Submitted by Marisacat on 28 January 2006 - 9:51pm
Forward Together! Real Deal! Together, America is better (or whatever it is)...
Train Thousands of New Courageous
Parachutists for the Land of
Socialism, 1940,
Anatoly Devyanin
(1911-1986)
Well, I hung up 30 minutes in. I had heard the senatorial exhortation, heard the questions (little left to say) on the Kennedy blogger call.
This is an uphill battle, but one in which we can at the very least achieve a moral victory.Approached with principle, with passion, and with vigor, a moral victory is not a hollow victory.
As Senator Kennedy told us, "You don't ever lose fighting for principle, for what is decent and right. You don't ever lose when you have the power, the force of being correct."
Now let's get back to work!
But, I had watched Kennedy's face each day of the hearings, the day he gave his floor speech against Alito. If you can believe it, he first spoke in the slot reserved for Byrd, then was interrupted and moved aside for Bobby Byrd....
I am sure these are bitter days, they look to be intensely bitter.
I also heard and saw lack of will, any will, in Reid on Thursday, others saw hints of smiles and "something up his sleeve". There is false hope and there is just plain false.
Political assessment will vary. Atmospherics. Shrum produced speeches... ''The dream shall never never die... ''
What of legacy? So important in politics - and it seems we are for dynasties. All the big battles foreseen since Reagan (another enemy dismissed as ''stupid'') ascended to national power have come. They were not met... or met slightly, in the margins.
A Democratic majority, with a Democratic Chair of the Judiciary delivered us Clarence Thomas. 11 crossed the aisle, the vote 52-48. The Republicans can count on the Democrats. Enough of them, every single day.
Hardest of all, there were so many martyrs across the years.
Would that there were strength for a filibuster. "Saving" it last spring indeed did not save it.
Others see it differently...
I hope some of the comments I'm reading around the blogosphere aren't reflections of of a knee jerk cynicism on the part of Democrats who have fallen in love with their assessment that they are superior to their elected leaders.This is a very dangerous state of mind.
No, it is called schism. Long, long overdue. The Democratic party partitioned itself in the wake of the '72 election... Bob Strauss purged the left organisations from the great Rolodex at the DNC. The Republicans folded in their movement conservatives, they purged their party, slowly - level by level, of moderate Republicans: they are only extremists now. The "moderates" who remain happily embrace "winning" and are not troubled at all by virulent racism, propaganda reminiscent of asbestos insulation (it's killing us, it is cancerous) and murderously low taxes.
Ante-bellum uber alles.
There is always a "noble cause". South Carolina is the litmus test in the Republican primary system and one must genuflect, or the christians will lie about you. Genuflect in any direction, pray the pogrom does not sneak up while you are in pious mode (eyes shut). Unregulated, deregulated Mammon, truly and absolutely is their god.
A broad spectrum Democratic party would have had a chance to be strong. Fractious, messy, no one ever promised a formal rose garden with the Democrats.
Really, not hard to separate from hollow.
UPDATE: Sunday 11:12 AM PT:
Mike the Mad Biologist has commented on this post.
And while I did not address the Kerry factor (frankly, this Davos to DC episode is... epilogue) Bruce Webb does in a comment or two at MyDD.
Comments
5 comments postedfor pulling the cover off and laying bare Harry Reid's plan of keeping expectations so low that everyone would be lulled into a false sense of helplessness. Also, not expecting anything would keep a revolt from the base in check. [Although, Reid's blog buddies quickly jumped into action begging for more support and money for vile candidates that would have stuck the knife in deeper like Casey and Ford.]
Thank you for pulling the blinds off of what SHOULD HAVE BEEN and showing us more clearly just how badly we are being abused by our own party.
Thank you for illuminating for all to see what a poor leader Harry Reid is and what a sham this whole party has become.
Thank you for at least trying to raise expectations and breaking this mind numbing acceptance of perpetual failure.
Thank you for putting a stick in the spokes of endemic defeatism of the Democratic leadership... if that was all you did IT WAS WORTH IT.
