Get out of Afghanistan, pass meaningful healthcare and if it fails, move on.
Regulate financial industries. Jobs, Jobs, and Jobs.
Stop building unwanted bridges and schools in Afghanistan. We need them at home.
The terrorist are not warriors. They have no army to blow up. We give them creditability calling their gang an army.
The FBI and CIA can chase them. Use the law to prosecute them, jails to hold them and the electric chair to kill them.
Stop spending our precious resources outside of the country and spend it at home.
Don't become "Bushed!"
Stand by the progressives, discipline the blue dogs and bring bills to the floor. If they don't pass it is OUR job (not yours alone) to fix it.
Oh, most important to you. You're not only slipping in the polls, you are losing your base. I love ya, but sometimes action is better than wimpy results!!
Stop enjoying yourself soo.... much. We are living hard lives and are trying to get through tough times.
Where is the "OLD" Barack? Bring him back and if bills go up or down, we will at least have a great time trying.
Good Luck, I am still in your camp for now. I don't think I can afford to give any more money. At least not until things change.
BENEATH THE SPIN • ERIC L. WATTREE
Carrie Prejean: Are Progressives Becoming as Intolerant as Conservatives?
I've always been proud to consider myself a progressive, because being a progressive meant that I was open-minded, willing to assess every issue on its own merit, and I'm tolerant of varying points of view. But it seems that many of today's "progressives" have corrupted the term. Though many of these people call themselves progressives, they are not progressive thinkers–they are progressive in name only. Over the years they seem to have somehow lost their way, and as a result, have managed to redefined the term "progressive" to simply mean, not conservative.
A case in point is the unconscionable way in which the so-called progressive community has demonized Carrie Prejean after she indicated, almost apologetically during the Miss America Pageant, that she thought marriage should be between a man and a woman. Why in the world did she say that?!! Thereafter, she was called a bitch, seminude photos of her have been posted on the Internet, and she's been generally, dragged through the mud. It is unbelievable that people who call themselves progressive could do that to that young woman.
Hi,
I have created a new website for progressives in the southeast Denver area suburbs. I hope you will check it out, let me know what you think, make suggestions, bookmark it, and check back often! My vision for this site is to post announcements, share information, and keep us all connected in between elections.
YES WE CAN!
Nancy Cronk
For Democrats, Barack Obama's stunning victory last night over John McCain brought a seemingly endless and often bitter presidential campaign battle to a welcome end. Obama's victory came as cause for relief and for celebration, as did Democratic gains in the Senate and the House of Representatives. When our first African American president takes office in January, Democrats will enjoy a position of authority in Washington we have not held since a brief period from 1992 to 1994. Many progressives are saying now that the era of conservative dominance in America beginning with the rise of the "New Right" in the 1970s and the Reagan victory in 1980 has now come at last to an end, that the long Republican nightmare is over, and I too am hopeful that this is so. While we celebrate and look ahead to the Obama Era, however, we should also remember that just as power can be won so it can also be lost, as it was in 1980, 1994, and 2000.
Each end is also a beginning; and so the end of Campaign 2008 and the end of Republican rule is also the beginning of something, but of what? Are we at the doorstep of a bold new progressive age that begins with Obama and extends into infinity, or of another brief Democratic reign to end again with a bitter Republican resurgence? Now that we have successfully driven the Republicans from power, how do we keep them from coming back, as we know we must if we are to avoid a repeat of the past eight years? A Republican resurgence would be a disaster, not only for Democrats and progressives, but for America and the world. The Karl Roves and Dick Cheneys of the world are not going anywhere. They will simply retreat to their think tanks and begin cooking up plans to retake power, just as they did during the Clinton years. Their success must be prevented by any and all means at our disposal.
While progressives will surely have a place at the table in the new administration, we cannot expect that the Left will or should dominate the Obama agenda at least in the near term. I would consider myself to be well on the Left of the Democratic Party, and I'm happy that progressives will have a voice in the new administration, but I feel pretty certain that Obama will have to govern more-or-less from the center if he is to avoid creating a whole new generation of "Reagan Democrats." I am hopeful that it may now be possible for progressives not simply to move the government to the left but to actually move the country to the left, and to create a new progressive America free of the politics of Reagan and Bush. In order for this to happen, however, Democrats in Washington will first have to prove themselves capable of governing the country effectively and satisfactorily in the eyes of their constituents. Once conservative-leaning, "soft" Democrats see that liberals aren't so bad after all, they will be much more likely to elect Democrats to Congress in 2010, to re-elect President Obama in 2012, to put another Democrat in the White House in 2016, and to listen to progressive ideas in the meantime with an open mind. While Democrats in Washington focus on effective governance, they and Democratic activists including us in the netroots must also focus on maintaining the gains we have made and on making further gains in election cycles to come. We cannot afford a repeat of 1980, 1994, or 2000.
