K&R if you're willing to work to put in a 65% PROGRESSIVE majority congress !!

[uponit7771]

Sooooooooo, it looks like we don't have as progressive of a congress as a good number of us thought we had.

Instead of bitching and moaning I'm willing to participate to get the 65% PROGRESSIVE majority needed to pass laws for America's middle class to thrive...


I'm done moaning now...


You?

[WeDidIt]

1. Why?

It won't do a damned thing.

We worked to take back the white house and give him a super majority in the Senate and he squandered it.

What makes you think 80 "progressive" Senators would make any difference, let alone 65?

[treestar]

4. You're kidding

You've just revealed it: you are determined to be unhappy no matter what.

[uponit7771]

5. You're kidding right? Obama does NOT have a super majority of progressive congress persons

[timeforpeace]

39. If you think the country will support us after this, and give us even 50% next time around, that's

quite a stretch. More donations, more time? Not the solution. Better governing with what we have is.

[chimpymustgo]

2. That's going to mean getting rid of about half of the Democrats there now.

Sure, I'm in.

[emulatorloo]

29. Lincoln, Nelson and Lieberman (I) would be a pretty good start.

[chimpymustgo]

30. There are a lot of DINO's hiding behind LIEberman's skirt.

[Deep13]

3. Nope. Been there. Done that.

I'm not spending my life tilting at windmills.

[uponit7771]

7. We have a 65% progressive congress?! You're kidding right?!

[Deep13]

14. Read it again. nt

[treestar]

9. In other words, you want to complain, not do anything

Got it.

[Deep13]

10. Wrong. Already did sometime about it.

Turned out to be a bad investment.

[treestar]

12. So you quit when the going gets tough

[Deep13]

17. Get's tough? Where were you the past eight years? nt

[treestar]

24. So you quit when things are going a bit better?

You have the flu, the doctor gives you treatment, it makes you 25% better, so you quit and claim the doctor is a loser? :rofl: When you could have continued and gotten 100% better. Got it.

[Deep13]

25. In what way have things gotten better?

Anyway, I seriously scaled back my involvement in 2007 when I saw the new D. majority caving in to Bush. Anyway, we did a maximum effort in '04 and again in '06 because first '04 and then '06 were the most important elections in our lifetimes. There's no way I could possibly keep that up.

[treestar]

27. There have been many lists on that

If things are even 10% better, that's something, and it has only been a year. The conservadems are only so conservative, even they are Repukes or neocons.

[uponit7771]

13. Again, we do NOT have a 60% progressive congress...the work is NOT done

[Deep13]

15. never said we did. nt

[uponit7771]

11. RIGHT!!! The situation is clear, we don't have as progressive congress as we thought and we have to

...work to get one in.

[Deep13]

18. Just what kind of work will accomplish that? nt

[uponit7771]

20. Getting progressive on local dem party boards, financialy supporting progressive senators in other..

...races, pushing (making an issue of) for non monopoly of airwaves in rural America....etc

I could go on but are you willing to do the simple and practical?

Thx

[Deep13]

22. Define "pushing."

And how does one "get" progressives on local D. boards? And what difference will that actually make? Precinct captains don't vote on health care legislation.

Anyway, I've already done much of that stuff. I've spent decades obsessing over it. Spent my time and money and creativity supporting a party that can't seem to get out of its own way. I've been supporting liberal candidates (in the literal sense and not the lip service sense) since 1988 when I became a founding member of a local Rainbow Coalition. For the most part, my efforts have been a complete waste of time. If my wife and I had stayed home in 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006 and did not give $1000s of dollars to political candidates, the only difference would have been that we would have a new kitchen today. At some point, we have to admit that D. party politics are a bad investment and a waste of our limited resources. And I'm not going to entertain arguments based on the consequent. Yeah, we really really need change. It's still not going to happen.

[uponit7771]

32. Pushing = supporting people who advocate for...Precint captains do have a say on candidate support..

...though.

"...I've spent decades obsessing over it. Spent my time and money and creativity supporting a party that can't seem to get out of its own way..."

I can understand the frustration, I'm not giving up...I see a way out and I'll push for it no matter what the probabilities

[Deep13]

38. Okay pushing = supporting. Great.

My point is that there seems to be a disconnect between the plan and the mechanics of implementing that plan. I have no way of supporting progressive central committee members (precinct captains) because no one around here gives a shit what I think. My vocal opposition to the status quo has alienated me from the D. establishment. So now instead of being a leader, I'm "that guy." So as a practical matter I have no way of supporting prog. precinct captains.

