I am taking a break for a while.

[Mass]

Frankly, as events go, I do not think it is worthwhile. There are things to do that must be more useful, because, with these two last decisions concerning the environment, I am just too frustrated with president Obama. I unfortunately do not expect to see Senator Kerry dissent on this one (his famous loyalty), and it will just frustrate me even more.

Right now, between the education, the environment, and the way too blatant disinterest the government is showing toward the really poor, I just hope I can find a candidate for Senate I can fully support.

[YvonneCa]

1. Breaks are good. I have been slowing down a bit...

...too. I want you to know you are not alone in your frustration. I share it. Others in my family share it. Even OFA friends share it. This is an email from a local OFA person:

Hello everyone,

It has been awhile since I have seen many of you. Like most of you I have been struggling with time and a lack of enthusiasm towards politics in general. The atmosphere has been toxic and frankly many of the policies that we find important have fallen behind on the presidents agenda.

There have been many things to be frustrated at. The president has been unable to push an agenda that we can get behind with enthusiasm and conviction. Believe me, I understand.

BUT, this next election will not be about just Barack Obama. It is much more. It will be about sanity in government, it will be about the belief in Science, the belief in the care for the environment. It will be about moving forward not backward to segregation in schools, to a belief that America can achieve great things that help all Americans including the middle class.

The policies being pushed by the right are insulting to any intelligent person. I think that is where frustration gets so great. We just can't believe that people running for the highest office can talk this way. It is hard to swallow.

So, I am proposing a few things. One, we all commit to the coming election and make the push to move this country forward. I do not want to hear about Barack and how he is caving in and not fighting enough. I agree he hasn't. But, his next term gives us the option to address and expect more from Barack Obama.

The other option is years of stupidity in our face everyday. All of us know we can't let this happen. All of us need to begin the push for 2012 in the next few months. I will organize a meeting in November, one year from the election. I hope all of us can make it. It will be the kick off for our area and who ever else wants to come.

Second, I will organize a rally to get us going! I am looking to make it big. It will be a rally for all causes, not just to elect Barack Obama. It will be a rally to stop the idiots from getting control of this country. The tea party has had its run. They have shown their true face. Now, it is our turn.

Being passive going into 2012 will not work. There is no holding back. The gloves are off and we will win the 2012 election for all of us, not just Barack Obama. And when he does win, we will hold him to moving this country forward.

Look for more coming soon!

This is a person who can 'rally the troops' no matter what. To hear his disappointment this way is disheartening... :patriot:

[Inuca]

5. Great letter from your OFA person

and I agree wholeheartedly with what s/he is saying. It's about "sanity in the government" indeed. I may not like everything that Obama is doing, and I don't, though I continue to trust his fundamental good will. But I just watched some minutes (all I could muster before switching channels) of the speech that Palin have in NH and then, an hour or so later, the speech Obama gave in Detroit. And for me that tells everything I need to know and hear. Yes, I know, it's just words, and words matter less than acts. But words DO matter as well. Palin and her ilk appeal to lowest common denominator, and attempt to drive it even lower. It's an appeal to pettiness and selfishness and empty minded know-nothingness. Obama appeals to our better angels, attempts to pull s away from self pity and self-suffciency and pushes us to look at those around us, as part of a whole. I think that he actually believes that people will eventually listen to their "better angels", for lack of a better term. And that this is at the root of his (in)famous appeal to bipartisanship. This, and the fact that he believes that tose that do not necessarily believe like you, and not automatically your enemies. OTOH I think that he was burned quite badly because the people on the otehr side that he dealt with did not react in the way he was expecting/hoping they will. Maybe (hopefully) he will change. Maybe he won't, I don't know... Maybe he will try to change his approach and won't succeed because it is difficult to act in a way that is different from what you fundamentally are. I am very frustrated (even scared) by what's happening, and by some of the decisions that the administration has taken, willingly or because of shameless blackmail, but after some recent soul searching, I don't think I am disappointed in Obama.

This being said, apologies for going off topic somewhat. And Mass, I understand, I truly do, but I add my voice to those hope it's only going to be a temporary absence.

[MBS]

6. ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '' n/t

[Inuca]

7. I probably should know

but I don't, namely I have no idea what your bunch of apostrophi (phes? no idea about the correct plural) and one solitary quote mean :-).

[Inuca]

8. I just read what I wrote here

and it was a reminder of how awful my typing is when I do not check what I write. A "have" should have been a "gave", an "and" should have been "are", a couple of missing words, etc. Sorry :blush:!

[ladym55]

2. Take a break, but come back

I know how down you feel. The rabid hatred coming from the right non-stop is enough to exhaust anyone. Obama has disappointed on many levels, but the alternative is so damned scary that we have to keep on keeping on.

I live in Ohio. Since January I have watched transparency be legislated away (slows down business don't ya know),and I've circulated petitions to repeal Senate Bill 5, which stripped all public employees of collective bargaining rights. The same awesome legislators have trashed our voting rights. They are selling off state-owned assets in one big corporate garage sale. Drilling is now permitted in state parks. This disaster was the result of too many Strickland voters "not feeling it" in 2010. And we are all paying dearly.

