Pick Up Those Teaspoons

Greg Sargent—GOP winning the larger argument over government:

In recent days, the debt ceiling deal — which just passed the Senate and is about to be signed by the President — has sparked a fair amount of handwringing among liberals who worry that the fight shows the left has lost the larger argument over the proper role and scope of government in our society. Jared Bernstein and Kevin Drum have both argued that until liberals can make headway in that argument, the playing field in such fights will be dramatically tilted against them.

It's hard not to agree with these folks when you look at findings like this one from the internals of the new CNN poll... Sixty five percent approve of deal's spending cuts. But it gets worse. Of the 30 percent who disapprove, 13 percent think the cuts haven't gotten far enough, and only 15 percent think the cuts go too far. One sixth of Americans agree with the liberal argument about the deal. ... [I]t's hard to avoid the conclusion that the public is reflexively disposed to agree with the GOP's economic worldview, and is all-too-willing to blame government for our economic doldrums.

"We will only find success when a majority of Americans agrees with us that government is something worth fighting for," wrote Jared Bernstein. ... Liberals who still hope to shift the playing field have tons of work to do.

Cue the Laverne & Shirley theme.