Meanwhile, a whole new generation of first-time Democratic voters has been brought into the electorate, and this new Democratic base must be maintained and built at a grassroots level. Because of a far less reliable base of Democratic voters in previous elections, a hardcore Republican base of social conservatives, neo-cons, bigots, and xenophobes was allowed to dominate American politics for the better part of thirty years. This can never be allowed to happen again. Republicans who cannot be persuaded to go Democratic must be isolated and outvoted. In the immediate term, this means building a broad new Democratic base that includes centrists and even moderate conservatives in addition to progressives and the Left: not an easy task. The brilliant success of the Obama campaign in doing precisely that, however, can be credited in great part to Obama's experience as a community organizer in Chicago - experience that will serve the Democratic Party's organizing efforts well in the years to come.
Indeed if anyone is up the difficult tasks which surely lie ahead, I think it is our new president-elect. Throughout his campaign, he has shown himself to be a steady, focused, and disciplined political leader: not bad traits if one wishes to be an effective and successful president. More importantly, Obama possesses clear vision and a spirit of idealism that could not contrast more with the cynicism of the era that has just ended. He also possesses a strong, committed base of grassroots support that is ready for the battles to come. I for one look forward with hope and confidence to the road ahead.
I first started working for the Democratic side in 2004, in the Kerry campaign. Before that, I considered myself a conservative. In many ways, I still do. I am a gun owner, a 2nd amendment supporter, and a card-carrying member of the NRA. I don't support affirmative action, I am lukewarm at best about environmental protection, and I view government economic regulation skeptically. I am well to the right of most Democrats, and do not consider myself a "progressive."
My first clue that I was on the wrong side came in October, 2001, when Bush ordered military tribunals for anybody he designated a foreign terrorist, and was answered by roars of approval. That was when I first began to realize that most so-called conservatives don't really believe in freedom or limited government. When a Republican is in power, they will happily grant him the same tyrannical powers that our founders refused to submit to in the Declaration of Independence. And the assaults on limited government kept coming: signing statements where the President claimed the right to ignore the law, the Secret Service being used to cart off protesters, illegal warrantless wiretaps on American citizens. Now we have "free speech zones" around the party conventions; I was raised to believe that all of America was a free speech zone. I was raised to believe in liberty and justice "for all," not liberty and justice at presidential discretion.
I have been receiving e-mails from a list serve. I don't really want them, I'd rather discuss things via blog but that hasn't been happening and I am not tech savvy enough to have figured out what I should do differently yet. I will eventually, in the meantime here is a "cut-n-paste" of the e-mail and my reponse:
p.s.
I removed the person's last name in case they did not want it shown - I wasn't sure who sees this blog and who sees the list serve message and more importantly, how many. I did not want to expose this person to an audeince beyond what they were already aware of. I hope that is "kosher".
----- Original Message -----
From: Kurt
To: Whatcom County for Obama Sent: Sunday, September 07, 2008 10:04 AMSubject: [WhatcomCountyforObama]
Re: [wcd-d] two party system
Susan, I agreee with you, this is an extremely critical election and we need to do everything we can to make the results express our values. Vote for Democrats! As someone born in the early 1960's, I can definitely attest, and as someone who watches television (I like to think the more quality forms, Public affairs non-commercial) and has worked in "blue collar" work for nearly 25 years, todays "politi" is not my grandparents "politi". My grandparents voted for FDR as Democrats, owned a growing union plumbing business from 1946 until retirement in the 1980's, voted for Democrats, most, if not all of their lives. My grandfather (8th grade education, quite intelligent) voted for Ronald Reagan. I think he had become an independent voter toward the end of his life in the late 1980's. My cousins, who now own and operate a plumbing business under the same name using union plumbers, from all I know, are more apt to vote for Republicans or at the very least don't have a scrap of Democratic Party loyalty, which was definitely not the case when I was young. My parents and siblings have also noticed this phenomenon in our extended family. This is one family, in this case, mine, and it is anecdotal, yet the wall street article does not stand alone in it's assertion. This past week KCRW's "To the Point" took up the question of independent voters as part of the "undecideds" in this extremely important election year. You can listen this archived audio of the program. The segment pertaining independents is discussed in the last 20 minutes of broadcast. http://www.kcrw.com/media-player/mediaPlayer2.html?type=audio&id=tp080905after_the_conventionThis organization was represented in the broadcast, http://independentvoting.org/ So, given the likely reality that political parties are waning in certain terms, or at least the two major parties as we have known them are waning in certain terms, how do members of this party, The Democratic Party reach out to independents? Big question and it aint easy, when often what fundamentally defines an independent voter is their unwillingness to be a member of or probably more important vote based upon Party affiliation?I, for one, believe that Political parties offer a great deal to the individual voter and yet I definitely feel that I am a minority when I discuss politics with others. Am I alone, in this feeling, on this list?
