Your Attention, Please

[WilliamPitt]

Your Attention, Please
By William Rivers Pitt
Progressive Democrats of America.

There isn’t a single member of the progressive community who isn’t tired right now, spiritually exhausted, mentally drained, dreading the possibility that someone might come along and dare them to hope. Hope, you see, has been caustic lately…and by “lately,” I mean the last several years. Too many years. There has been a lot of hard work and, to date, not a hell of a lot to show for it.

But here’s the thing, see. All that hard work has been paying off.

The White House chief of staff is gone, as is the press secretary. They’re bringing in Daddy Bush’s head fixer, James Baker III, to try and salvage Iraq, the second such rescue mission for Junior he has undertaken since 2000 (one boggles at the vision of Dubya being pleased by the idea of being salvaged by daddy’s pet mechanic once again). Don Rumsfeld may have to endure a Senate hearing featuring the six retired generals who blasted his tenure with such vehemence last week. Oh, yeah, and Karl Rove may well be indicted by Patrick Fitzgerald in the Plame matter before too much more time passes.

The latest CNN/Gallup poll has George W. Bush’s approval rating at 32%. Were this administration comprised of water, it would right now be frozen, it would be snow, it would have rosy-cheeked children in parkas skating on it, it would be an Ansel Adams photograph. The approval ratings for the Republican majority in congress passed this dubious benchmark some time ago.

The wheels are, finally, coming off. I hope you’re ready.

I went to a meeting of the Congressional Progressive Caucus last month. The room was filled with House members, staffers, and a cadre of activists looking to assist the agenda being formulated. By the time the meeting was over, solutions for the problems facing health care, taxation, the environment, Iraq specifically, foreign policy generally, and election reform with special emphasis on electronic touch-screen voting machines, were laid out in detail.

The progressive movement stands today on the cusp of an historic breakthrough, and they have a plan.

Should the Democratic Party regain control of the House of Representatives in the ‘06 midterms, members of the Progressive Caucus will find themselves in charge of committees with incredible power. Ten members, at minimum, will become chairmen: Barney Frank will chair Financial Services; John Conyers will chair the Judiciary; Charlie Rangel will chair Ways and Means; Henry Waxman will chair Government Reform; and Louise Slaughter will chair Rules. Etc.

Our agenda will be their agenda. Our ideas will become their policy proposals. Our demands for reform will become their causes, and they will, by the way, have subpoena power during the last two years of this administration.

We are so close. So very close. The fight to regain control of the House will be ugly, with only the narrowest margin for error and misstep. Too many good progressives will find themselves left, in their home district, with a familiar Hobson’s Choice: vote for an infuriatingly insufficient Democrat, vote third party and risk potentially aiding the Republican candidate, or throw your hands up in frustration and dismiss it all as a bunch of bad noise.

I am asking you to suck it up one more time. I am asking you for a change of perspective. I am asking you to remember that any support you may offer to a Democrat in the next months, no matter how clueless that Democrat may be, is support for a greater good. Every vote cast, every dollar given, every neighborhood canvassed, every envelope stuffed, is one step closer to having Frank and Conyers and Rangel and Waxman and Slaughter in control of the most important committees in this government. The contest will be that tight.

There isn’t a single member of the progressive community who isn’t tired right now, dreading the possibility that someone might come along and dare them to hope. There has been a lot of hard work and, to date, not a hell of a lot to show for it.

I am daring you to hope. I believe we can win, I believe all this can be done, but only with your help. Anyone who thought this fight would be easy quit a long time ago. Those of you who remain know what is at stake. You have been through the fire, and you have suffered the torments. You are tired, as are we all.

But you’re not done yet. Neither am I.

I am daring you to hope.

Link: http://blog.pdamerica.org/?p=631

[MissB]

1. Yo.

:thumbsup:

[Catherine Vincent]

2. So does Rove meet with the grand jury again today?

[yodermon]

31. I think the GJ

meets only Mon Wed & Fri.

[stepnw1f]

3. Will,... I Owe You a Beer, Mate!

Hopefully someday I can buy you one...

Peace!

[Triana]

4. Jeeeze...

...I'm in lurve!

*cough*

Um. Very well said, Will. Thanks for the pep talk. I needed that.

[Flirtus]

73. Ditto.

Thanks

[LoKnLoD]

5. Great post Will

those damn voting machines scare me though.

:argh:

[toymachines]

25. they scare me too

[panader0]

6. Great post. We all need a pep talk once in a while. I'm with you.

[saltpoint]

7. Work remains, hope's the fuel, and this was a fine post. n/t

[LaPera]

8. How much sugar do you need dude? How much are you expecting?

[WilliamPitt]

10. ?

I got sugar for my coffee this morning.

[LaPera]

12. ?

[WilliamPitt]

14. !

&

[Catherine Vincent]

17. Can I play? :)

?

[WilliamPitt]

29. %

That means "Of course."

:)

[helderheid]

116. @

You think you're so smart. ;)

[w8liftinglady]

9. Will,I agree with you 100%-It's time to get behind the team.

we can Monday morning quarterback after the elections.Right now,we have our country's welfare at stake.I'm there.

[IndyOp]

22. Get behind the team? Like asking cats to

march in formation...

I will contribute, I do contribute. No team. No, no, no, no, no.

I do believe in "Lead, Follow, or Get Out of the Way" - in case that might be a point of agreement between us. I promise to do one of the following in regards to all issues of concern, so I guess sometims I'll look like a team player...

:hi:

[w8liftinglady]

33. lol..well,at least-wear the Jersey?

