The Anger is Building...

[babylonsister]

http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=1364

The Anger is Building...
by: Mike Lux
Fri Sep 14, 2007 at 16:48:24 PM EDT

I plan on sending Chris Bowers' incredibly important post on the blurring strategy and pretenders to the new Democratic majority to all my insider friends, because I think it represents well the frustration of an incredibly important and really sizable group of progressive activists around the country. There is a big cohort of passionate, smart, politically savvy activists- people who know how to organize, raise money, communicate and effectively utilize technology and new media- who have come into politics within the last decade who feel like their strategies have been effective but their voices are not being heard. If these voices are ignored by the Democratic establishment, we could lose not only all the resources they bring to the Democratic Party, but could well lose the opening we have for a long-term Democratic majority.

I know feelings are a little raw among my insider friends right now. I've heard plenty of complaints about the MoveOn ad and their primary threats, and the Bush Dog campaign. And I'll be honest with my OpenLeft.com friends, I do worry about taking things too far sometimes, as the debates on this website sometimes reflect. I'm personally not for primarying members in tough districts, and I'm willing to accept more conservative Dems in states or districts that really are more conservative (as many progressive bloggers are, by the way).

But I think to a very great extent, my friends on the inside are bringing this on themselves. By folding on the war in June, folding on FISA, folding again on the war this fall while giving political cover on their toughest issue to Republicans in tough races, failing to pursue subpoenas on the Bush administration, and recruiting cautious, careful, conservative candidates in states/districts where a populist outsider would actually run a better campaign (i.e. Jon Tester and many other examples from 2006), Democratic insiders are opening themselves up to a world of hurt from progressive outsiders.

To my friends on the inside: listen- really listen- to what the outsiders are saying. Take the message seriously. Engage in conversation, even if it gets really tough at times. You don't have to agree with everything said, you don't have to march in lockstep. But if you don't engage, in a really serious and thoughtful way, there will be hell to pay as our party breaks apart.

And by the way, that's not a threat, it's my anguished plea. I don't want the Democratic Party to bust apart, I've given my blood, sweat and tears for a very long time to try and hold it together. But it's going to come apart if there's not a real effort to reach across the divide.

Chris Bowers' referenced post here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x3520313

[Totally Committed]

1. I've been saying this for months.

I hope he does better getting this into the thick heads better than I have.

TC

[OHdem10]

2. At this very moment--10 AM Saturday

Marc Penn(HRC advisor) is blasting away and MoveOn
and saying all Democrats should have gone after
MoveON.

The DLC will sink us yet.

[MissWaverly]

3. yes, indeed, the fact is that terrible things have been done

for 6 years and are still being done, torture, rendition, warrant less wiretaps, an
invasion and destruction of a country that had not attacked us, and we are being
castigated for a 1 page ad that ran for one day. Somebody criticized a general, big deal.
They have not resolved the issues blocking aid to the gulf coast, with winter coming on
there are still homeless and hungry people down there. And as usual, the progressive and
liberals are everybody's favorite bad guys. Why? Because we want to stop killing innocent
people, feed the hungry, make our broken government work again. Oh, don't upset the prez,
he just signed in the ethics bill, how long has that sat on his desk. He is adversarial
and is determined to obstruct everything Congress does. No amount of pandering is going
to change him.

[OHdem10]

4. GWB has politicized every Dept in the Government including

the Military.

Forget Peteus---There is not a General alive ( who hoped
to have his career survive)---any General would have a
report that corresponded exactly to the Commander In Chief.

There was no way General Petreus could have come forth
with a differing report. He had been assigned to plan
and do the darn surge. He, as it should be, worked with
the president on the Surge.

I grew up in the South and have a high regard for our Military.
Yes, my eyes will well with tears of pride when I hear the
National Anthem. No, I am not a blind hawk who wants to
run around the world poking sticks in Hornets" Nests to
get wars going. What I am saying is do not question
or doubt my patriotism or my respect for the Military.

