The silence is deafening. The DNC....

[carolinalady]

and so lies and more lies are coming from the administration regarding Clinton and warrantless searches; regarding Mr. Gore's character and integrity; and what do our leaders say? NOTHING!!!!! Why am I supporting these people? I just sent an e-mail in which I told them that they need to come out and support what Gore said, but I know in my heart it was a worthless exercise. Why the hell isn't Reid taking a stand? Where is Dean's leadership? Why aren't they at this moment organizing themselves to begin a systematic attack on Presidential abuse? Why am I spending hours reading this damn board savoring any morsel of information that illuminates the evil dictatorship that occupies 1600 Pennsylvania Ave? This morning I am thoroughly disgusted with all of them, so I am going to walk away and clean my house.
:banghead:
:grr:
:nuke:
:rant:

[napi21]

1. Well, Dean is giving a speach tomorrow.

I read on DU this AM, and everyone's being asked to ask Cspan to broadcast it.

[wtmusic]

12. Have a link to the DU thread?

thanks.

[napi21]

14. Yep, I found it.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=147014

[Atman]

2. They're sticking their fingers in the wind

...the media is whipping up the anti-Gore frenzy, and our "leaders" want to see if we're going to buy it or not before they follow us.

:banghead:

[mattclearing]

3. Wait until Wednesday. Supposedly there is an array of speeches planned.nt

[G_j]

41. no reason to wait to support Gore, while the media keeps spinning

'hurry up and wait' seems to be the Dem mantra these days

[mattclearing]

59. I get what you're saying, but a lot of this will be addressed tomorrow.nt

[Flabbergasted]

4. And yet we still should start a letter Writing campaign on

this subject and espeicially to Gore.

[FormerDittoHead]

5. I too, am tired of WEEKS AND WEEKS passing before something is said....

Like that Bill Clinton interview 2 weeks ago (last week?) about the wiretaps which was IMMEDIATELY lost from the discussion.

I thought the "protocol" was to no longer make references to the prior administration and their mistakes, etc.?

[w13rd0]

6. The GOP responds quickly...

...to just about everything because their line is always the same. Lie, slander, rinse and repeat. The Democrats aren't quite so quick because they usually TRY to think before pulling the trigger. A lot of times it results in lost opportunities and colossal mistakes. But I'd rather they think before they shoot than they be like the GOP.

[kentuck]

11. It does seem a little odd...

that the RNC can attack him but the DNC cannot defend him??

[tatertop]

16. Not odd. Tragic, traitorous, spineless, yes. Odd, no.

[Loge23]

15. ...and effectively

The RNC is all over the state-sponsored media this AM with their bluster.
AND IT'S WORKING!!
The average Joe and Jane are dismissing Gore's comments as irrelevant.
How thorough is organizations like Faux News?
This AM I'm at the gym - there's a bank of TV's available with headphones that I don't listen to. I'm busy reading Al Franken's new book! But I look up and see the Faux News video (about 9:15am ). They are running the Gore speech fallout. What do they show? They show CLINTON!! with the captions stating Clinton's supposed use of wiretaps during his administration!! It's all Clinton's fault!!
Un - freakin - believable! I couldn't hear the sound but it doesn't matter - the point was made.
But people eat this crap up - they believe it!
Ironically, while this is going on, I'm reading Franken's detailed account of how the idiot dictator blew 9/11 and made a career out of his own incompetence!
For cryin out loud DNC, get the !%$& off your duffs and fight back!! Or, will someone please form a another viable party - please!

[tatertop]

18. My wine has more spine than senator liebermine

(Better morals, too.)
Gore gave them the opportunity to fight.
And they backed down.
When will they start doing the right thing?

[NVMojo]

7. it's discouraging ...especially in light of how fast the RNC reacted

to Gore. There is too much insecurity and jealousy in the Democratic Party. I see it locally and at the state level in Nevada too.

[txindy]

8. I'm hoping they spotlight Gore's speech and not Hillary's

His speech was far more important and inspiring than Clinton's, IMO. Both should be covered, certainly, but Gore's speech about the creeping fascism is far more urgent.

[Clark2008]

28. You know they're not going to, don't you?

Hillary who THEY want US to send up in 2008.

[txindy]

60. Yep, I'm afraid you're right n/t

[tuvor]

9. I agree. They should speak with one voice.

This wait-n-see attitude (at least, that's what it certainly looks like) perpetuates the belief that dems don't have it together, especially compared to their opposition. And, IMHO, that's been their single biggest problem in attracting more voters.

[KoKo]

10. The DNC is a sponser of the Liberty Coalition who sponsored Gore's Speech!

That's what's shocking. Gore mentioned the Liberty Coalition at the end of his speech and I looked them up and DNC is on their list of sponsors.