[Mrspeeker]

11. good post

[havocmom]

13. Thanks, Will. Sending link to a lot of tired, weary progressives I know

We all need to take stock of the progress now and then. We need to pour a little back into the vessels of our hearts and wills.

[The Wielding Truth]

97. Ditto. I am so frustrated, and yet still I have hope.

[DemReadingDU]

15. Still with ya!

but those electronic voting machines need to be overhauled...too many programming glitches favor the Republicans today

[electropop]

108. "Glitches"

is the GOP word for intentional covert features.

16. combining our power is something we really need

thanks for the encouragement.

[Poiuyt]

18. Dammit Will, I'm not tired! I'm full of energy! Let's go!!!

But I don't know if I'm as optimistic as you are Will. Even though the American people are sick of the Republican Congress, they will probably still elect their incumbent. People hate Congress, but they like their own critter. When you look at the individual races, it looks like it will be an uphill battle.

Let's get to work!

[IndyOp]

74. You make an interesting observation --

"They hate Congress but like their own critter."

I've seen a similar phenomenon in regards to asking people what they think of "public education" (most give it a very poor grade - D), but when asked what they think of their own, particular school they give it a B or C.

Fascinating animals, humans, eh?

:shrug:

And by the way -- Dems will win in landslides all across this nation -- if we prevent election fraud, which so far we are no where near doing...

:(

[underpants]

19. George Bush SUCKS!

[havocmom]

21. LOL

That's the spirit!

[geniph]

44. He SUCKS and then he SPITS!

That's just the kind of asshole he is!

[wryter2000]

20. Chollie in charge of Ways and Means?

Be still, my heart. That would be too, too fantastic! :bounce:

[cascadiance]

23. Will, I think you're right...

The key is getting house control and therefore to get control again of committees too.

One thing that I'd like to challenge each Democrat candidate with though, whether in private or in public, is to see where their stance on campaign finance reform is. That is ultimately the starting point for REAL reform that the Dems will need to fix when they start fixing our government substantively. We NEED public financing. If a Democrat totally tunes out and dismisses public financing now (both publicly and privately), and seems too DLC beholden, I'd mark that person, whether we elect them in this time around or not, for future removal in primaries. If some candidates might publicly not try to buck the system, but if you feel in talking with them privately they have genuine feelings of a need to move towarda public financing or doing other significant fixes to our current broken institiutionalized bribery that's called campaign financing, those are the kinds that can be lead later to where we want to be I think, even if they don't have the courage now to take the lead on such issues like a Russ Feingold might.

BTW, I hadn't read Time Magazine in some time, and read the current issue getting my hair cut last night, and was really disappointed in their selection of the 10 best senators. Not one was someone like Russell Feingold, Barbara Boxer, Patrick Leahy, or Tom Harkin. None of them were even mentioned in the write-ups of the other senators there. Ted Kennedy seemed to be the only token liberal there. The whole magazine has taken a steer to the right. It's not too hard to see how CNN has shifted that way too, without Ted Turner there to keep the RWers at bay. I guess that is what we get as progressives in tuning into the net instead of the "MSM" everywhere. The Corporate Media feel they don't need to target us any more (probably happily from their perspective).

[sallyseven]

92. Time Mag has always steered to the right

They always favored repuks. I have been reading it for 50 years. I buy Newsweek however because it isn't as biased toward the repukes.

[H2O Man]

24. Generally good.

I think the first paragraph is incorrect. But after that, it is very good.

[Malikshah]

26. Jimmy and....Robbie??? Hmmm?!?

They’re bringing in Daddy Bush’s head fixer, James Baker III, to try and salvage Iraq, the second such rescue mission for Junior he has undertaken since 2000


From one consigliere to another... Jimmy...meet Robbie. :)

[helderheid]

27. Will, I will vote and donate but... hope... I am so afraid 2006 will be

Diebolded - give me some hope that it won't PLEASE!

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

38. This is my concern as well...

...that free and fair elections have become no more that a carefully orchestrated illusion---I'd love to believe otherwise.

[helderheid]

80. I'm going to vote early absentee. Hope we all will.

[never cry wolf]

84. Conyers with the power of subpoena??? They'll pull out all the stops

That has to be the repuke nightmare. Who would be chair of Intel committee, btw, that has to be another nightmare for them.

[helderheid]

117. AGREED. What do we do? We don't have much time! I'm voting absentee on

PAPER.

[helderheid]

87. Will? What are your thoughts on this?

[American liberal]

28. The Party has had my unwavering support all along.

Thanks for your good work.

I do have to echo another poster's concern about the voting machines, however. Two very close national races were determined by states filled with corrupt politicians and Diebold (or other) eletronic voting machines with no paper trails.

Is there anything more we can do to ensure a paper trail by November?

Thanks again, Will. :loveya:

[donsu]

30. even if that dem. wants to ban abortions?

nt

[WilliamPitt]

32. Yes

because that shithead Dem will become part of a majority that would never vote to do so. That Dem would help guarantee those progressives in those chairs. That Dem's anti-choice agenda would become moot and powerless.

[donsu]

41. you are more trusting then I am

nt

[WilliamPitt]

42. No

but I can do simple math.

435 divided by 2 + 1 = 218; 1 shithead in a crowd of 218 + progressives in the chairs = the greater good.

[donsu]

43. time will tell - I hope you are right but I'd sooner

cut off my fingers then vote for someone who hates women.

[geniph]

45. Will's right, though...

any vote that doesn't help put Democrats in control of the House and Senate might as well be a vote for the likes of Hastert and Frist and Delay and Lott. Seriously. We can work to advance our agenda with Democrats, no matter how centrist some of them may be, in power. With Republicans in control, our agenda gets flattened like a snake on a superhighway.

