Time To Repair the Durbin Damage: WE'VE GOT YOUR BACK!

[Edgewater_Joe]

(Also posted on DAILY KOS)

So like many others who have been fuming over the Durbin apology (including me, if you've seen some of my posts here), I am reflecting on what happened - as all good liberals and progressives do (it's one of our distinguishing characteristics) - when I checked out Oliver Willis' blog. He had a link to a blog I wasn't familiar with -- a blog called "INTERESTING TIMES" -- and THAT blog has an idea that I think is incredibly useful and something we should all get behind.

First, rather than cut-and-paste, let me give blogger Chris Anderson his props and ask you to visit his proposal on his blog:

http://interestingtimes.blogspot.com/2005/06/proposal-weve-got-your-back-democratic.html

Simply put, Anderson proposes some kind of structure of web-based petitions and/or contribution 'bats' equivalent to what the leftie blogs did with the "Howard Dean Speaks for Me" campaign, and have it in place for any and all Democrats who attack Dear Leader and his Cult and have to ready themselves for the inevitable smear machine that will come their way.

He asks for support in the form of expertise and, well, support. I'm with him, and if you are, contact him or take up the ball and keep promoting this to other blogs. I'll do the same if you will.

Let's make what happened to Durbin the last time it happens. And if there's a way to retroactively show support for Durbin's first true comments, let's find a way to get that to him as well.

In short, it's time stop being pissed off and to correct the problem.

Who's in?

P.S.: If we're going to show some anger towards Durbin we should also direct some at Richie Daley. He's a putz, too.

[ClassWarrior]

1. Exactly. Let's defend those who speak up. They're not the enemy.

The Bush** Crime Family is.

Durbin is one of our most reliable fighters. He wouldn't have retreated if he knew people were standing behind him.

NGU.

[Totally Committed]

2. I'm pretty damned angry...

Durbin, at least to me, is not the only Democratic invertabrate out there. But, I agree it's time to move on and do something constructive now. Those of us who, like me, are so disgusted with the status quo, risk becoming as impotent as those whom we despise if we don't move on and act.

Any ideas how we can most contructlively do that will be noted and appreciated.

And, I agree, Daley deserves as much blame for the Durbin debacle as Durbin, himself...

TC

[ClassWarrior]

4. Do you have a single clue about Durbin's record??

:wtf:

The man makes a political retreat on a Radical RW ginned-up Corporate Media cooked tempest in a teapot, and suddenly one of our best Progressive champions in the Senate is an "invertabrate??"

Do some reading, Son.

(By the way, it's spelled "invertebrate.")

NGU.

[ClassWarrior]

7. kicking for an awesome idea...

:kick:

NGU.

[Larkspur]

19. Durbin's record as a progressive is why I'm giving him slack on his apolog

I don't agree with him apologizing, but I want Durbin to remain Minority Whip until Dems become the Majority and he becomes the Majority Whip.

[DrGonzoLives]

20. As has been said before

Drama queens gotta have drama, it's just the way it is. Just wait until someone like Boxer does something that they don't like.

[LisaLynne]

3. That's a great idea.

One of the things we have going for us (but, IMHO, we have yet to utilize effectively) is that they are sooooo predictable. Anytime someone speaks out against them by telling the TRUTH (that's the important part), they go into attack mode. And they use the same ideas over and over again to attack and just repeat and repeat. We know they're going to do it. We need to find a way to counter this and I think this idea would be one angle of it.

[Coexist]

5. I'm in- I always prefer to be part of the solution if I can

where do we sign up?

[jasmeel]

6. I like it. How do we do it? Can we do it on DU? n/t

[electropop]

8. How about a "Truth Fund"?

Patriotic liberals would contribute to the fund as they can, on a regular basis. Each time somebody speaks truth to our Dear Leader, the fund disburses a campaign contribution (but with a 1 week delay, and the contribution is cancelled if they apologize). We'd need somebody who has experience with setting up these things. We'd also need to work out a formula, and set up a person or a board to approve the contributions. Or maybe it's set up democratically: there's a Web form you can fill out, to specify the amount you want to contribute, and to whom, and perhaps comment on the utterance being rewarded. This would sort of automatically express our opinions most strongly to those who speak most bravely. Because the check would come from "The Truth Fund" it would be well known that it's a reward for patriotic truth-telling.

[ClassWarrior]

11. That's a great idea...

A Progressive Truth Fund.

NGU.

[Norquist Nemesis]

15. see post #14--My Two Bits

.

[Village Idiot]

9. I continually find it amazing that Republican apologists...

were "surprised" and "offended" when Durban compared interrogation techniques at Gitmo to those used in Nazi Germany...

Most people fail to realize that US Military and CIA/FBI conterintelligence/counterterrorism techniques were taught to them in the late 1940s and early 1950s by Wehrmacht defectors in the Gehlen organization...

Oh, yeah....but I suppose that those German agents recruited by Reinhard Gehlen and the CIA were the "good Nazis..."

[Cha]

10. Dean had a wonderful way to

respond on Durbin when ifil asked him about it on the PBS interview..

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2005/06/22.html#a3582

[Edgewater_Joe]

12. Start By Writing Durbin About Karl Rove's Spew

E-mail Durbin and ask that he take the lead in getting the vile cocksucker Rove to resign or, at a minimum, come to the Senate floor to apologize for his vomitous statements about liberals, 9/11, and the troops.

[seabeyond]

13. attack, counter attack. the repugs attacked

we watched, now time to counter attack. and fuck them

[Norquist Nemesis]

14. Here was my suggestion

(also in the Alert! Call Inhofe thread)

"I propose a "My Two Bits" Campaign. Each time a Democrat speaks the truth as Durbin did, give and amount ending with $2 (such as $2, $22, or $202) to the Congressman/woman campaign fund. When the Democrats stand together and support him/her, give another $2 amount to the DNC. Each time they see donations ending with $2 amounts, it signals support from us."

[I Have A Dream]

17. I like this. It is an easy way to see our support. n/t

[LittleClarkie]

16. Very Wes Clarkie of you

I'm in.

Except that I would personally give most of the anger to Daley. Durbin didn't apologize until Daley had his hairy cat fit all over the man.

Right on! I would suggest that Pelosi, who made some strong statements as well about Gitmo, should get some lovin'.

[sendero]

18. Count me in...

... this is a perfect reaction to this situation, a situation that is going to repeat itself ad nauseum until the grass roots do something about it.

Maybe if we back some of these folks up, they will not feel like they are standing on a ledge alone every time they say anything.

[Totally Committed]

21. It saounds like you're saying...

the only way to get people to do the right thing is reward them financially.

I dunno if I want to go there. I'll have to think about it.

TC

[sendero]

22. Not just financially...

... but with any show of support. I assumed this would consist of petitions as well as fundraising.

But let's get serious, the Republicans have bought the government and if we want it back it is going to cost money. Regardless of how callous or over-pragmatic it might sound, getting elected costs $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ :)

[chalky]

23. Kicking. I'm in. I could see this having a ripple effect the

first couple of times we show our overwhelming support for a Democrat under attack.
Word will spread.
Maybe if they realize that we've got THEIR backs, they'll actually start watching OURS.

[LightningFlash]

24. He did NOT take back his statements though.

Only apologized for offending holocaust survivors. I hate statements taken out of context. Other then that carry it on.

[ClassWarrior]

25. Is that true? I've kept out of this mess because I hate to see...

...Progressives get led around by the nose by Radical RWers. But the only apology was to Holocaust survivors? <LOL> And people are angry about this??

NGU.