For the record, I like reading Moe and could care less about his argument with Barney Frank. Or about his disagreement with the Dems being a big tent. Having a Republican say the Party that just overwhelmingly elected the first black president with majority support from every demographic except the over 65 white crowd, is not an argument that will gain traction outside of the Republican Fantasy World.
Instead what immediately jumps out at me is this:
“The leadership (which is somewhat more liberal than its current Congressional roster, and very much more so than the rank and file) have been throwing this inclusion line around, with admittedly some success: but they have no intention of actually living up to it.”“[A]dmittedly some success?” Really? Had the GOP accomplished anything remotely similar to what the Democrats have done in the last two years all we would hear about is how great and superior the Republican Party is. To be clear, what the GOP did in ’94 was no small feat, yet hardly the revolution it was named by Republicans. Within two years the Repubs lost House and Senate seats barely hanging onto Congressional power and failed miserably at the presidency. By 2000 it had already lost the Senate, until 2002 at least.
In 2006 the Democrats took back both the House and Senate and in 2008 added to both majorities and won the presidency. The Dem majorities today in government are far larger than anything the Republican Revolution ever produced. “Some success” indeed.
Part of Moe’s reluctance to label it anything greater than “some success” is due in large part to the Republican belief the Dems are “liberal” and that the GOP is still “real America.” Instead of admitting defeat they just blame the other side for cheating. Maybe I'm reading too much into it and Moe is acknowledging the last two years just not to my delight.