[donsu]

56. banning abortion is not centrist

nt

[WilliamPitt]

68. No one is saying it is

But one asshole in a crowd of 217+ will have zero impact on policy...unless that one asshole allows the progressives WHO AGREE WITH YOU to chair the committees that make the policies in the first place.

I really have trouble understanding why this is such a stretch of the imagination to comprehend.

[Neil Lisst]

91. You gotta know how to count!! Good points.

LBJ used to say "if you're gonna be in politics, ya gotta know how to count."

I'm sure others have said it in other ways, too. You get a majority, whatever pig you have to kiss to get there.

[TheLeftyMom]

79. Good point and well taken

I think people sometimes vote for only one issue and in the long run, it screws us as a party. Repubs vote for Repubs even if they are felons, for Pete's sake. :-)

[rman]

34. The Big Question for me is: will the MSM play along,

and give "our" agenda as much air time as that other agenda?

Alternativly, will the progressive dems who represent our interests find a way to reach the voters outside of the MSM. The internet alone isn't enough?

[Cleita]

35. Heard on the news that the WH is trying to get rid of Fitzpatrick.

They are saying he's going beyond his jurisdiction. Like Ken Starr didn't?

Since there is a precedent with Ken Starr, I hope Fitz sticks it to them.

[katty]

51. Too late to try to nix-fitz...they're cooked&they know it

[Media_Lies_Daily]

54. The judge has already dismissed that motion by Libby's attorney.

[crazylikafox]

36. Thanks, Will. I needed that. K& R

[uppityperson]

37. Before change can happen, things have to get really really bad.

I've been advocating patience, wait, things will get worse, no not bad enough yet, wait, it will get worse, how much worse can it get, how much worse can we take it, much worse, it will happen, wait, it needs to get worse then it will happen, yes people will die and suffer and this is not what I am advocating and I also am not advocating wait and do nothing. Be prepared.

[alfredo]

39. Call your local party and volunteer. You can do as little or as much

as you can. I am into canvassing and leafleting. I like it and I do it well. Find what you like and can do. Maybe you are good at data entry. Terrific! People like me will be feeding you a lot of data.
If you are into phone banking, great. Once that data is entered, it has to be used. That is where phone banking comes in. You like to write? You good at it? Letters to the editor are always in demand.

Can you write a check? Host a house party? Have an extra computer for headquarters, trash bags, bottled water for canvassers, snack food for workers? Everything and anything will be welcomed.
You can deliver yard signs, help voters get to the polls (knock and drag). You can also organize, recruit, talk to your neighbors, and register new voters.

What set of skills can you contribute to your country?

folks, we are running out of time. Every day we wait the more power the anti democratic forces have over our nation. If we lose, we could lose what is left of our freedoms. So fight as if our republic is at stake. It is.

Our father's generation has been coined "The Greatest Generation." We learned from the best, let's do them proud.

[geniph]

49. Right, and even if you don't feel you can have a serious effect

in the House and Senate races in your state, you can still work to get your local Democratic candidates elected to office - and that's where the statewide and national candidates come from. Get Democrats elected to school boards, city councils, county councils, port commissions, state legislatures, and in a few years, some of those Democrats will be ready to graduate to statewide or national races.

Local races make it easier to see the results of your work. Your doorbelling for the Democrat running for the state legislature in your district may turn the 50 or 60 voters that make the difference. Never think those local races don't matter!

Washington Representative Jim McDermott was speaking to a legislative district meeting in one of the "safe" districts in Seattle about a week ago. He was asked by the district activists what one thing they could do this year that'd make the most difference. He told them to come over to the 8th District - a swing district, which happens to be where I live - and work for the Democratic candidate, Darcy Burner, who has a real chance. It's one of the few districts in the country where we stand a real chance of unseating a Republican incumbent. I was overjoyed to hear that Jim said that, because it's exactly what I've been saying for months. We need boots on the ground in the swing districts. We need people on the phones and at the doors for Darcy, and the other Democratic candidates like her, who have a real chance of winning and making the difference. That's the advantage the Republicans have had over us the last few years - the fundy churches have been organizing their ground forces and staffing their phone banks. With the waning of the unions, we haven't had a similar grassroots bank of volunteers to draw on. So every single person who volunteers their time to help will make a huge difference.

[Autonomy]

69. I called the local state Democratic office

and heard nothing but crickets from them since. They never returned my call. So I called the Green Party candidate's office (for the US House) and they got back to me right away. So either I can work for the Green candidate, or do nothing.

I always support the Dems, but the choice for me is clear. It's not that bad a deal, though, because Bush is running at 27% in this state, and there may be more room for a 3rd party candidate here than in most places. I hope I'm not rationalizing. But I am not going to sit on my ass and do nothing just because the Dems won't call me back.

[geniph]

76. The state parties generally don't do a lot of the ground organizing

That's generally done at the district level - here in Washington state, it's done at the legislative district level, the districts that elect state senators and representatives. That's where all the rubber meets the road here. Find the equivalent in your state, and contact THAT chair. They'll put you to work, definitely.

[Autonomy]

82. Hmm, I'll look into it, but...

Here in Delaware the state IS the district. We have one US House Rep. I'd think they'd at least give me a heads up, though, if I were contacting the wrong place. In fact, that's what the DC campaign office did. They gave me the state office number, now that I recall. I guess I could try again, but I'd have to jump ship from the Green Party's candidate... :(

[geniph]

104. Oh! Yeah, Delaware wouldn't need legislative districts.

;-) I forgot not all states have dozens of senators and representatives. Your state party's being a bunch of dopes, then, not to call back prospective volunteers. What about calling one of the candidates' headquarters directly? I'll bet they'd put you to work tout suite. I would have, during my campaign.

