recall, the very first day after the Roberts nomination was announced, Democratic strategists (most likely before they even gave a cursory review of Roberts' record) pitched a front page story to the Washington Post headlined "Democrats Say Nominee Will Be Hard to Defeat." Great strategy for a party that is perceived to stand for nothing: lead the biggest debate with an admission that you don't have enough guts to even make a fight of it.

I realize that I'm not a high-priced political consultant, but I think I speak for everybody when I say that the Dems need to learn to play their cards close to their chest, and not go blabbing to the Washington Post about everything that could possibly damage them.

The article linked quotes them as saying "they conceded [the nomination] could be hard to beat". Why on earth concede that? Why on earth concede anything? The press certainly isn't going to treat you any better- far from it. The Republicans don't do this. The inches of headline space it gets you aren't going to be complimentary. It cannot possibly be part of any winning political strategy- you won't get an ounce of credit with the public, which loves it when people take a doomed stand for what they believe in. Is anybody advocating this, or are they just not thinking?

With such ineptitude, it's no wonder that a one-trick pony like Rove seems like a genius.