CNN's angry old man Jack Cafferty is not exactly a fan of Republicans. In the past he has been pretty openly hostile to them. Imagine my surprise (does anyone say that anymore?) when I saw this video clip via Anchoress:
For those who missed it, and for me who just wants to see it in print, here is that last line:
Here's hoping the voters remember some of this crap when the midterm elections roll around later this year.He is, in effect, telling viewers to return the Congress to Republicans in November. Well, he doesn't go that far. But at the very least he is telling them they should feel really crappy about themselves when they vote for Democrats this time around.
If Obama and the Democrats in Congress have lost Jack Cafferty they are in worse shape than I thought. Lack of transparency and broken promises on health care are the reason for this comment from Cafferty, but there are many other issues out there that do not help Democrats -- "shocking" lapses in security, record high deficit spending, record high unemployment, etc. There is other stuff out there too, like that global warming crisis that made so much money for people like Al Gore and scared your kids half to death. Not even considering those Climategate memos, it is pretty darn cold outside and this winter may be the coldest in 25 years.
I don't know how much difference Cafferty's comments will make except to those who spend a lot of time in airports and other places people are held captive to CNN, but it certainly can't be a good thing for any Democrats on the ballot in November. If Democrats were smart they would start distancing themselves from some of these unpopular policies and would work to deliver on some of those campaign promises. My guess is they will stick to their old playbooks though and blame Bush, who is no longer in office, and Republicans, who have been in the minority since 2007. That has worked for them in the past, but this time around people are paying closer attention.
Update: The following comment was made to this (crossposted at Wizbang):
And who really cares 'how' Obama and Congress go about doing things? What matters is the 'what' they do, the content and substance of the laws they pass and not whether the text of the bill has been posted online.
Here is my response: Who cares "how"? Well, a bunch of those insignificant little voters in flyover country do. You know, the ones who are not career politicians, the ones who pick up the tab. I can only hope that is the arrogant stance Democrats take from now 'til November. Using that logic it wouldn't matter which politicians sold their votes to the highest bidder, as long as the policy outcome was okay.
But that's the problem with the commenter's argument. Voters are not okay with the policies being enacted. These policies are pretty darned unpopular and are only becoming more so. That is one of the reasons people are as upset about the "how" as they are -- because they are not happy with the result of all that backroom dealing in the middle of the night.
Besides, Obama told them it was important to have the negotiations and debate open and aired on C-Span. Blame him if people seem overly interested in the "how." His promises of open government helped get him elected.
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