[Autonomy]

109. Maybe I'll try it, but I am not sure I want to work with dopes

I only learned who the candidate is yesterday. In fact, that's the first thing I wanted to know. I'll think about it.

[alfredo]

88. Do you have a DFA chapter nearby?

Democracy For America (DFA) is where the action is in the pre primary days. Don't expect people in the state office until after the primaries. In our state we have only called upon the activist core, we are collecting data to use after we know who is going to run in November.

http://www.democracyforamerica.com/


Our state got a good kick in the ass when the grassroots organizers out hustled and out performed the old guard. They are now dancing to our tune. In our county it was four people meeting in a coffee house one day in May. From there we built a volunteer list of 2,000 people. We got no money from the party. When the fall election started heating up, we strolled into the county office and took over. They had no choice but to support our efforts. We ended up winning more than we lost in this very conservative state.

We used the Kerry campaign to pull in volunteers. We knew he didn't stand a chance, so he was our "loss leader." We took those volunteers and steered them toward congressional and state legislature races. It worked like a charm. We put our efforts toward battles we knew we could win and needed to win.

We waded into every crowd we could find. We went over to the university move in day. We helped the students move in. We registered them to vote and enlisted them into our cause. We went to the movies and collected more volunteers. Every art fair, every farmer's market day, we were there.

I would sit in a coffee house, my Kerry bumper stickers and volunteer forms on the table. So while I drank my brew I was able to enlist volunteers.

Your party not interested, do it yourself. It will guilt them into action.

[Patiod]

127. Absolutely! And if you live in a "safely blue" area, can you travel?

We had some good folks from D.C. take a bus up here to a battleground area in the Phila suburbs (where the elections are tending 50/50 recently). It's a lot more fun to go canvassing in groups of 2 or 3, rather than going alone.

These good people ate sandwiches and bunked down at the union hall, tearing up some serious shoe leather helping us get out the vote. It was a big help, and as we took the state.

As Alfredo states - you can contribute even if you just make PB&J for other volunteers! I use the phone all day, so I've said "I'll do anything that doesn't involve the phone" - I've helped data input, door-to-door canvassing, and mailings.

To paraphrase the commercial: "We can do it - you can help!"

[leftofthedial]

40. it is time to take names and kick ass

thanks again for all you do, Will.

[oc2002]

46. NOT SO FAST.

one monster seems to be bleeding to death, but we have some monsters in our own tent to deal with.

DLC democrats like Leiberman must go down too.

Clean house.

[WilliamPitt]

47. One thing at a time

[donsu]

60. we are only capable of one thing at a time? Lieb has to wait?

nt

[WilliamPitt]

63. Do you live in Connecticut?

"First cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye." - Matthew 7:5

Jesus was wicked smaht. I assume you have work to do in your own district. From what I am hearing, Joementum is alreadcy in deep shit.

[Inland]

50. *sigh* Can't the attempts at a purge wait unti 2008?

I think maybe the purity first, victory later strategy leads to purity first, victory never.

Old Joe will get it in the chops someday. He's too servile to Bush to even be a republican. He might as well be his valet. But he's still a vote for the dem caucus and useful until the monopoly is broken up.

[TygrBright]

93. Oh, lord... lemme put down my Metamucil and put my teeth in...

...and tell you what's wrong with this one:

>>I think maybe the purity first, victory later strategy leads to purity first, victory never.<<

It's very simple:

"Victory first, purity later" inevitably leads to "victory first, purity never." Because letting the spiders in with the butterflies WORKED, yassee, so we ALWAYS have to let in the spiders.

In spite of the fact that once they're in, the first thing they do is trap & eat the butterflies.

No, sorry. Pragmatism is occasionally necessary, but be careful how you do those calculations. The end does NOT justify the means, the means shape the end. If you nurture sleazeballs to gain a few seats for good guys, you'll still end up with sleaze. And if you think the GOPpies won't be looking for Democratic sleaze with an electron microscope, and with a whole full-dress foofooraw waiting in the wings to unleash the minute they see a chink in the armor, you're fooling yourself.

It can't be victory first, purity later. It can't be purity first, victory later either. It has to be: Do what is GOOD, and let the results flow from that, on the timeline that karma and human nature manage, no matter how frustrating it is. Only thus can you guarantee lasting and meaningful change.

pedantically,
Bright

[Inland]

111. Well, it's a matter of degree.

The concept that "victory first means no purity later" made me wonder about the victory you were talking about. Was there a victory somewhere that I missed?

I just don't think there's all that many dinos or whatever that aren't acceptable. And there can't be much compromise on sleaze....no reason to tolerate that to begin with. I've got a special beef with Lieberman, not because he's so moderate or finacial service oriented, or even because he's a hawk: it's because he really thinks it's his job to get behind the president. He's not just a danger as a democrat, he's not worthy of an office in a coequal branch.

So I need to know who exactly you're talking about....and we both need to accept the judgment of the party. That's pragmatism.

[TygrBright]

123. Actually, I was responding to YOUR comment above...

...about how "purity first" might mean "victory never." True, but the obverse is also true: Concentrating on victory first will almost CERTAINLY mean "purity never," and then where is the victory? The calculations must be done finely.

FWIW, I'm not a terribly enthusiastic DINO-sniffer, and I am probably easier-going regarding some "conservative" Democrats than many on DU. I've worked on strategy teams at the state level and I understand some of the calculations that have to be taken into consideration, and the cost/benefit tradeoffs.