What I saw last night on Tweety's show was so sickening with the worst Dem rep on against Bush shill Ben Ginsberg that it washed away that great feeling I had from Gore's Speech that change would be coming. Gore framed the issues for the Dems....and where are they? Where is Pelosi? Where is Reid? What about Harry Reid's supposed "War Room" to get Dems out there on the Pundit shows on the Cables?

The snip of the RNC's comment on Gore was just disgusting. Where was someone there to refute it? If they can't get on the media or get coverage in the NYT's and Washington Post, why don't they call attention to it? Why not protest on the steps of the Capitol building....

Where the hell are they all?

[ixion]

13. and yet you see dem strategists scratching their head

wondering why the dems are so ineffective.

This is a textbook example. You've got rethugs all up and down the circuit working their smear mojo, and what are the dems doing?

Staying quiet. Why?

Again: WHY?

They should be out in force standing up for Gore and demanding accountability.

[w8liftinglady]

17. well,heck-I'm writing them.

basically to ask them ...where are you?grow a pair and stand up,democratic leaders-the majority is on your side-I witnessed that on washington Journal this morning-all the repubs had were insults and rhetoric-no facts.if the democrats will just stick to the facts....but SPEAK UP-we will gain a lot of moderates and independents-they don't agree with the way the republican party is going.

[w8liftinglady]

19. please contact the DNC

http://www.democrats.org/page/s/contact

write,phone,or email(or all three)...let them know we depend on them to step up and be brave.

[mandyky]

20. Fill that silence with your own voice

Yesterday was a holiday, Congress is still on break. The silence is merely a pause. but fill it if you fill that strongly. Write a LTTE or make a blog entry somewhere, hopefully not about Dems being silent but agreeing with Al Gore.

[w8liftinglady]

21. exactly

we need to stick to issues and build our party up

[carolinalady]

22. Holiday-congressional break- it just doesn't cut it. Where is the

immediate response team? While our leaders are on their break, the RNC spin machine is killing the message. First impressions are lasting. The first thing most people heard was not Gore's speech, it was Ken Mehlmen and Scott McClellan.

[mandyky]

23. Do we have a rapid response team?

Maybe we should get one, if not.

[w8liftinglady]

24. That's actually a really good idea!

[madfloridian]

31. Yes, active Rapid Response....link.

http://www.rapidresponsenetwork.org/

[w8liftinglady]

46. awesome!

[leeroysphitz]

25. Can someone answer? Are we being sold out? n/t

[welshTerrier2]

26. will the Dem '08 candidates stand with Gore??

i just wrote this in another thread and then i saw your post ... you have hit zee nail and zee head !!!

we blame the MSM and they deserve all the blame we can muster ... when a prominent American figure says that bush has repeatedly broken the law, that should be Page One news ... in fact, the story should have "legs" ... the job of the MSM should be to promote a national dialog on critical issues ... when Gore called for a special counsel to independently investigate bush's wiretapping, that should be what gets talked about until a resolution is reached ... the MSM is a total disgrace ...

but what about leading Dems ... Gore had the guts to take the case public ... he said bush "repeatedly and persistently broke the law" ... he said a special counsel was needed to investigate bush's crimes ... and he said that our democracy hangs in the balance ...

does anyone in the Democratic Party care about message discipline??? anyone at all??? here, i'll try to explain it so that maybe someone in the Party will get the message ... message discipline means that when a landmark speech is made and a battlecry is issued, we parade all of our prominent Democrats before the microphones and we have them "pile on" ... we hammer and hammer and hammer so that our position cannot merely be ignored by a useless media ...

let's list some of the '08 hopefuls ... did Bayh hammer? did Biden hammer? did Clark hammer? did Clinton hammer? did Kerry hammer? did Warner hammer? and just for good measure even if he's not a candidate, did Dean hammer? and what about the rest of the Party? how many other Dems have or will speak out to support what Gore said? so, you argue one day's not enough? fine, how about the Sunday talk shows? how about calling in the media for a press conference? how about even just going on Air America? nope, not a word ... they're all probably trying to figure out the political implications to decide whether they should respond ...

kudos to Al Gore for telling it like it is ... Gore captured what should be intuitive for every Democrat ... he was greeted with strong support on the blogs and dead silence from his own party ...

[madfloridian]

27. Will you guys stop this crap?

The DNC was practically closed yesterday. The main bloggers were with Dean in Missouri or elsewhere. Sub blogger today so far except for Tim's post at the MLK event.

This is so obvious a ploy to hurt the party.

Hillary spoke out finally, and she is being attacked. Of course the Democrats support Gore's speech. This is meant to imply otherwise, and it is pretty obvious.

