Crushing Progressives

As expected, conservatives crushed the left on Tuesday (and for good reason). The indicators are everywhere: Republicans picked up 60 seats in the House, 6 seats in the Senate, a majority of governorships, and a whopping 680 seats in state legislatures across the country. The headline from this morning's New York Times really captures the scale of victory: "Decisive Gains at State Level Could Give Republicans a Boost for Years."

But in another indicator of just how brutally progressives got slammed Tuesday, it turns out that the far-left Progressive Change Campaign Committee put out a list of 95 progressive Democrats who pledged to back Net Neutrality --- legislation that would regulate Internet providers and perhaps open the door to leftist censorship of competing viewpoints. And while this may be some freaky quirk, every single one of those progressive Dems lost election: "95 Candidates Who Pledged Support For Net Neutrality Lost On Tuesday."

Adam Green is the co-founder of PCCC. Interviewed by MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell at the clip, Green offers the classic leftist talking point claiming the reason Dems got hammered is that they weren't socialist enough. And Red State has a post-election quote from Green making the case for a "bolder" Democrat agenda:

What’s left to say after this wipeout? - Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, says this: “Democrats lost because party leaders never truly fought for popular progressive reforms like the public option and breaking up the big banks, leaving voters uninspired to come to the polls and vote Democratic…. Progressives will be stepping up and insisting that the Democratic Party be bolder, not weaker. We will demand boldness, reward bold leaders, reject ‘leaders’ in name only, and hold Democratic politicians accountable when they don’t fight for popular, progressive change. In short, these next two years, progressives will push Democrats to fight strongly for popular progressive reforms — and save the Democratic Party from its own incredible weakness that savaged Democratic candidates in 2010.”

And again, listen carefully to Green at the clip above. He claims internal PCCC polling in 2009 had 80 percent of Dems, 70 percent of independents, and 50 percent --- that's right, 50 percent --- of conservatives backing the public option. Who knows? Who cares? To rely on some iffy poll sample from over a year ago to bolster the case of an even more progressive Democrat Party in the wake of the most epic electoral repudiation in decades is suicidal. This is all of a piece with the cognitive dissonance that's inflicted leftists since Tuesday. For example, at R.S. McCain, "Democrats in Denial." And George Will, "A Recoil Against Liberalism" (via Memeorandum).

And more of it at Daily Kos, "Rejecting Liberalism":

Ignore the pundits and remember the battles over the issues, including the battles that never happened. The voters didn't reject a liberal agenda because they didn't see a liberal agenda. Many wouldn't know what a liberal agenda looks like, because no one has bothered to show them one.

Hey, keep it up Kos-commies. That'll only pump up GOP chances even more heading into 2012. See, "Progressives Increase Their Power Over Obama."