All I am saying is that we stand on a very risky cusp. If we place victory too far above the ideals we should be promoting on the priorities list, we could end up with neither. I think, too, that we have an *incredible* opportunity before us, a reaction on a par with 1974-76, and that we can afford to be somewhat prescriptive in requiring a certain level of track record and/or genuine commitment to real progressive principles. Being strategic about that could produce a much greater long-term victory for us, even if (in the short run) it looks like we're making sacrifices.

As a wholly-owned subsidiary of the banking industry, Pious Joe is one of the more dangerous DINOs and he's right up there on the list of those who really should be running as Republicans. Ironically, if he DID switch parties, he would probably be welcomed with open arms and win in a landslide, putting that seat into the "R" column. Many Dems fear that, and for that reason want to keep him happy and not too threatened as a Dem. Me, I think we're better off without him even if he does hold onto that seat and carry it over to the GOPpies.

The GOPpies need more moderate conservatives like Pious Joe, and he'd be an excellent influence on the Republican Party as it rebuilds itself from the current slimy mess. We need a stable, PRINCIPLED Republican Party as much as we need a stable, PRINCIPLED Democratic Party. So even if it seemed to be a "defeat," I'd be in favor of not-too-gently nudging Pious Joe over to the right-hand side of the aisle where he belongs.

I wouldn't necessarily feel the same way about other Democratic pols who have been branded "DINOs" here on DU, though.

explanitorially,
Bright

[DinahMoeHum]

52. Getting rid of the Liebermans takes place in the PRIMARIES. . .

But when the primaries are done, we must hold our noses and vote Democratic, even if the primary winner is a DINO.
And who knows? If we take the House/Senate, that DINO will HAVE to go along with the Conyerses and the Slaughters and the Waxmans to maintain any standing in the Democratic Party. Heck, he/she may even be demoted or denied a chairmanship/sub-chairmanship by the new Democratic leadership as punishment for going along with Bushco in the past.

:kick:

[DinahMoeHum]

57. sorry, wrong place

n/t

[IronLionZion]

128. It's nice to see a Virginian bitch about Lieberman

when you have George Allen and John Warner fucking up pretty bad.

Don't worry, in PA we're sending your boy Rick Santorum back to you real soon. He's done.

[katty]

48. o I'm ready-been ready! exhausted,exasperated,weary but

but not giving in or giving up. already setup to be working in my district/city for 2006 midterms

[mopinko]

53. IMPEACHMENT!! in illinois and california

i called to thank rep karen yarborough for introducing illinois hjr 0125 calling for the impeachment of george w bush. i was told she is getting calls from all over the county. act now.
we are talking about it here

[DearAbby]

58. This deserves a thread of it's own....

Get on it man! Yeeeehaw

[mopinko]

64. it's had plenty

come on over to the illinois forum.

[DearAbby]

67. thanks...will do!

[DearAbby]

55. I am there!

I am scandal fatigued, signs of battle shows on this old Dem. I tire easily these days, from all the bushit, that never seems to stick on these criminals, but your post perked me, and urges me forward. I still have hope.


Simple, thank you Will.

[DinahMoeHum]

59. Well, Will, if I didn't have any hope left, I would not have

signed up for my "Democracy Bond" or the DFA's equivalent. (automatic monthly contribution)

www.democrats.org
www.democracyforamerica.com

But I did both. Thanks to Howard (DNC) and Jim (DFA) Dean, we and the PDA are rebuilding the Dems state by state, district by district.

Oh, and a great big thanks to books like Crashing the Gate, Foxes in the Henhouse and Hostile Takeover for inspiration.

:kick::kick::kick:

[MamaBear]

61. And their plans will be revealed to us ....

When? And, do they have a plan among all these plans on how to do an end run around a MSM that refuses to air our materials?

I'm old enough to remember a politician with a "secret plan to end the war ..." The secret was he had no intention of ending that war.

I REALLY don't want to get suckered again. I am that tired.

[WilliamPitt]

65. Senate Democrats Prepare for Weekend Policy Retreat

Senate Democrats Prepare for Weekend Policy Retreat

By Erin P. Billings
Roll Call Staff

Thursday, April 27; 10:19 am

Senate Democrats will head north this weekend to privately chart their election-year course, focusing largely on how to beat Republicans at their own game and get mileage out of issues they believe the GOP has mishandled.

On Friday morning, Democrats will head to Philadelphia for a three-day issues conference at the Ritz-Carlton hotel. The party is being tight-lipped about details of the gathering, but in the agenda obtained by Roll Call it is slated to feature appearances by several notables in the party, including former Vice President Al Gore; retired Gen. Wesley Clark, a one-time White House hopeful; and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Vallaraigosa.

The minority party needs to achieve a net gain of six seats this November to win the majority, an uphill climb by anyone’s measure. But pundits and polls agree that the Democrats have a decent shot at gaining some ground come Election Day.

Against this background, Senate Democrats will spend much of the weekend talking about how to seek advantage against Republicans. Democrats will hold panel discussions on whether the country is winning the war on terrorism, how to go “head to head” with the GOP on national security this year and on White House power abuse in a session called “Bush, Cheney and the campaign to expand executive power.”

Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) — the chairman of the Democratic Policy Committee who’s charged with structuring the retreat — described it as “the one weekend to get away and spend some time with our colleagues.” Dorgan didn’t share specifics, but he said that Senators will spend a good share of time talking about health care, the war on terrorism and other national security matters.

“We’re feeling pretty good,” Dorgan said of his Caucus. “We’re really hoping to take the majority this year. We hope the American people will give us the opportunity to assume a majority.”

http://www.rollcall.com/issues/1_1/breakingnews/13043-1.html

[ramapo]

62. Yes...but

Yes the wheels may be finally coming off the car. Americans might finally be waking up to the fact that they elected an incompetent boob not once, but twice (well sort of twice). All well and good.

