Is the conservative consensus finally being challenged?

Is The Conservative Consensus Finally Being Challenged?

by digby

I could be wrong, but I'm sensing a shift in the narrative that could finally begin to break down the conservatives' decades-in-the-making consensus against taxation and regulation. With the bipartisan loathing for bailouts, continued economic stress, the arrogance of Wall Street and now the clear professional malpractice of the oil industry, it's just possible that the people of the United States are getting a clue.

I have no proof that this is happening. It's purely my instinct. And I don't know that the malefactors of great wealth will not be able to successfully misdirect once again and declare it all a measure of government failure. But I think the convergence of all these things at the same time may actually be enough to finally make people question their assumptions a little bit.

This is not to say that Democrats have done anything to advance this. In fact, they have been complicit in keeping the current consensus in place. But this confluence of events may have created the new narrative in spite of them. It remains to be seen if they have any interest is using it to persuade the public of the necessity to enact a liberal agenda.

Update: It's not looking good. Greg Sargent notes the change in tone in the media coverage and suggests that the Obama administration might want to table sending around all the fact sheets outlining his bold, firm actions dealing with the spill and instead use this opportunity to push for a new energy policy. Sadly they seem to be hooked on PR measures:

UPDATE, 3:24 p.m.: The White House has just announced that Obama is headed to the Gulf Coast, and in its statement, reminds us of the aggressiveness of the administration's response:
On Friday morning, May 28, President Barack Obama will travel from Chicago to the Louisiana Gulf Coast to assess the latest efforts to counter the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The Administration has mobilized one of the largest responses to a catastrophic event in history, with more than 1,200 vessels in the region and more than 22,000 people, including many of the brightest scientific minds from both the public and private sector, working around the clock to mitigate the oil's impact.

Yes, and if Obama seized the moment to rally the public more broadly behind energy reform, it would add to the sense of an aggressive response to this crisis in particular.

Update II: No please, spare us this nonsense:

The angry president clenches his jaw and tells his aides:

I'm not going to let some tinhorn terrorist keep the President of the United States away from the nation's capital.

Oh sorry, got the wrong stupid, made up presidential quote:

Plug the damn hole