Back in 2004, as you may remember, the Democratic Party took a serious beating during the mid-term elections. The Republicans swept the returns that day and were given full control of the apparatus of government. Their party commanded the Presidency, and both houses of congress. The American people had chosen to give the Republicans their shot. They would be able to run rampant. It was their time to shine. They could do practically anything they wanted, pass just about any bill they desired, stack the courts with conservative ideologues to their hearts content, and the Democrats could do nothing about it. Liberals were sent to the benches to watch the game from the sidelines, maybe to try a filibuster now and then in an effort to slow the madness. The only consolation, the only bright pearl of optimism for liberals, was that good or bad, success or failure, the Republicans would have to answer for their power in two years. Democrats were confident: The Republican Party would blow it. Conservatives would get to do whatever they wanted, and Liberals would shoulder no blame for the inevitable failure. Republicans would have a chance to prove that their theories and policies were sound, and Democrats knew that they wouldn’t be able do it.

That brings me to today. It has been two years. In that time the ruling party has shown where their priorities are. They have taken their opportunity, their unparalleled position of power, and have used it to make themselves rich and corrupt. They have accomplished nothing of significance. They allow the president to run rampant, defecating on the civil liberties of whomever they see fit in order to realize their own sordid political ends. They have wasted everyone’s time. Lines of power have collapsed, and the party has fractured, leaving them divided on almost every issue. The Supreme Court, which they were able to stack with like-minded justices, has declared the administration’s detainment policies in violation of the Geneva Conventions and our own federal laws. The economy, which is supposedly their highest priority, has stagnated. We Democrats have watched it all, and have tried to help, but the situation was out of our hands.

They have proved what they can do. Take for example this article from the AP: Congress having trouble passing even sure things

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Could a Republican-controlled Congress, pass a bill to protect the words “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance from court challenges?
No problem, especially if proposed during the patriotic season leading up to the Fourth of July, Republican leaders thought.

The bill, the first item on the GOP's trumpeted election-year “American Values Agenda,” could not make it past a House committee.

They are incapable of passing even the most irrelevant of time wasting party planks. Efforts to placate their base have taken center stage for the Republicans, and have failed, while the important issues of the day remain undiscussed. They have descended into chaos. I just hope people remember this when November comes around.