Here's what I'm talking about with Democrats!

[Bouncy Ball]

This recent Bernie Kerik thing with bush:

If bush had been a Democratic president, repukes all over would have been jumping on this thing so fast and hard, they'd have been SCREAMING it from the rooftops, they'd have made all kinds of negative conclusions about the fitness of the president, the lack of quality in his decision making, how this is just YET another example of how we can't trust him, he's incompetent, etc. They would have MILKED this fucking DRY.

But I was at a friend's house Sunday and happened to unfortunately catch a minute or two of George Stephanopoulus' show and he had two women on there, one a Dem representative in Congress (can't remember her name) and one a repuke (again, can't remember her name).

The gist of the Dem's response to the Kerik thing went like this:

"Well sure it's an embarrassment for the president, but I think we just need to move on and get behind whatever name he gets for the position, etc etc"

WHAT--THE--FUCK--IS--THAT--ABOUT?????

My blood was boiling. THAT was the Dem response. THAT. The repuke was sitting over there just liking her lips, smiling, beady-eyed, looking happy as a lark at the totally neutered response of the Dem. The repukes LOVE THAT SHIT. They love it. Because it seems a lot of high-level Dems are either too fucking nice or too fucking weenie-assed to stand up and do EXACTLY what they would do if the tables were turned, which would be to bitch and bitch and bitch about it and create a fucking CHINESE WATER TORTURE of bitching about every single wrong move the president makes.


I want to write a letter to every single Dem in office who acts like this and give them a piece of my mind. They're NOT being the opposition.

I want a LIST of all weenie-asses who AREN'T representing me in my party.

[Ranec]

1. I totally agree

We should be using this incident to throw mud all over Bush and Giuliani.

I saw a blog post somewhere listing all of Bush's recent missteps and bad PR days. Dem's should be commenting on the fact that the Bush administration seems "directionless" and "wavering" since the election.

[LSparkle]

2. and filling the Cabinet with yesmen political lackeys

That's probably why Dems didn't object to Kerik -- because he was the one Cabinet pick who didn't come from inside the fucking White House! I still rue the day they settled on Harry Reid as Senate leader -- right now, we need someone with a less conciliatory attitude toward JackassinChief.

[Bouncy Ball]

4. Dems should object to

every frigging thing the repukes even THINK of doing. Everything they DREAM of doing. Everything they even HINT of doing.

Who cares what the repukes call them? OUR DEMOCRACY IS AT STAKE HERE.

And here we are, just everyday Dems, out here just waiting and wishing and wanting someone, anyone to start a shit storm. Yeah the media is all right wing, but Dems still manage to get on these shows. They can get a ratings spike for them by doing a little aggressive criticism of the bush administration that is UNCONDITIONAL. None of this "I know he tries..." or "Well, he's a charming man, but..."

NONE OF THAT.

Democrats should be as obstructionist as they possibly can be right now. This is NO time for mealy-mouths.

[Zhade]

15. "OUR DEMOCRACY IS AT STAKE HERE." Sorry, you're totally wrong.

To most Dems in power, their job security is at stake. It's what they really care about, not people like you and me.

The irony is that they are safe for only so long by enabling and appeasing the fascists. Once the rightwingers have what they want, conciliatory Dems will be cast aside.

[Bouncy Ball]

16. Well

then I AM right that our democracy is at stake. What you were objecting to was that they don't feel that anything beyond their job security is important.

[Zhade]

18. Exactly. I am in full agreement with you. Just said it a different way.

NT!

[Bouncy Ball]

3. Dammit

if the Dems really started in on everything there is to LEGITIMATELY bitch about in the bush administration since day one, they'd have a fucking FILIBUSTER of bitching. It would never end.

And the bush administration would give them new shit to bitch about EVERY SINGLE DAY. Sometimes more than once in one day.

This "oh sure this is embarrassing for him but let's move on" crap doesn't cut it either. How about YOU move on out of office if that's all you got?

[Warpy]

5. Exactly, we need to work on our own house

before gearing up to go clean THEIRS.

The worst thing we can do at this point is provide the pukes with an organized opposition to blame for all their disasters.

We need to focus on our own party right now, get rid of the conservative hacks running it who seem to be just thrilled that they lost not only the Presidency, but also many of the congressional races.

There's a reason for losing beyond the election fraud, folks, and it's spelled D-L-C.

[Bouncy Ball]

6. I'm so damn disillusioned right now.

And the ONLY people I'll tolerate saying these things are myself and other Dems. Kinda like when you bitch about your own family but you don't like other people doing it?

I'm still a Democrat, body and soul. It isn't ME that needs to go but anyone mealy-mouthed and weenie-assed.

[BrklynLiberal]

7. The Dems sound just like the abused spouse that Michael Moore described

in his note! "Oh dear me...I must deserve to be abused!! What have I done wrong? How can I make you happy? What should I change about myself to make you like me?"
Edited to add link
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/message/index.php?messageDate=2004-12-13

[Bouncy Ball]

8. Well I wish they'd quit speaking for me

Because I don't deserve this.

[BrklynLiberal]

9. I sure hope enough Dems get mad enough to stop putting up with this crap

and start demanding that our leadership get some cujones and stand up and spit back at these Repugnants!!! Move further LEFT, not to the right!!!!!! Get more stubborn about the principles we stand for, not waver over them How can we expect people to follow us if we are not sure we we are going???

"As cognitive psychologist George Lakoff told me: "Democrats moving to the middle is a double disaster that alienates the party's progressive base while simultaneously sending a message to swing voters that the other side is where the good ideas are." It unconsciously locks in the notion that the other side's positions are worth moving toward, while your side's positions are the ones to move away from. Plus every time you move to the center, the right just moves further to the right."