Kurt
My response (well, really my response was, "hey, go look at my blog"):
Hello, No you are not alone! I know what you are talking about but I think because of Obama that voter apathy is at its lowest point ever. We can help change that even more. How? Well first let's look at the root of the problem ( in a very quick and superficial way!) from the perspective of Democrats/Liberals/Progressives (I really consider myself a Progressive and I think Obama is a Progressive candidate - Yeah!).
Democrats/Liberals seem to be apologizing for their policies. It was not Karl Rove who began to paint Liberals/Democrats with broad stroke charges of "elitism", "latte-sippin, pot-smokin, hippie-types". That started, well it really started with McCarthy, but Reagan was the one who really made Liberal bashing an art form. The real problem is that the Liberals/Democrats bought the hype. They did not fight back with any kind of heat. Why? Maybe they are afraid of losing what they have. I'm assuming that for many (at least people I know) it is because they felt guilty, they sold out, moved to the center, and bought their Mercedes Benz and they feel guilty. As well they should but that is the past and we have work to do now.
Here is what we should do. We should remember our Fathers, Grandfathers and Great-Grandfathers who fought fascism, who fought against the robber barons, who demanded fair treatment in the workplace and that all men should be treated equal in the eyes of the law. We should remember our Mothers, Grandmothers and Great-Grandmothers who fought for the right to vote, the right to decide what they could do with their own bodies, who went to work when America needed them and to this day are demanding fair pay and equality in the workplace. We should remember that the politics of "just folks" has always been this way. Liberal. Democratic. Progressive. And then we should remind everyone else!
Whenever I discuss political parties with any one who is capable of cognitive processing (most who listen to Rush Limbaugh and his ilk are often incapable of anything but mimicry or smashing things so I usually don't bother with them) I ask them what the Republican party has done for them - ever. I say, "Name five things - legislation, public policy, or tax/cut that the Republicans/Conservatives/...uh, Evangelicals (?) have put into place that have made your life as an American and our country better." They usually can't and whatever they do come up with is never really beneficial to America or even them personally they just never really thought about it before (it's kinda neat watching this realization creep across their face). Then I say, "Okay, name five things the Democrats/Liberals/Progressives have done to make your life better (sometimes they ask me this)" If they cannot name any or even if they can, I then say, "Well I can name way more than five things the Democrats/Liberals/Progressives have done to make America a better place and improve my life and your life! And I start down this list:
by Delaware Dem and it was written; Fri Oct 14, 2005 at 05:57:39 AM PDT
To be sure, the Democratic party is not perfect. Hey, politicians are politicians no matter what party they belong to they are basically used car dealers. "Hey there pretty lady! Howdja like to buy this gently used educational reform plan? You pay more in state taxes, your school gets no money, but, and here is the best part... your kid learns less! I like to call it; "No Child Left Behind" pretty catchy huh? Whaddya think? Is this plan great or is this plan great!?" I know, the Democrats didn't create "No Child Left Behind" (well, some of them helped) but they didn't exactly stop it either.
We have an opportunity to fundamentally change politics as usual with the Obama campaign though. We, as American citizens, can stand up and demand to be heard, demand action, refuse to listen to lies or half-truths and refuse to wait for the promises that politicians keep making. Hillary Clinton losing the party nomination was a warning salvo from the American people; We are paying attention to what you are doing, we don't like it, and we will not be deceived. I know I would never vote for another Clinton again and I certainly did not want to vote for a politician who supported and continues to support the war in Iraq while simultaneously allowing the true criminals involved in 9/11 to remain free and unpunished in Afghanistan (and most likely, the Arab Emirates).
I know the Republicans/Conservatives/Evangelicals(?) have done lots of great stuff too...if you have lots of money. It used to be the that the Republicans/Cons were fiscally conservative and a little bit of penny pinching is not such a bad thing for America. Now it seems as if they are only interested in making more money for those who are already wealthy. Now it seems as if Rep/Cons/Evangs. will go to any length to give more money to those at the top. Send our sons and daughters off to a war over oil profiteering, tax the middle class into poverty, deny our citizens affordable healthcare, a living wage, safe food, civil rights...when will it stop?
What happened to the decent people who were Rep/Cons like my Grandfather who fought in WWII? You know, before he passed away, he stopped voting because he was so disgusted with his party and how nasty they had become. He disliked the direction the likes of Newt Gingrich, Rush Limbaugh, and Pat Robertson were taking the party he had always voted with. I rarely agreed with my Grandfather's political ideology but I always thought he was a decent man who loved America and fought to uphold the ideals outlined in the Declaration of Independence and the laws of the Constitution. He would be heartbroken to see the way the Republican party has undercut these ideals and destroyed our most cherished rights. As a Veteran he would be angry to see the Geneva conventions ignored.