So where are, better yet, who are, the Democrats who exhibit honest, strong leadership? Democrats who can speak plainly and without bullshit. Democrats who can evade the swill of lobbyists and big buck donations. Democrats who will not pander and might even have the guts to say things that the American people don't want to hear. And are Americans grown up enough to still vote for such a candidate?

The Republicans have wowed Americans with 25 years of delusional bullshit. Democrats have worked hard to imitate them as best they could. It is not morning in America. We can't have tax cuts, record debt, spending increases, unfettered consumption and all the oil, gasoline, and natural gas that we want at lower prices. We can't assume life will be better next year just because this is the United States and "God is on our side".

Having the wheels come off the Republican car is not close to half the battle.

[Bob K]

66. I ain' tired

I'm riotusly ready to cheer as the wheels come of the bus! Crash baby, crash! We'll be right there to pick up the pieces and make them into something we can be proud of again. :bounce:

[undeterred]

70. thank you Will Pitt

I have hope but I am tired of being in the midst of hopelessness.

[ldf]

71. will, i think most, if not all, of us

understand the importance of this election.

we rant and we rave, but i do believe when it comes down to the wire, we will all show up and pull the democratic lever.

but that is the second problem.

we have to come up with a plan to PROVE our vote.

yeah, yeah, the vote is supposed to be secret. unfortunately we can no longer afford that little luxury.

we MUST have a way to PROVE that we won, even if we voted on diebolded machines.

i have no idea how we can do that.

every single voter who votes democratic in 2006 and 2008 may have to prove they voted, then testify, either by notarized statement, or oath, who they voted for.

a huge task. but the survival of the experiment known as america may depend on it. and if the democratic party is not up to the task, then we have already lost.

we have to start coming up with ideas that the republicans CAN NOT DEFEAT.

with people like you working on it, i'm very hopeful.

as all the rest have said, "Thanks! I needed that."

:toast:

[blue state liberal]

122. Prove your votes

Let's have a number of people who are notaries be present at the voting machines and have one individual notary be present with the individual in the voting booth with a sheet headed by the names of the candidates and observe the voter add his signature to the Democratic (or repthuglican) list. :Lock those lists up and use them as written proof of the voters' choices. This in addition to the Diebold machines. Any opinions?

[LeftHander]

72. Bush is still commander in chief.

With an incredible amount of power to throw a wrench into the elections in November.

Attacking Iran...would be something that would tip the world on end and cause the kind of chaos that will see the once faithful rally behind Bush....again.

Mark my words they will run back to W in heart beat once the bombs begin to drop on Tehran.

All it will take is another dog and pony show at the U.N....lying works for Bush....he is not going to stop now until he IS STOPPED.

More dissent.
More wistleblowing.
More indictments.

As long as Bush is president we are not free or safe...and another invasion is a reality.

I can get behind all the Dem candidates this election cycle.
I just hope the key elections in red states aren't still rigged or elections cancelled becasue of another Bush war.

[proud2BlibKansan]

75. This is great, Will!!

Thanks for the inspiration. I really needed it today.

[blue neen]

77. We can also offer support to Bush-weary Republicans.

I've had two Republican friends in the past week say how much they can't stand Bush. I just let them talk and gently offer information that makes them think about voting Democratic (i.e. getting rid of Melissa Hart in this area AND Santorum and retaining Murtha).

They realize the error of their ways or they wouldn't be bringing their dislike of Bush up to me. IMHO, it's best to be gracious about it...not any "I told you so's." Nobody wants to be reminded of how foolish their last vote for President was. They already know. As much as I feel that I'd like to throw it in their face, it's better to redirect them to our ways of thinking.

So I do see hope when I hear these people say how sorry they are.

Thanks for the pep talk. We all need it.

[radio4progressives]

78. I know a few excellent progressive activists who could have used

a few good words of this kind of support too..

they're actually in the goddam streets FIGHTING the GOOD FIGHT...at risk and peril to their livihoods and actually putting their bodies on the line..

they don't play kiss up to the status quo for more lies and more wars and more corruption and more fascism and on and on.

they are true progressives and they don't play mealy mouth to the camaras - they are real true progressives who have been putting the feet of elected officials to the fire, and now after all this time, despite the censurship, despite the lies, distortions and misinformation dished up on daily basis - MOST AMERICANS DO GET IT, but the politicos in the beltway don't.

But do we hear or read words of moral support for their efforts?


No, instead we get everythging from snide remarks to demonization, i.e. against people like Cindy Sheehan and even against moderates like Howard Dean. "shut up now" Cindy (you're embarrassing me) ..

but it's ok for the elected and annointed ones to continue being mealy mouthed especially on issues of principle, like matters of war and peace.

Just a few words of genuine support for the progressives who are actually fighting on the streets and doing the real work would be a welcomed gesture every now and then.

[demo dutch]

81. Great Will, but according to polls America is fed up with Dems as well

and feels that Dems point fingers instead of coming up with solutions, When is that stigma going to change???

[SeattleGirl]

83. I have never given up the thought that things can and will change

Yes, I feel tired at times. Weary. But never, ever hopeless. I am not judging others who may have given up hope, but to me, if that's what enough of us do, then we ARE defeated, and the Republicans don't have to do anything more to help that along. We will have defeated ourselves.

And I agree, Will. Things are changing, and they can and will change more, if we keep working at it. It may be hard sometimes to put one foot in front of the other, and there may be some days when some of us may just have to say, "The hell with it." So we sit out a day or a week, but those of us who can keep going need to do that, because maybe we will need a turn at sitting out for a bit, and those who have been re-energized can carry on. We don't all have to be "on" 24/7, as individuals. But as a group, we can be.

