On perceived rightward moves...

[Jackpine Radical]

Personally, I guess I'm pretty far left by today's standards (I used to be kinda in the middle of the pack; I didn't move--the world did), and I like levopoliticians as opposed to the dextro forms as well. Unfortunately, American politics has served up very few of these, and the ones that have arisen on the left--like McGovern in '72--tend to get the shit kicked out of them.

I would far prefer it if we had politicians who could take a leftward stance and get elected on it. But that just doesn't seem to happen, for reasons that are not especially clear to me, since I think the electorate is further left than they are generally thought to be. I guess maybe the media are just good at scaring the hell out of people about any candidates with leftish leanings.

Anyway,I think it is absolutely essential that Obama be elected. I'm the world's worst political tactician, and Obama is proving himself to be one of the best. If he thinks he needs to take on centrist coloration in order to win, then so be it. He came from nowhere, wearing a swarthy complexion, and took the Democratic nomination. He's been consistently leading in the polls. He has a personal magnetism capable of sucking the Doug Kmiecs of the world into his political orbit. I'm content to take these points as being at least mildly suggestive :sarcasm: that he knows what he's doing. Therefore I'm not gonna second-guess him about what he needs to do to go the rest of the way to the Inauguration.

Once he gets in office, it's a whole new ballgame. Once we have a Democratic President and a Democratic Congress, those sumbitches had best start doing what we want if they want to keep their jobs. This is a time like no other in that the electorate at last has the tools to interact with each other and form a consensus, and to put pressure on their elected officials to enact the results of that consensus.

Tip O'Neill once commented that all politics is local. He never envisioned a time when all those local nuclei could connect with each other in a national and international network of shared interests.

[NYC_SKP]

1. From you lips to their ears (pre-election whiners, that is)...

Once he gets in office, it's a whole new ballgame. Once we have a Democratic President and a Democratic Congress, those sumbitches had best start doing what we want if they want to keep their jobs. This is a time like no other in that the electorate at last has the tools to interact with each other and form a consensus, and to put pressure on their elected officials to enact the results of that consensus.

Can we please just let him win, then hold his feet to the fire, pretty please?

:hi:

[MarjorieG]

3. Obama welcomes and expects push from the bottom up, helping pass what we all want.

Holding our electeds accountable. The FISA organizing was a good effort on one level that I believe Obama will point to. He's about transparency and activism.

I just hope people can use the enthusiasm and concerns to learn the fullness and accuracy of issues. I often get petitions to sign that I agree with in principle, but the premises stated are simplistic, and don't explain why failure to pass isn't the emotional death knell people say, or a failure of character. Of course, taking away corporate writing and buying our legisaltion has to stop.

No question our Constitution has been attacked, for years now, but we have to take it back one step at a time, and hopefully with a president who values it.

[NanceGreggs]

2. Agreed ...

... one thousand percent.

:kick: and REC'D!!!