There are posts all over the DU withholding financial support, and even if someone speaks out they get blasted.

I think it is sickening at a time we need unity that those who desire 3rd party try to hurt the Democrats to get it.

[seabeyond]

33. i think it is bullshit too. cant even see this as a dem board anymore

all the bullshit comments, no one says anything, not fast enough. step down pelosi. she backed and defended murtha immediately. didnt jump on plan immediately. took her friggin fourteen days to read and consider, then back. people are tearing her apart. bullshit

[carolinalady]

34. I do not desire a third party. I support the DNC financially. Tell me

why do the RNC have people to get out the word and we don't? Why do we take a holiday? Can we afford to take a holiday? Hold your fire on me-I have a right to be angry and I am not hurting the Democrats. You make no sense.

[madfloridian]

36. There are posts here about where the chairman was yesterday.

Others had a day off. They got the vote on Alito postponed a little.

You have no right to say they did not approve of Gore's speech. That is just baloney.

[carolinalady]

45. Excuse me-I just reread my original post and it said NOTHING

about whether or not they approve of Gore's speech! How the hell would I know what they think? Their silence is deafening! Which was the title of this thread and the point of my orginal post. Why do insist on inserting more than I wrote?

[madfloridian]

53. Because it was pretty obvious.

There are posts like this all over DU today and yesterday.

I do know that some of the senate Dems got the Alito vote postponed yesterday.

I don't know where each Democrat was, but I do know you said where the hell was Dean's leadership. I resented that because there are posts here about it.

He spoke out in Missouri yesterday and today, he will be in Columbus,Ohio tomorrow on the steps of the capitol with state legislators to address the corruption.

I don't really know what else to say. I admire most of our Democrats a great deal. I criticize the ones who hang out at the DLC too much because it skews their thinking. I criticize those who call themselves Democrats but who want a third party more than this one.

I think standing on the steps of the capitol building is pretty gutsy myself.

[carolinalady]

55. Television my friend is global. He could be in Timbuktu and

still come out and support Mr.Gore and Mrs. Clinton. When Mehlmen was on, he should have been there too in my opinion. He should have plainly debunked the lies about Clinton and the warrant less searches like he did on Wolf Blitzer a week ago. He could have had our press secretary release a statement for God's sake. That is my point. As far as being obvious, what is obvious is that you have a chip on your shoulder from some other threads you read and you transferred your feelings about them to this one. I defy you to find me in any of those threads criticizing Dean. You won't because I have never ever done that.

[madfloridian]

57. I have a "chip on my shoulder" about attacking unfairly.

You may be right on that. I am very upset at all the criticism here of every thing the Democrats do.

I think it should be assumed that the party supports Gore. I don't think the Clintons would appreciate Dean speaking up for them, do you?

I don't think Howard Dean should appear when Ken Mehlman does. Mehlman is a shill.

[patcox2]

29. Don't look for the DNC, its not the voice of the party.

The public doesn't listen to the party committees, except for the rabid partisans. Noone listens to the RNC talking heads or the DNC talking heads; noone at all, except loons, reads their press releases (but if you did, you'd find they issue a constant stream of comment).

Leadership is about leaders, individual democrats who go out and speak and make the democratic case. Just this week Pelosi and Reid have made very very powerful speeches about republican corruption. Just watch, this issue is going to be the winner in November, the corruption and incompetence, not the war or spying. Those are partisan issues, the war and spying, they polarize and incite both sides to stick even firmer to their positions.

But corruption, thats not a partisan issue, there are no two sides, everyone is against corruption. Its a slow burn issue, but more indictments are coming, and the media blurring the line and trying to make it look like a bipartisan scandal just ain't going to work, the people know who is in charge, and it ain't us.

The party committee is not a "spokesman" for the party. And anything released by or said by party officials is simply discounted as partisan, as it is when the RNC and its talking heads say something (except by Fox, which reports such as gospel truth).

[madfloridian]

30. I find the DNC highly credible.

And yes, people do listen and pay attention.

[patcox2]

32. You are right to trust the DNC, but don'e expect the public at large to.

What you read and find credible does not determine what the majority of voters reads and finds credible enough to sway them to vote for one candidate or another.

If you want the DNC to cheerlead for your personal enjoyment, thats fine. But DNC press releases and talking heads have about zero influence on public opinion, individual democratic leaders are the ones to look to.

[madfloridian]

35. "If I want the DNC to cheerlead for my personal enjoyment?" Oh, my.

That is absolutely the strangest, most revealing statement yet about what is going on in threads like this.

I think you just clarified what is going on.

"If you want the DNC to cheerlead for your personal enjoyment, thats fine. But DNC press releases and talking heads have about zero influence on public opinion, individual democratic leaders are the ones to look to."