Things ARE changing, and while they may not be changing as fast as we would like, and while there ARE still problems (i.e. voting machines, keeping people from voting, knocking eligible voters off the voting rolls), that doesn't mean that all is lost. On the contrary, we are gaining ground.

I, too, dare you to hope.

[savemefromdumbya]

85. When these rogues go down they may take us with them

meaning, they are that bad that they will try every trick in the book to keep in power and will cause innocent loss of lives (AGAIN!) to further their cause. I wish we could lock all of them up so they can't get out but we will need a very large prison.

[bluerum]

86. Get mean and get ugly cause if you think they are going down

without a fight you are wrong. They know they will be facing impeachment (* et al) or indictment (pukian house/senate/Abramoff lobby members)

And if Dems manage any majority at all - be prepared to keep fighting.

It will be ugly.

[Neil Lisst]

89. que the church choir - "His truth is marching onnnnnnnn!"

Good rally the troops speech.

[utopian]

90. 2004 knocked me and everyone I know for a loop

Most of us needed to retreat to lick our wounds and regain our energy. But hope never left us. We knew we needed to save it up for the next round, and I think we were wise because it's going to be a helluva fight despite (or maybe as a result of) the republican freefall. We're going to be facing cornered rats, never a pleasant prospect.

[Disturbed]

95. A Little Reminder

IWR

United States Senate

In the Senate, the 21 Democrats, one Republican and one Independent who courageously voted their consciences in 2002 against the War in Iraq were:

Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii)
Jeff Bingaman (D-New Mexico)
Barbara Boxer (D-California)
Robert Byrd (D-West Virginia)
Lincoln Chaffee (R-Rhode Island)
Kent Conrad (D-North Dakota)
Jon Corzine (D-New Jersey)
Mark Dayton (D-Minnesota)
Dick Durbin (D-Illinois)
Russ Feingold (D-Wisconsin)
Bob Graham (D-Florida)
Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii)
Jim Jeffords (I-Vermont)
Ted Kennedy (D-Massachusetts)
Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont)
Carl Levin (D-Michigan)
Barbara Mikulski (D-Maryland)
Patty Murray (D-Washington)
Jack Reed (D-Rhode Island)
Paul Sarbanes (D-Maryland)
Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan)


United States House of Representatives

Six House Republicans and one independent joined 126 Democratic members of the House of Representatives in voting NAY, on October 11, 2002, to the unprovoked use of force against Iraq:

Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii)
Tom Allen (D-Maine)
Joe Baca (D-California)
Brian Baird (D-Washington DC)
Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin)
Gresham Barrett (R-South Carolina)
Xavier Becerra (D-California)
Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon)
Robert Brady (D-Pennsylvania)
Corinne Brown (D-Florida)
Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio)
Lois Capps (D-California)
Michael Capuano (D-Massachusetts)
Benjamin Cardin (D-Maryland)
Julia Carson (D-Indiana)
William Clay, Jr. (D-Missouri)
James Clyburn (D-South Carolina)
John Conyers, Jr. (D-Michigan)
Jerry Costello (D-Illinois)
Elijah Cummings (D-Maryland)
Susan Davis (D-California)
Danny Davis (D-Illinois)
Peter DeFazio (D-Oregon)
Diana DeGette (D-Colorado)
Bill Delahunt (D-Massachusetts)
Rosa DeLauro (D-Connecticut)
John Dingell (D-Michigan)
Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas)
Mike Doyle (D-Pennsylvania)
John Duncan, Jr. (R-Tennessee)
Anna Eshoo (D-California)
Lane Evans (D-Illinois)
Sam Farr (D-California)
Chaka Fattah (D-Pennsylvania)
Bob Filner (D-California)
Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts)
Charles Gonzalez (D-Texas)
Luis Gutierrez (D-Illinois)
Alice Hastings (D-Florida)
Maurice Hinchey (D-New York)
Ruben Hinojosa (D-Texas)
Rush Holt (D-New Jersey)
Mike Honda (D-California)
Darlene Hooley (D-Oregon)
John Hostettler (R-Indiana)
Jay Inslee (D-Washington)

*Thanks Will

[tomp]

130. that's weird

what are the odds that all the people in the house voting against iwr would have surnames beginning with only the first 9 letters of the alphabet? does that strike anyone else as highly improbable?

[geniph]

136. List got truncated, obviously.

[Jemmons]

94. Thanks for you honesty and courage n/t

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

96. Absolutely. Voting Against Any Running Dem Is Reckless To Our Cause IMHO.

Or choosing to not vote out of disgust, would be reckless as well.

The need for victory in 06 is monumental. This is no time for some to engage in petty whining and candidate nit-picking, and I mean that respectfully. Each Dem running is part of the greater whole, which is winning back control of congress. We cannot fail that mission, and need every damn dem, disgusted or not, to swallow their ills and commit to the greater good of getting every possible dem elected that we can, by getting out the vote for the dems in every way we can.

[The Wielding Truth]

98. Thanks ,Will.

It seems now we are not just spinning our wheels.
Maybe we are moving in a strong steady aware direction.

I can see it a bit when I know Fitzgerald is doing his job,
and the old trees of the military are moving into our battle,
but it's a fight that will take a vocal middle class.

I will help in my area to get my Democratic candidates elected.

Will, you are such a great writer do you have a radio show,
or are you on TV? The reason I ask is that you words need to
reach more people.