Even if I could, most of them hold that position in name only. And I doubt there are enough progressive D.s in this county to fill any seats anyway. This isn't Boston. It's not even Akron. It's East Asslick, Ohio. This is the state where about half of the Kerry voters also voted for a ban on gay marriage which was already illegal. This is a town where churches outnumber bars and D. office-holders have Jesus fish on their cars. And after all that, the only thing precinct captains do is select the executive committee. Whoop-dee-shit! When I helped found a private progressive group, two personalities took it over an sunk it. The candidates we helped elect to city council Liebermanned us by supporting Republicans.

I threw in the towel on the Ds as a whole three years ago. In 2008 I spent some time campaigning to reelect my employer and spent some money in the D. presidential primary. Our side lost. The only thing positive that came from anyone we supported was getting Sherrod Brown elected. He does a great job, but as we have seen, he's undermined by his own party.

On the night of the election in 2004, a friend of mine told me he had been doing this ever two years since he saw Nixon sweep the country in 1972. That REALLY made me think. Do I want to be watching the Ds fuck up for another twenty years? I only have one life and I'm not spending it tilting at windmills. There are specific things I care about and will pursue them. The party itself is a bad investment.

[WeDidIt]

16. +1,000,000,000,000

[Deep13]

19. If I were wrong, one would be enough. nt

[treestar]

6. True

That's what we need. We all assumed a Dem Senate would be liberal and were not educated enough to realize that from conservative states, even the Dems are conservative.

[uponit7771]

8. Yeap, kinda like California the suburban reThugs are very liberal.

[liskddksil]

21. We can start with these candidates

Jennifer Brunner, is Secretary of State in Ohio, and much more progressive then the establishment backed Lee Fisher, in the race for Ohio's senate seat.

http://www.jenniferbrunner.com /

Rhode Island State Representative Betsy Dennigan, who is progressive and pro-choice, is running in a primary against current Rep. James Langevin, who voted for the Stupak amendment.

http://betsydenniganforcongress.com/?page_id=10

Andrew Romanoff is the former Colorado House Majority Leader, who has bucked the establishment and even the President to run a primary against Michael Bennet, who voted against the Cram-down legislation, and until very recently was not generally supportive of the public option.

http://www.andrewromanoff.com /

Doug Tudor is a progressive Democrat running in the primary against self-proclaimed "blue-dog" Lori Edwards in Florida's 12 Congressional District.

http://www.teamtudor.org/index.asp

Bloomington Resident D'Ippolito is running against Evan Bayh.
http://www.tamyraforsenate.com /

Joe Sestak running against Republican turned Democrat Arlen Spector.
http://joesestak.com /

Marcy Winograd running against DLC Rep. Jane Harman in California.
www.winograd4congress.com

Regina Thomas running against blue-dog John Barrow in Georgia. No website yet.

Also keep an eye on Lt. Gov. of Arkansas Bill Halter, who many believe could run against Sen. Lincoln.

[uponit7771]

23. Looks good to me, I'm more surprised that people aren't willing to work for progressiveness though

[Deep13]

26. I already wrote Brunner a check. nt

[emulatorloo]

28. KICK and REC n/t

[Mass]

31. Sure, but how do we insure this. Half of the people elected these two last cycles,

sometimes with progressive support, are far from being progressive (McCaskill, Webb, Tester, ...).

It is a reason I do not send money to the party instances, and send money to candidates I research.

[uponit7771]

33. Get on local dem party boards and FIND progressive candidates with balls...

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

34. Good luck with that.

Obama won 28 states, which would yield 56 progressive Senators at a maximum, ignoring the fact that several of those states would probably not yield a solid progressive (ie: Indiana). In order to get to 65%, you'd need to get 9 progressives from McCain states.

While I applaud your enthusiasm and willingness to actually do something, I don't see that happening any time soon.

[uponit7771]

35. Don't need it soon just eventually...

[Ganja Ninja]

36. I guess first we need a progressive party.

Because I'm not voting in a 65% majority only to hear we need a 70 % majority.

[uponit7771]

37. True, but we don't have a 60% majority PROGRESSIVE congress right now that is ...

...going the same direction on Health care.

I thought we did ...

[Phx_Dem]

40. Nope. Sorry. Not when they're the ones advocating for killing HCR.