My son lives in Wisconsin. He received his teaching license one week before Gov. Walker brought the house down. My son will be subbing again this year ... no jobs, no money in public education.

Once you are rested, come back. We need you. Reading and good music help me when I can take the insanity anymore. I took the summer off. My husband bought me MLB TV for my birthday, so I've been happily watching the Red Sox on NESN all summer. :) It is getting me ready to head out to canvass to defeat SB 5 at the polls in November.

Our nation is in a giant mess caused by corporate greed, complicit media, and some of the dumbest people in public office I've ever seen. So, we need time away ... then we need to stand up and say, NO!!! This is MY country, too!!!

[wisteria]

3. All of the above and I want to add, I don't blame you for feeling as you do. n/t

[MBS]

4. All of the above for me, too, and I also share your pain.

ESPECIALLY on the environment stuff. On rhe one hand, I've always known that environmental issues were not Obama's "thing". So, in a sense, I'm not completely surprised. But, on the other hand, I'm profoundly disappointed and discouraged by his latest environmental decisions.

But several writers lately have pointed out what the difficulty of the fight we are fighting, and the necessity to fight them: The right has really become a monster. My main misjudgment was to believe that Obama's election represented an end, or at least the beginning of the end, of their power. Instead, they've become louder and more dangerous than ever. Like both of the authors, I'm totally sick of the standard "it's both parties' fault" routine. No, this is the REPUBLICANS' fault. Yeah, I want Dems (and especially Obama) to stand up more, but the mess was created by the Republicans.
Eugene Robinson on Bush, Cheney, and what Obama had to face when he came into office. .and what he still has to face:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/bush-and-cheney-remind-us-how-we-got-into-this-mess/2011/09/01/gIQAboXFvJ_story.html

And the above column came from someone who shares your (our) pain
Here's his column on the EPA issues (yeah, he agrees that this was a bad public policy decision)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/in-a-cloud-over-ozone/2011/09/02/gIQAfssLxJ_story.html
He also wants Obama to be bold on jobs
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/on-jobs-time-to-be-bold/2011/08/29/gIQAjtdIoJ_story.html
and he shares our general frustration:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/what-would-mlk-say-to-president-obama/2011/08/25/gIQAPmwygJ_story.html


and. .the title says it all (via our own blm) "Reflections of a GOP operative who left the cult". One quote: "the left fears, the right hates".
Yup, count me among the fearful. These people give me the willies.
http://www.truth-out.org/goodbye-all-reflections-gop-operative-who-left-cult/1314907779

So take a break, Mass, clear your head, but please come back. Funny, I was just thinking this weekend how often I find myself agreeing with every word you write! We need you! (and even more so, so do our fellow Dems, especially in MA!)

[Mass]

9. This site is addictive. I had to come to see if there were news.

I cant say I feel better, but at this point, I am trying to find a candidate for Senate. As it stands, it may be Massie (not that he stands a chance, but I like what he says, and I like rooting for the underdog and not for the latest crowd attraction). This is another frustration that we could get a great primary, with a lot of valuable candidates discussing the issues (whether Ms Warren joins in or not), but our vision of democracy is what will make the best reality show.

A funny note. The Boston Globe has a new poll, where they say Brown is the most popular pol in MA (though he lost 10 points in one year). Only one pb, Kerry turns out as more popular, so they had to change the way they measure popularity. This coming from a pollster who was saying Baker could win as late as the week before the election. This is the Globe for you.

http://www.boston.com/news/politics/articles/2011/09/04/scott_brown_still_popular_but_support_down_some/

Senator Scott Brown remains the most popular major political figure in Massachusetts, but his approval rating has fallen from a year ago, a sign he may be more vulnerable than anticipated as he gears up for a reelection fight, according to a Boston Globe poll.
...
Though Brown, who faces reelection next year, has fallen a bit from the lofty perch of public approval he had enjoyed, he remains quite popular for a Republican in a traditionally Democratic state. Nearly half of respondents, 49 percent, said they view him favorably, compared with 26 percent who view him unfavorably. A Globe poll conducted last September showed him with 58 percent approval and 21 percent disapproval.
...
The Massachusetts political figure who scored the highest percentage of people viewing him favorably was Senator John Kerry, with 52 percent. But he also had a relatively high number of people who viewed him unfavorably, 34 percent, bringing his net favorability rating - which pollsters believe to be the most reliable measure of popularity - to 18 percent. Brown’s net favorability rating is 23 percent.

[Blaukraut]

10. Ha! You might as well stick around. We need you here :) n/t

[YvonneCa]

11. Woo hoo!!!

Two days...you did better than I could ever do. :7 It is addictive, but also supportive...and that helps, too, when the politics gets too crazy 'out there'.

Take breaks as needed...but please don't go far. :hi:

[karynnj]

12. The new measure is ridiculuous

As you pointed out the trend in Brown's numbers is not only in the wrong direction, the movement is huge - in spite of very positive coverage.

The new measure makes no sense. Given the positive coverage and the constant repeat of what a nice guy Brown is, you would expect a bias in his favor - as there is a tendency to answer what they think is the "right" answer.

Not to mention, it is absolutely untrue that "most pollsters" think this a better measure. I think this was a Rassmussen idea that was first used when Obama became President.