[RagAss]

99. Great job, Will...but ..... ahem..............Diebold.

[BigBearJohn]

100. Best thing you've written. ONE VOICE. Let's push 'em out. WAY OUT!

The House BELONGS to the PEOPLE
not a bunch of moneygrubbing Republicans
Let's set aside our differences and
stand shoulder-to-shoulder with one
TREMENDOUS push to win the House.

We want to do it
We can do it
WE WILL DO IT!!!

Next time you want to quit...
be remind of this:

[neuvocat]

101. Look at it this way:

The progressive movement is to the present what the civil rights movement was to the 60's and 70's. There was a scandal with a republican white house then too.

[Flying Dream Blues]

102. "I am daring you to hope" brought tears to my eyes. Try as I might, even

staying away from DU for days to give myself respite from reading about the insanity that has taken over the country that I love, I can't stop hoping this nightmare will end.

Thank you, WilliamPitt. Well said and point taken. I will be ready!!

[AuntiBush]

103. Sucking-Up and Not Giving-up, anytime soon.

Thanks Will for daring us with hope as I for one have been suffering from major scandal fatigue.

Great perk-up piece!

[Sarah Ibarruri]

105. If this had been done by a Democrat administration....

Well, it just wouldn't have been. Anything done by a Democrat administration, would've resulted in its president already being long impeached. How could this happen? How on earth are we going to make damned sure Repugnicans don't control our country again? By starting at the school boards and kicking off them all the Repugnicans? I'm afraid I'm not too joyful. Maybe eventually I will be.

[ananda]

106. I'm a LIBERAL!

And damn proud of it!

[Tigress DEM]

107. Make SURE OUR VOTES get COUNTED.

We WILL WIN in 2006 - like we won in 2000 and 2004 - only to have the cheaters placed in power if we DON'T MAKE SURE Each of OUR Districts have Fair and Transparent Voting in Place.

[bonito]

110. Never give up! I got that down! n/t

[bleever]

112. #1: Democratic majority. #2: Positive action on our priorities.

Attacking other Democrats or progressives: bottom of the list, unless you like the way things are.

Great post.

[ClassWarrior]

125. .

[More Than A Feeling]

113. Locking on!

Progressive control of the House in range! :patriot:

[yellowdogmi]

114. Damn Will!

You even inspired my weary ass to wake up. Phenomenal post my friend!

[tomp]

115. i hate it but i'll do it...

...because you asked so nicely.

and thanks for all your hard work.

[ClassWarrior]

118. Anyone who thought this fight would be easy quit a long time ago...

...Those of you who remain know what is at stake. You have been through the fire, and you have suffered the torments. You are tired, as are we all.

But you’re not done yet. Neither am I.

I am daring you to hope.

Never Give Up.

[Jersey Devil]

119. Huzzah! Huzzah! Huzzah!

...we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender..."

[wiley]

120. Kick!

[Laurab]

121. Thank you Will Pitt

I dare to hope, and hope I never stop. The alternative to having hope is so bleak. I too feel the wheels are coming off, and it's a good feeling. A change is gonna come...

[FredStembottom]

124. Just the speech I needed - right now, today.

I just recently passed through a final crushing blow. That happened when my own Dem Senator - Mark Dayton - took time to bash Russ Feingold....using Republican talking points ("grandstanding" etc.)

I had a kind of political suicide note all ready for him, telling all about how his comments had nearly killed me and was looking for the "off" button for my DNC contributions.

I was going to quit. Final sign-off. No DU. No AAR. No more volunteering, protesting, petitioning.

But I didn't.

Thanks to DU, I soon saw that Russ' star was rising anyway. That we can all still rise with him whether officially sanctioned or not!

That Dayton's the one resigning - not me!

That maybe, we are simply becoming what we are supposed to be - citizens. Citizens TELL their Mark Daytons what to say and do - not the other way around.

We just forgot that some generations ago. That's all.

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

126. Sorry Will, no can do...

I cannot and will not vote for Congressman Dan Lipinski in the 3rd Illinois CD. That being said though, I'm not voting the Puke that's running against him either. I'm sitting this race out..

Dan Lipinski represents everything that is wrong in the Democratic Party. He "won" his seat in 2004 because his father, William (Bungalow Bill) Lipinski decided after holding the seat for 20 years and running unopposed in the March 2004 Democratic Primary; "suddenly" to retire in August 2004. What happened, the powers that be in the Cook County Regular Democratic Party decided to put "Danny Boy" in his father's place. Mind you Danny Boy hadn't lived in the district for 15 years but that didn't matter all he had was the last name...

I'm not even going to go into what went on during this year's primary campaign. Suffice it to say the Regular Dems got a sham candidate to put his name forth and they managed to split the vote with the other Dem challenger and Lipinski won the primary easily...

Lipinski will win re-election in November in a walkover. He doesn't need, want or get my vote. I've voted for the Democrats in every election since I began to vote in 1972. I've held my nose many a time, but this time I can't and won't do it...

I am, however, going to vote for all the other Democrats running for office in Illinois. But Lipinski, no can do....

[meti57b]

129. Barney Frank chairing a committee ... the stuff my dreams are made of.

May it be so!!!

[NNadir]

131. My grandfather used to say, "It's not how many times you get knocked...

...down that counts. It's how many times you get up."

(Of course, my grandfather was a terrible alcoholic, who got murdered and dumped in the East River, but that's another story.)

In that one remark, which was the only positive thing my family got from him, he was right.

[WilliamPitt]

132. .

[deaniac21]

133. This year will be a Democratic LANDSLIDE!!!

No Doubt About It!

[ClassWarrior]

135. Neocon Bill Kristol agrees...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=2595777&mesg_id=2595777

B-):thumbsup:

Welcome to DU!

NGU.

[alphafemale]

134. Thank you.