In our frenzy, the real issue that we may be missing

[burythehatchet]

I'm not interested in a flame war. I want to add that I did my part in pressing the Dems to "do the right thing".

That said, I want to explore and receive comments on a train of thought that leads to a conclusion that says we are on a train that is about to go over a bridge where the tracks are out. i.e., disaster. The basis of my fear: The members of the Democratic caucus are a certain breed of politician, in general. They came into their seats not through trials by fire but simply because there were overwhelming Democratic constituencies, or they mated with a few big corporate sponsors. Although I would not paint the whole party with that brush, there are a "critical" number of Democrats who fit into those categories. Biden,Lieberman, and Feinstien are example of the corporate logo wearers. Boxer, Kerry, Kennedy, Shumer are examples of those senators who are beneficiaries of overwhelmingly democratic voter bases.

I see you're firing up your flame throwers...hang on one second.

One of the exceptions to these categories is Harry Reid. Here's a man who truly has walked through the valley of death to earn a place in the Senate. Unfortunately, there are very few like him.

So why are we discussing this?

When we ask our senate caucus to undertake a task as momentous as a filibuster of a supreme court nominee, we are asking for an army to engage in a war. The sad fact is that a war cannot be fought with the standing army that democrats are sporting. I'm no taking the Maureen Dowd line and saying Democrats are wimps, that's a stupid assessment. No, Democrats are not wimps, but they are not warriors like Reid is a warrior. They have not been tested in battle. They are soft. And we complain about them being spineless. Yes they are, but what we fail to recognize is that WE THE PEOPLE are responsible for making sure that warriors take positions that the current Dems occupy. We have failed this task at the grass roots. When the Ralph Reed fundies decided to use the church as a political arm, it marked the beginning of Republican dominance and the end of Democratic competence. We lost the war in our school districts and local assemblies. So we have to stand up and take responsibility for fielding the army that we now want to fight for us in the Senate. It's just not going to happen. In fact, it will hurt us because if you extend the analogy, we are asking for a frontal assault from a bunch who don't have the slightest knowledge of what an assault looks like.

Want proof? Look at the bastards on the other side of the line. For years that they have abused the rule and law and decorum. They hardly ever break ranks. Why? Because they were deployed for this very purpose. Even though they are beholden to corporate power like many of ours, they are still bred for battle. Why do you think they get under our skin so much. Because they are bastards. Ruthless, cold blooded bastards. If we want to have any chance of fighting competitively we have to field the same tough representatives. Except, of course, ours would have a degree of honor that is foreign to them.

For the time being, I can guarantee you that this filibuster fight is going to hurt us, I'm sad to say.

[katsy]

1. Recommended.

Excellent analysis.

[burythehatchet]

2. Thanks katsy, for committed Dems the task ahead

is enormous. But I feel like we may have started it in some respects like with the "fightin' dems", the 11 guys running who actually fought in a war. But its more difficult to do in the senate, obviously.

[AX10]

3. I agree that the Democrats need to learn how to disipline themselves...

and learn to stay together. We also need strong soliders too.