The GOP, under the guidance of Karl Rove and before, has built electoral success on total commitment to the ideas of its Base, however whacky and ugly. In contrast, Democrats, led by the Obama White House, are again abusing their Base and excoriating them for not being more enthusiastic. Glenn Greenwald at Salon has collected typical quotes:
Speaking of inspirational messaging, Vice President Joe Biden yesterday said we must "remind our base constituency to stop whining." Last week, Obama condemned "Democrats griping and groaning," and the day before he mocked Democrats who "just congenitally, tend to get -- to see the glass as half empty." That, of course, was preceded by Robert Gibbs announcing that liberal critics of the President who complain about continuation of Bush policies "need to get drug tested," while Rahm Emanuel had previously shared his view that dissatisfied liberals are "fucking retarded." Echoing those sentiments almost verbatim, Matt Yglesias called this week in The Daily Beast for a "little less whining and a little more cheerleading from the left," and accused those who fail to comply of "self-pity and self-indulgence" on the ground that the enthusiasm gap could jeopardize gains in health care coverage.
The beatings will continue until morale improves.