From this article:

THE NEXT DNC CHAIR: WHY YOU SHOULD CARE

Arianna Huffington, AlterNet

[Bouncy Ball]

12. God I love that Huffington quote

She's so damn right and so is Lakoff. It disgusts me, this watering down of our positions. I BELIEVE in our positions and in our party platform, I believe what Dems do in office and can do in office is FAR better for the well-being of this nation and the world than the repukes (and that's making an understatement).

So why water it down? Why run away from it? Why the lack of cajones?

Everyone not willing to stand up and defend our positions and principles needs to exit stage RIGHT.

[BrklynLiberal]

14. STANDING OVATION /

"Everyone not willing to stand up and defend our positions and principles needs to exit stage RIGHT"

[Bouncy Ball]

11. I love this part of the quote:

Next, you must promise to protect yourself and everyone around you that is being victimized. You don't do this by responding to their demands, or becoming more like them, or engaging in logical conversation, or trying to persuade them that you are right. You also don't do this by going catatonic and resigned, by closing up your ears and eyes and covering your head and submitting to the blows, figuring its over faster and hurts less if you don't resist and fight back.

Instead, you walk away. You find other folks like yourself, 57 million of them, who are hurting, broken, and beating themselves up. You tell them what you've learned, and that you aren't going to take it anymore. You stand tall, with 57 million people at your side and behind you, and you look right into the eyes of the abuser and you tell him to go to hell. Then you walk out the door, taking the kids and gays and minorities with you, and you start a new life. The new life is hard. But it's better than the abuse.

Snip.
And this:

Don't let him dictate the terms or frame the debate (he'll win, not because he's right, but because force works). Sure, we can build a better grassroots campaign, cultivate and raise up better leaders, reform the election system to make it fail-proof, stick to our message, learn from the strategy of the other side. But we absolutely must dispense with the notion that we are weak, godless, cowardly, disorganized, crazy, too liberal, naive, amoral, "loose,” irrelevant, outmoded, stupid and soon to be extinct. We have the mandate of the world to back us, and the legacy of oppressed people throughout history.

[BrklynLiberal]

13. Right. We are NOT the abused spouse! Why are we acting like one???

Bush actually has no power over us!! Only the power that we allow him to have! I cannot stand these wimps who keep kowtowing to him and his minions!!!!

[Zhade]

17. She's walked the talk. She knows whence she speaks.

That quote is just brilliant, and so true, despite how much DLCers WISH it wasn't.

[lancdem]

10. I agree with you 100 percent on this

That WAS a pathetic response. Dems still act like Bush is popular. Nothing has changed since the election. Nearly half the nation still disapproves of the "president."

[Dr Fate]

19. Democrats are TERRIFIED of whores in clown make-up...

...they care more about what Wolf Blitzer will say about them than they do about telling the truth.

DEMS will NEVER come out on TV and tell the truth about Bush- they are too worried that the media/Rove will be "mean to them."

As long as DEMS refuse to tell the truth about Bush ( b/c they are either "in on it" or scared shitless-you decide) then they will continue to lose.

[Bouncy Ball]

20. I knew this before

the election. I've seen it for a few years now.

But I ignored it in favor of working hard on the election.

Now that it's over, now that we need them more than ever to stand up and start a World Class Bitch-a-Thon the likes of which would make the repukes heads spin, it's even more apparent to me.

And I don't frigging know what to do about it. Or even if I CAN do anything about it, that's the most frustrating part.

So a little note to any high-level Dem staffers that might be reading this: just keep taking it up the rear. You will reap what you sow. I'm ALWAYS more pissed off at repukes, but when my own party doesn't stand up and fight, damn. I don't know WHAT to do.

[Dr Fate]

21. I worked literally THOUSANDS of hours b/t 2002-2004 as well.

And so I'm with you- and I will bitch, moan, complain and withhold all of my $$$$ and volunteer time until DEMS can go on TV and do somthing "radical"- that is- tell the truth about Bush-and stand up to whores in clown make-up.

Pretty "out there" and "radical" request, huh?

Unfortunatley, I have a feeling I will not be doing too much political work or donating for a while.

[Bouncy Ball]

22. Well you and me both.

I just wrote a pretty scathing email to the DNC. Not that they give a shit about little old me who put my life on hold for two years working on this election. Who am I? No one. Who gives a shit.

[Dr Fate]

23. I worked for the DNC. Did you send your letter in a donation envelope?

B/c thats probably the only way it will get opened.

From now on, send your complaints in donation envelopes (minus the donation, of course)

You are dead on- they dont care what you say- the base is to be used for "monkey work" during the campaign- any other time we are marginalized- associating to close w/ us would be like endorsing Micheal Moore. No matter that we have been RIGHT about everything and the DLC has been wrong.

[BeFree]

24. Good passion there, Bouncy

We are all quite aware of the pink-tutu wearing democrats, all too aware.

As i read this thread of yours, it occured to me that in our developing role of becoming the media, we should maybe start out being the media to dems?

For instance this here thread of yours. Maybe instead of railing against dems, how bout showing them what they should be saying and acting out? There was a taste of that up-thread, and it was, imo, the best part of this thread.

What we need is a list of the failures of the squatters along with a list of the ways to combat the media's cover-ups of those failures.

Maybe we need to write a script?

Especially a script detailing how our dem leaders should be acting. They do need to be a good bit more in opposition and quit the bending over, eh?