Strassel: Just a Little Short-Sighted

Cluck-clucking from another mother hen.

...The Americans who supported the defund mission did so for the right reasons. They are correct that the law is a disaster, and that GOP leadership lacked a coherent plan to counter it this summer. They are correct that the House has every "right" to control the purse. They are correct that the party is too often rudderless, that it has lacked a vision, that it needs some bold figures willing to define a modern (which doesn't mean populist) conservatism. 

But none of that changes the fact that Defund ObamaCare was the wrong fight, at the wrong time, facing impossible odds, and conducted by generals who lacked an endgame. Being right isn't always enough.
History is full of brave men who are famous mostly for losing. Republicans will have more shots to cut down ObamaCare, and pry out budget concessions. But to win those fights, they'll have to learn from this one. Brave charges mean little if they aren't followed by victory.

What Ms Strassel has in wordsmithing ability, she lacks in long-term vision and knowledge of history.

The Cruz/Lee assault was only the first skirmish in what will be a long war.  In that skirmish, Cruz & Lee and their backers learned some important things--for instance, the identities of most of the Quislings.  There are more Quislings out there, of course, but knowing who most of them are is critical.

They also found that ObozoCare is, indeed, horribly unpopular.  Polls (another intel source) had been saying so, but the polls hadn't been tested under fire, so to speak, until the Cruz/Lee event. 

(In that regard, it is noteworthy that ObozoCare is currently self-destructing.  Many a war has been won because of Events not foreseen by either side.)

Another valuable find:  Democrat voters (not pols) despise Democrat pols almost as much as Tea Party folks despise the Surrender Caucus.  Strassel, being oh-so-sophisticated, denigrates 'populism' when in fact, the populist Democrats will be allies in the final battles over the Statist regime.  Perhaps she's too young to remember the Teamsters' enthusiasm for Ron Reagan--or perhaps her vision isn't very good.

Finally, Ms Strassel forgets Dunkirk--and for that matter, the Philippines.  Both of those disasters, and many others in military history, were not only preludes to victory, but were also proximate causes of eventual victory.  Defeat often increases the resolve and ferocity of the troops.

The shot heard 'round the world has been fired.  The war is commenced.  Ms Strassel might want to stick around for the end.