It was a very bad week for the Democratic Party.  A very bad two weeks in fact.  A shame that does not redound to the benefit of progressives but that’s our own fault.

• The Democratic Party lost two special Congressional elections including one where all stops had been pulled, perhaps foolishly: the most expensive Congressional election in history and a carpetbag dream with approximately 97% of the Democratic candidate’s expenses financed from out of state. Minority leader Pelosi, who has been almost singlehandedly responsible for GOP control of the House of Representatives during the past decade, is dodging and weaving to avoid the blame despite the fact that she was again the GOP’s MVP, the most effective GOP tactic having been to tie the Democratic candidates to Mrs. Pelosi’s policies and grandstanding.
• The Democratic Party’s “orchestrated” federal cases designed to obstruct Trump administration restrictions on entry into the United States by citizens of countries identified as troubling by both the Obama and Trump administrations (the so called Trump travel bans) now seem doomed to overturning by the Supreme Court which has agreed to review the Fourth and Ninth Circuit decisions and which has tattered the related injunctions.
• Former Attorney General Loretta Lynch (and by extension former President Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton), stands accused of possible obstruction of justice in the Clinton email server investigation. The now vivid allegations stem not from the GOP but as a result of Democratic Party orchestrated Senate hearing testimony by the Democratic Party’s new best friend (sort of, … sometimes), … James Comey.  Even Congressional Democrats like Dianne Feinstein are apparently queasy as a result and Congressional, Justice Department and Inspector General investigations are apparently in progress.
• Former President Obama is left with a great deal of egg on his face with respect to the orchestrated allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election due to his administration’s apparent confusion and inaction when allegations and purportedly, evidence, came to light starting during 2015. This could become a much more serious “matter” if Congressional and media amnesia lifts with respect to allegations of cyber interference in the 2012 presidential election (when Mr. Obama was also presiding), making clear that it’s not only Denmark where something smells rotten.  One may remember that in that election, President Obama was the Manchurian candidate.
• The GOP attempt to repeal Obamacare is stumbling like crazy but still seems headed to a finish line, … someday (but with Republican Congress members limping on feet full of self-inflicted bullet holes); and, speaking of bullet holes, despite a desperate full court “spin” press (nice visual image), the Democrats all-obstruction-all-the-time-by-whatever-means-possible strategy is left with a taint of evil, given the attempted assassination of Republican members of Congress by a deranged Democratic Party, anti-Trump activist. It is unclear how successful the Democrats will be in trying to turn the mass assassination attempt into either a referendum on gun control, or a blame Bernie orgy.

So, a bad couple of weeks indeed.

On the other hand, given the Deep State’s anathema for the current President and its desperate efforts to generate conflict with Russia, it is possible voters will continue to be lulled and manipulated and driven by fairy tales and made up conspiracies and fake crises.  After all, there seems so little that needs doing in Washington, D.C., to help attain the common welfare, minimize corruption, attain world peace, etc. etc., etc.  Somehow one can sense that somewhere in a collaborative effort by “the Company” in Langley, Virginia, Madison Avenue in New York and K Street in Washington, D.C., campaigns blaming the Russians for all of the foregoing are well underway.

Unfortunately, as indicated above (or at least implied), a turn of the tides against the Democrats does little if anything to turn it in favor of progressives.  All too many of us still find ourselves in states of somnombulance, marching like Nirriti the Black’s zombies in Roger Zelazny’s epic “Lord of Light” to the beat of Clintonian war drums.

It does little good for progressives to waste the mutually sadomasochistic self-destructive efforts of the Democratic and Republican parties by throwing ourselves into either of their flaming wagons.
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© Guillermo Calvo Mahé; Manizales, 2017; all rights reserved

Guillermo Calvo Mahé is a writer, political commentator and academic currently residing in the Republic of Colombia.  Until recently he chaired the Political Science, Government and International Relations programs at the Universidad Autónoma de Manizales.  He has academic degrees in political science, law, international legal studies and translation studies and can be contacted at wacalvo3@autonoma.edu.co.  Much of his writing is available through his blog at http://www.guillermocalvo.com.