Democrats should capitulate on offshore drilling and the Arctic Wildlife Refuge

CHRIS BOWERS:

Maybe I am just too tired right now, but I am suddenly of the opinion that Democrats should just completely capitulate on the offshore oil drilling question. In fact, they should also capitulate on the Arctic Wildlife Refuge. While we are at it, let's institute a gas tax holiday, and release the strategic petroleum reserve.

We should cave on all of these issues, but do so with an important, public caveat. We should state, as loudly as possible, that none of this will actually lower gas prices, but that they only way to prove to the American people that it won't lower gas prices is to let Republicans have their way. Say that Republicans are good at selling things, but their ideas such don't' work.

Let's face it: the best political strategy Democrats have had over the past eight years is to make sure that there were always enough Democrats to capitulate with the governing conservative and (typically) Republican coalition, but not enough to make it a majority of the Democratic Party. This way, heinous Republican policies that benefit large corporations and cronies, but hurt most people, are passed into law, while most of the Democratic Party can claim they opposed such policies. ...

The consequences of Republican legislation is the most effective political tool Democrats have developed in decades. I say, not entirely sarcastically, that we go for it one more time.  READ IT ALL