Please tell me where you got all that from what I said.

Your post is very hurtful, very insulting, and it is sad that you call me clueless.

If I am clueless, at least I am sensible about it. I don't go off the deep end on either end of the spectrum.

AND I don't believe in trying to kill the party to save it.

[patcox2]

39. I'm not trying to destroy the party, I am defending the DNC.

The premise of this thread is that the DNC should be saying something.

I am just trying to put the DNC in perspective, its unfair to criticize the party committee for not doing something that is not its major function to do.

And its a fact that the public at large does not pay attention to party committee statements, because they are always clearly partisan statements.

The public is swayed by individual people that the pubic deems trustworthy.

So, the job of speaking out and making the case to the public that the republicans are wrong, stupid, corrupt, and evil, is not the responsibility of the DNC, its the responsibility of individual democratic officeholders. The DNC's job is to support them and support candidates.

[madfloridian]

40. Calling me clueless as a fellow Democrat then is very wrong.

I resent it. I do not like being called things like that.

It was insulting.

QUOTE: "You are demonstrating your cluelessness in politics."

[patcox2]

43. You have my apology, and an edit.

Sorry.

[sendero]

44. OK, you tell me..

.... exactly WHO is supposed to get talking heads booked on these shows to make a credible defense of our position? WHO?

[welshTerrier2]

37. "Those are partisan issues, the war and spying"

spying on Americans and violating the Constitution is NOT a partisan issue; it's an American issue ... we make no progress on issues like spying when we fight them from a political perspective ...

Gore's speech, regardless of how republicans and the misguided media might portray it, was entirely non-partisan ... he took Democrats to task as well as republicans for failing to preserve the independence of the Congress ...

if you're trying to make a case that Democrats should not speak out in support of the critical issues Gore raised, you are turning your back on what should sit at the core of the Democratic Party's platform ... party centrists are always going on about attracting more republicans to the party ... well, here's your chance ... it just might be possible that a republican or two, maybe even a right-winger like Bob Barr, might agree with preserving our liberties ...

it's disgraceful to hear anyone argue that the Party shouldn't fight against the theft of Constitutional freedoms because that issue is not a "winner" ...

[patcox2]

42. They are politicized issues.

Look, I know that we are right and they are wrong. I am not arguing for what democrats should or should not run on. I am stating that a politicized issue is not going to sway as many people as an issue that is perceived as wholly non-partisan.

Like it or not, the war, for example, is a politicized issue, and when you talk about the war, you are going to make almost as many people turn against as turn towards you. A politicized issue will do that.

Thats just the nature of public opinion and political trends, its not a comment on the merits of the issues or a prescription for winning. I am just predicting that its the issue that tips the balance.

[justabob]

47. I agree completely

This is not and should not be a partisan issue.

[madfloridian]

38. I get insulted for defending Democrats at a Democratic forum.

Go figure.

[seabeyond]

49. bah hahaha. bad you. well, i love you anyway.....

lol lol. i cant help it. just a huge smile. i am so with you. has been working on a week now, that it has been so bad on this board. i have just bottom lined it is not dem reps at all, it is us, that are the mess.

yell at repugs. dont yell at repugs. to little to late. spineless, dont say anything, what they do say is all wrong.

go figure

[carolinalady]

51. well you insulted me by spinning my original post and claiming

1. That I advocate a third party.
2. That I am witholding financial support from the party
3. That I believe the DNC does not suppport what V.P. Gore said.

None of the statements are true. It hurts when someone deliberately twists your thoughts doesn't it?

[WI_DEM]

48. Reid and Dean have given more leadership in the past year

than Daschle and McAuliffe gave in the the four years prior to that. Could it be that the media isn't reporting on their comments?

[seabeyond]

50. and kerry and pelosi and boxer and conyers, lordy conyers

and waxman, and feingold

[carolinalady]

52. well maybe, so I checked the website this am and there was no

reference to Mr. Gore's speech.

[madfloridian]

54. I posted about this several times.

Yesterday was a holiday, but Dean and Tim and other bloggers were out of town. Dean is in Missouri and Ohio...see my post above.

[linazelle]

56. No WAYYYY! Dean and Reid aren't doing a thing...

:sarcasm:

PS> I get tired of the Democratic criticism here. Every democratic is not idly standing by--some are doing the best they can. As much as Conyers does, when's the last time you saw him on the MSM? Yes we are being muted--the very thing that Gore said in his speech about controlling information applies to our party.

[mzmolly]

58. The media is not seeking Dean's input right now.

Hopefully what Gore said has stirred debate and we WILL be heard - period. It's not going to happen overnight, never does.