Jon Stewart pointedly notes the flaw in the Democrats' failed 'chickensh-t gambit'

Jon Stewart pointedly notes the flaw in the Democrats&#039; failed &#039;chickensh-t gambit&#039;

(Image credit: Daily Show)

last updated 8 January 2015

At the behest of vulnerable red state Democrats, President Obama delayed a bunch of decisions until after the midterm elections — or, as Jon Stewart phrased it on Thursday night's Daily Show, Democrats deployed the "well-known political maneuver known as the chickenshit gambit." It didn't work, of course, and all those senators lost. In retrospect it was a dumb move, but it shouldn't have made any sense at the time either, he argued.

"To recap," Stewart said, recapping. "The Democrats' 2014 strategy: Instead of doing things that the people who voted for them would like, they decided to not do anything, so as not to offend the voters who already didn't like them." Well, sure, when you put it that way.... --Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.