This is differnt from the Blather being produced at Fox.
They are spewing out a dangerous type "nationalism".
To question our Military is nothing short of treason.

In a Democracy people are free to think and challenge.

This Aurthoritarinism being promoted is going to be the
downfall of our nation.

The Media and GOP have sought their own ends by dwelling
on an Ad instead of the growing Imperialism they are
promoting.

[MissWaverly]

6. Yes, I understand that

I totally agree with what you are saying, the Moveon ad was not a criticism of him but the spin machine
that whirls around and changes facts to feel good photo ops. 70% of the Iraqi people think that the
surge made it worse and a large number of those think it's all right to kill our troops. Something
is wrong here, and we need to objectively look at what is going on. I, too have respect for the
military, my friend served over in Iraq and came back last November. But, Iraq never attacked us
and we had no justification for going in there, I am not for stay the course which will throw away
lives w/o a legitimate cause. It breaks my heart to go on the website that honors the fallen soldiers
in Iraq and to see that the picture used is from their prom.

[Forrest Greene]

7. "I grew up in the South and have a high regard for our Military."

Implicit in that statement is a rather geographically-prejudiced notion, I think.

Or perhaps the poster is referring to the last time the South had "a military," circa 1865.

Hard to tell.

[MissWaverly]

8. No, I understand what he is saying

I grew up in a small town which had only 1 stoplight, the "nikey-site" provided a major economic boost to our town
and the soldiers were seen as minor celebrities. Most of the our soldiers are our best and have had a rough
time these last 6 years. I respect them, I just don't respect the beltway crowd who think that managing PR
is going to "deal with the Iraq" situation. Staying the course when we invaded by mistake is a fool's game.
I do not blame our soldiers but the politicians who keep this going.

[OHdem10]

11. It is pretty commonly understood that the greatest

support for the War is In the South.

That 30% that keeps Bush hanging in there and
keeps the GOP from peeling away. That major
support for Bush Policy is in the South.

I have not lived in the South for years but
the Military Support is high there. This is
why the GOP jumped at MoveON Ad.

Who do you think Fox News plays to?

[MissWaverly]

12. It's one thing to appeal to certain audience, it's quite

another to twist the facts, the other day a friend of mine was somewhere that had Fox on, she could not
believe that she was hearing the same news. Like things are in terrible shape but it's all the
democrats fault, how can that possibly be, the GOP has given bush no oversight and are now fighting
everything the dems propose tooth and nail.

[shireen]

5. THANK YOU for two excellent posts, Babylonsister

I am deeply frustrated to the point of apathy. Around this time 4 years ago, despite recovering from major surgery, I got actively involved in the Wes Clark campaign, first via the draft. It was very hard work, and at times, quite trying. But I never regretted a second of it. Wes Clark was the only one who really gave me hope. This year, I cannot muster that same enthusiasm for any of the candidates. I'll vote for whoever wins the Dem. nomination, which has probably already been decided by party elites who are being busy little bees in the early primary states. (I don't count Howard Dean among the fixers, he's too honest. But I don't think he'll be able to stop the backroom manipulators.)

Unless Al or Wes gets in the race (probably too late for Wes), I'm going to do the bare minimum: vote for Dems, even if I don't like them, and write to members of Congress, even if I don't expect them to do anything useful. Unless a truly inspirational figure steps forward (sorry Obama supporters, I know you love your guy but I don't see the magic), I don't hold out much hope for this country's political system.

[LWolf]

9. "Listen. Really Listen"

to what the outsiders are saying. Take the message seriously."

Great advise; I hope many will heed it.

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[MissWaverly]

10. I have made a commitment to donate to the Dems for years

John Dean in his book Broken Government states that the RW republicans hate liberals and progressives
and are determined to lock them out of power forever. What do we do as a party to counter this,
how do we break from Stay the Course, it has brought our country to the edge of bankruptcy and
alienated the majority of the American People. The people are with us on this, 60% think that
America is currently on the wrong track. Modern day conservatism is about serving the wealthy
elite at the expense of the rest of the country.