Democrat power has been put on life support

THE FIVE STAGES OF DEMOCRAT GRIEF

(Giving credit where credit is due. This portion of Nealz Nuze was written by Assistant Producer Cristina Gonzales. She's a NYU grad. How in the world did the libs at NYU let her get through the system?)

Grief .. we experience it when we lose something of value: a good friend or a marriage, for example. In the case of Democrats, it was power. At one point, the Democrats had us (and themselves) convinced that their gains in 2006 and 2008 were the start of a new generation of American politics; a generation that would be shaped and guided by them. Within four years, Democrat power was put on life support and then last week, Americans pulled the plug. The sound of the Democrats flat lining could be heard throughout the nation. The loss of the power is, was, and will continue to be so tragic to Democrats, that we can witness their party experiencing the five stages of grief before our very eyes.

Stage 1: Denial

The "this can't be happening to me" stage of numb disbelief.

This stage actually began before last week's election. You could say that denial began when the Democrats were put on life support by a bunch of racist, anarchists known as the Tea Party. Last summer tea partiers showed up in mass at townhall meetings, voicing their anger over the proposed government takeover of healthcare. This is where you started to see the "denial" set in. How could these people not want the government to take care of them? Don't they believe that healthcare is a right? They are nothing but a bunch of racists who hate the fact that we have a black president! They couldn't understand how a nation that put them in power suddenly seemed so angered by their "new direction" for America. Then the election of Scott Brown in Massachusetts left the Democrats in shock. This is why this stage is called "denial," because Democrats didn't believe that this could be happening to them. They saw it as a fluke. But the seeds of doubt were being sewn throughout the country. The Democrats continued to refuse to believe that the protests, the frustration and the election of Scott Brown had anything to do with their policies .. they were simply the musings of a racist, astroturf organization. But then it came time for the midterm elections, and Democrats soon realized that these protestors and frustrated Americans had a vote to cast. And that their message was spreading. We weren't just talking about some crazy fringe groups; the Tea Party-mentality was taking hold in mainstream America. Around August of 2010 is when the numb disbelief truly took hold ... Democrats suddenly realized that they could lose their power in the Congress. Even after this realization, Nancy Pelosi takes the award for the ultimate denier. Up until the last hours of the election, Nancy Pelosi maintained that her party was going to keep its power in Congress.

Stage 2: Anger

The "why me" phase, which includes lashing out or unwarranted blame.

The examples of this stage are endless. Let's see if we can start a list of who or what Democrats tried to blame for their losses: George Bush, the economy, the Tea Party, ignorant voters, FoxNews, the Citizens United Supreme Court ruling, Sarah Palin, racist white people who didn't like a black man being president, Karl Roves' American Crossroads, Republican misinformation on ObamaCare .. the list is virtually endless. Notice how the Democrats still seem to be in angry denial - not about the fact that they may lose power, but about the fact that their own policies, actions and leadership got them into this position. Allow me to offer a few reasons why Democrats should be angry with themselves.

1. They focused on seizing 15% of our economy by passing ObamaCare at a time when Americans were struggling to find jobs, buy food and pay rent. Rather than focusing on America, Democrats pushed for their own personal achievement - government healthcare. Not only do Americans not believe in their core values - the government takeover of a private industry - but their timing couldn't have been worse. How could this have happened to them?

2. They mistook the fervor and the voter turnout in 2008 as a mandate for their party, rather than what it really was: blind adoration for Barack Obama. Misreading the love for The Chosen One as a mutual love for Democrats was a disastrous misread on the part of the Democrats. People didn't vote for Barack Obama because he was a Democrat; people voted for Barack Obama because he was Barack Obama. This complete lack of self awareness irked enough voters into voting against the Democrat Party in 2010. How could the voters do this? How could this happen to a party that was trying so hard to "move America forward," (whatever that means.)

