Congress: The comeback of liberalism

last updated 8 January 2015

Democrats appear to be headed for a “historic” victory on Nov. 4, said Steven Thomma in The Miami Herald, and I’m not referring to the presidential election. While most eyes have been on Barack Obama and John McCain, polls show Democrats are now poised to make significant gains in Congress, adding to their majority in the House and possibly achieving the crucial “filibuster-proof” 60-vote threshold in the Senate. Like their standard-bearer at the top of the ticket, Democratic congressional hopefuls “are reaching deep into once-solid Republican territory,” with even nationally known stalwarts such as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and North Carolina Sen. Elizabeth Dole in jeopardy. If the polls prove right, said Peter Canellos in The Boston Globe, America is about to find out what happens when Democrats are “unfettered.”

What a chilling thought, said Matthew Continetti in The Weekly Standard. Make no mistake: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid “are more than ready to make staggeringly liberal changes in the country’s economic, social, and foreign policy.” For starters, that means higher taxes, increased federal spending, more government regulation, protectionist trade policies, carbon-emissions limits on industry, and more government intrusion into health care. With an agenda like that, “gridlock might start sounding pretty good to the American people.” And don’t underestimate Democrats’ readiness to punish their enemies, said Brian Anderson in the New York Post. Many are eager to bring back the so-called Fairness Doctrine, which required broadcasters to devote equal time to contrasting views. These days, there is one form of media dominated by conservatives—talk radio—and a new Fairness Doctrine could “drive political talk radio off the dial.”

This hysteria on the right is understandable, said Julian Zelizer in Newsweek. But conservatives brought this mess upon themselves. The president they elected twice, George W. Bush, is among the most unpopular in history, botching many of the challenges he faced, from Katrina to balancing the budget. He has bogged the country down in a brutal and costly six-year war in Iraq that still lacks “an exit strategy.” The recent financial meltdown, meanwhile, has “undermined the long-standing conservative promise that tax cuts and deregulation” serve the broader public interest. So brace yourselves, said David Brooks in The New York Times. “In normal times, moderates could have restrained the zeal on the Left. In an economic crisis, not a chance. The overreach is coming. The backlash is next.”