People should not habitually accept defeat but feel the real pain inflicted by useless Dems and therefore be certain to never support such assholes again.
for giving me a laugh that you posted in the Orange Capitulation Palace.
Look at all the work you have given them... it's been non stop sickly sweet appeasement full of the usual empty promises since the vote. Never Surrender, Work Harder, Don't Go, We will show them next time, and my favorite... It was your fault for not commenting enough on my GEEEENIOUS posts...
De Nile ain't just a river in Egypt...
"STAY THE COURSE... AND GIVE MONEY TO MORE USELESS DEMS"... and buy my book that says the same
It is funny to see front pagers who can only be civil and poetic when they wax about the failures of the Democratic party as though it were a badge on honor. The reality of the blogosphere... is that it's so called leaders can't control it nor have real credibility [no matter how many planted posts say the opposite]... as much as they like to pretend that they are the blog herders... that is far from reality.
I wonder how easy it is going to be selling a book that promotes the GEEEENIOUS STRATEGERIE of electing more issue-less spine-less Republican Dems as the "saviors" of the Democratic party after seeing the same kinds issue-less spine-less Republican Dems back stab not only the party but the nation in not standing up to protect the Constitution.... UNFORGIVEABLE.
People act in their own best interest regardless of how many book are written to entice people to act against themselves. Kerry touched upon an important lesson that Dean unexpectedly found out in the primaries. People act with their heart ... not some ill concieved half assed triagulation strateries that say if you cut off your nose... you will win by spiting your face.
Politicians must learn how to read and ride the waves...I must find out where my people are going so that I can lead them This will overpower disengenuous rhetoric every time... That is why Kerry could come into the heart of Capitulation Central and be the Pied Piper. He was taking people where they ALREADY wanted to go. In one fell swoop he cut through the fabricated low expectation bullshit, which is why some blog herders took a fit they had already put into place long winded triagulations of pragmatism and defeatism strategeries.... then in the end they too had to reluctanty follow where people wanted to go and pretend that was their intentions in the first place.
It is noted however, that this will only work a few times if REAL INTENTIONS OR INTEGRITY are not forthcoming. Fool the people some of the time...etc etc
But the most frightening thing I see to come of of these debateless debates is that these so called "progressive" blogs have started the MOST DANGEROUS MEME TO HAVE EVER COME OUT OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY... they are refusing to hold accountable Senators coming from Rep stronghold states therfore ensuring that Republican issues and ideologies remain unchallenged FOREVER. As these people promote MORE Nelsons in Republican strongholds and if the Republicans Dems win that will only further entrench Republican issues and ideologies in more states that will be nutured and incubated by the Democratic party. ie if Caesy wins according to Kos and his crew that will give Casey "A Pass" for not upholding say... women's reproductive rights because of his environment. Change only comes from unreasonable people.
Not only are these Democratic cheerleaders cheering on capitulation as a win and a War cry for more money but the are entrenching Republican ideology in the Democratic party while at the same time promoting the destruction of traditional Democratic ideology... like civil rights and fairness.
If there was only one thing achieved it was opening peoples eyes to the lie and sham that is being acted out on these blogs.
A party of nothingness inextricably embedded to the GOP is what is being painting in bright Orange.
To put wind in the sails of this saggy little farce on the orange Goodship Capitulation. I am guessing Obama or perhaps Feingold ... some one with supposed street cred... Reid won't dare to show his pathetic weak ass.
Gez... in the olden days you used to get a few YEARS of base loyalty out of your elected officials. Even Lieberman had a few good years before he sold out his constituents... now if you can get a few months of loyalty you are doing exceptional. Salazar didn't even hold out a few weeks before he voted for Abu Gonzales.
Obama is becoming the new Senatorial Janitor runnign around cleaning up clean up the mess of the white folks...
It bears repeating, and EVERYBODY should take that insight to heart. The "left" is helping LOCK IN anti-human corporatist policies.