3. Increasing the size of government and government spending is not what Americans wanted to see at a time when they themselves were shrinking their budgets, their retirement plans, etc. In the first 19 months of the Obama administration, in conjunction with a Democrat Congress, the federal debt increased by $2.5260 trillion, which is more than the cumulative total of the national debt that was amassed by all U.S. presidents from George Washington through Ronald Reagan. Nancy Pelosi's 111th Congress increased spending by 21% over the last two years. In 2010, Congress spent $3.45 trillion, which was the second largest spending spree on record ... second only to the spending spree of the Democrat-led in 2009. Didn't the voters realize that all of this just had to happen? It wasn't the Democrats fault. They had to do it! Blame George Bush, not us!

Stage 3: Bargaining

Before the loss, one will try to make deals so as to avoid that loss

The first bargaining chip with the voters was that the Democrats reverted to was a tried-and-true one that had worked for years: vote for Republicans and they will take away your social security. Unfortunately for Democrats, this one failed to stick. They knew they were up against something greater .. so they regrouped. Then they tried this one: vote for Republicans and they will take away your right to healthcare. Unfortunately for Democrats, most people actually welcomed this threat. So they had to move to bigger things and brought in the big guns: Barack Obama. Vote for Democrats in order to continue Obama's agenda of "moving America forward." Unfortunately for Democrats, tying themselves to the rapidly declining popularity of the president didn't work out too well. Turns out that most Americans had figured out that Obama's plan to "move forward" included more government, more spending and more wealth redistribution. This didn't go over well for the voters. So then some Democrats tried to run in the other direction ... I voted for McCain, I voted WITH George Bush, I don't support ObamaCare. For some candidates (like Joe Manchin in West Virginia), this worked. Their last-minute shift toward moderation and their repudiation of the Democrat establishment was just enough to push them over the edge. But for others it still wasn't enough, and they resorted to down-and-dirty politics. Harry Reid is the ultimate example of this. Bullying union bosses and workers into going to the polls, he was able to get re-elected. When it comes to bargaining with the Democrats, there is usually a union at the other end of the table. The last-minute bargaining before the loss emphasized the desperation of Democrats to maintain their power. They were willing to do anything to hang on to power.

Now the election is over and the bargaining takes a different tact. Nancy Pelosi is angling to become the House Minority Leader. She's also talking about how eager she is to bargain with Republicans "going forward." She shut the GOP out of discussions on legislation for the last two years ... now she wants to bargain.

Stage 4: Depression

The realization of the true magnitude of loss, followed by a long period of sad reflection.

This is the current stage of the Democrat Party. Democrats are seeking grief counselors to try and cope with their loss. Seriously!

A staffer for a congressional Democrat who came up short on Tuesday reports that a team of about five people stopped by their offices this morning to talk about payroll, benefits, writing a resume, and so forth, with staffers who are now job hunting.

But one of the staffers was described as a "counselor" to help with the emotional aspect of the loss -- and a section in the packet each staffer was given dealt with the stages of grief (for instance, Stage One being anger, and so on).

Now it is time for Democrats to feel sorry for themselves and to reflect on their loss. Not only did they suffer a defeat unlike any seen in 72 years, they managed to squander all the gains they thought they had made for generations to come. The loss last week was not just of control for the next two years; it was a blow to the very existence of the Democrat Party and what it stands for. It is clear that if the Democrats want to build themselves, they will need to move on to Stage 5 ...

Stage 5: Acceptance

Learning to accept and deal with reality, often leading to personal growth. The Democrats clearly haven't reached that stage yet.

Accepting their diminished role in Congress isn't enough. They have to come to accept that America has rejected their platform. The gravy train is over for those who love bigger government and big government spending. Americans are no longer in the mood to be pick pocketed day-after-day in order to fund the dreams and schemes and wealth distribution antics of Democrats. The reality is that America can no longer afford these utopian visions. The Democrats did their best to bring us to the brink, and now it is time to collect ourselves and get back to business. Accepting their role in an America that wants less government will be hard for Democrats, but it is something they have to do if they ever want to re-assert their power in Washington. Either that, or the Republicans have to blow it so badly that Americans have no choice but to trust the Democrats .. again. If forced to make that choice, I truly believe that we will see the emergence of a real third party.