Weak in Preview

The various nuggets in yesterday's Week in Review in the NY Times combine to provide a pretty depressing snapshot of what the GOP have in store:  (1) maintain the Bush tax cuts for that wealthiest 2% of the population; (2) gut funding for health care if they can't repeal the act altogether; (3) stymie a vote on repealing DADT; (4) scuttle the new strategic arms treaty with Russia; and (5) launch bogus investigations and hearings on the Obama administration's purported corruption.  It remains to be seen whether Obama and the Democrats will fight or cave.  E.J. Dionne made an interesting point in his column last week, that after the 2008 election when Republicans were routed in the presidential and congressional elections they didn't moderate their votes, but rather "held their ideological ground, refused to give an inch to the new president and insisted that persistent opposition would eventually yield them victory."  Furthermore, notwithstanding the 2008 election results, Democrats were advised not to move too far left because we were a still a "center-right nation."  After following this advice and suffering a major setback, the Democrats are being counseled to do the opposite of what Republicans did -- compromise and move further to the center (a center that keeps moving to the right).  As Dionne put it, "Funny that when progressives win, they are told to moderate their hopes, but when conservatives win, progressives are told to retreat."   Not really so funny.