Anyway, I hope this is helpful to you the next time you are trying to explain the differences between the parties and/or the merits of the Dem/Liberal/Progressive "agenda". I have found that if you do not talk down to people (sometimes this is hard, that's why I avoid talking to Rush Limbaugh listeners!) and you give them the tools to find the information for themselves, they usually see reason. I almost always end with, "Hey, don't take my word for it - look it up for yourself! Go to the Encyclopedia Britannica or some other reliable source though, not Wiki or FOX News (ptuey! that's me spitting!) or some random blog" A good sense of humor goes a long way too. I like to say things like "Yeah, everybody knows how super sweet and generous giant corporations are, I'm sure they're the right kind of people to give tax cuts to. They'll probably pass the savings on to us...y'know...eventually. I'm sure the same companies that have outsourced American jobs to Chinese prisons are gonna look out for the interests and safety of American workers. Those CEO's of Exxon are probably talking about lowering the price of gas down to $1.50, due to their record breaking profits, right now as we speak!" If nothing else, it makes me laugh! I have managed to talk a couple of FOX News watching "Independents" (that's a label FOX News uses to brand itself and its "fair and balanced" audience- ironic no?) into serious Obama supporters. One friend, after doing some of her own digging, has gone from a talk radio enthusiast to practically a Pinko-Left-Leaning Liberal Democrat! She was pretty pissed when she discovered how badly she'd been played and lied to!
Remember, America's educational system is deplorable and has been for a long time, most people really have not learned about the depression, the New Deal, the Union struggle, Suffragettes, the Underground Railroad...arg! I can't go on! Most people under 50 know absolutely nothing about these things (quite a few over 50 too but not as many) and it is for the most part not their fault, they were not taught about American History in School, not really. Most people get a whirlwind tour of the greatest struggles of American History. I am constantly having to add important information that has been left out of my own child's history lessons. Martin Luther King is a comic book hero, nothing about all the other civil rights workers/movements or the fact that our own government was looking into ways of stopping them. One whole week in class about the civil rights movement; "There was this guy, and he had a dream, and now blacks have equality, the end." My kid has never even heard about Unions in school (funny when you consider the teacher's Union is second only to the Teamsters in bargaining power).
So be patient, you are filling in some gaps and having to break down long held misconceptions produced by sophisticated strategists. We don't have to always agree with each other but we do have to live and work together and the only way that will happen is with a little civil discourse. Sometimes you have to educate others by example, like Obama. Be calm, gracious, and kind but also be firm and persistent. Always call out bad behavior, lies, or major breaks in logic. The Democratic party has to be the better option, in every way. If we use the same smear tactics, subterfuge, fuzzy logic, and snotty rhetoric the Republican party is using how can we say we are the better choice? How can we say we are the party of change?
Keep the faith!
~Kenji7
Our punch is being felt and we can win. But let's lean into our foe and apply every resource at our disposition. Let's put a smile on this effort to champion the tough odds this presents each citizen wanting change in your State and our Nation.
We of strong will must talk up our desire to win. It costs little to talk up becoming winners. We can and must link arms and marshal more and more forces. Yes let's make this our campaign. Become winners by doing what it takes to be winners. We can do that by taking the lead like we've wanted to for ever so long. Let's work one with the other. Be activists, leaders, followers and doers.
Let's be heard out front leading those awaiting our beacon and call. Let's bring the back field up with the front. Grow an attitude through self talk and cheer leading. Talk this attitude up with your neighbors, co-workers, loved ones and strangers. Let's do it till we know our common influence is felt block by block, community by community and county by county and district by district and State by State.
If you haven't watched this yet, please do so. Excellent overview of where we are right now and what we need to do to win in November -http://blip.tv/file/1176291
Thank you Move On !
"I Accept": Obama Nomination Speech Watching Party (Convention Watch Party)
http://donate.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/4wczf
The event team that brought you the Obama events featuring Kelly Hu in January and Maya Soetoro-Ng in June invites you to another special gathering on Thursday, August 28, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Roe Restaurant, 651 Howard Street, in San Francisco to watch Senator Barack Obama's historic speech as he accepts the Democratic Party's nomination for President of the United States of America. It's been widely noted that Sen. Obama will accept the nomination on the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" speech. Let's also not forget that the date is also the eve of the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's landfall on the Gulf Coast. These three milestones together gives us both an opportunity to rejoice and to acknowledge that our country and our communities still have a long way to go in order to achieve a society where equal opportunity is more reality than promise. So as we work together to help Barack Obama become our President, let's join together to support our friends at the local level who creating the Change We Can Believe In. To that end, this fundraiser will also support Eric Mar, a longtime Obama supporter, in his bid for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, and Jenn Pae and Brian Wang, two convention delegates pledged to Sen. Obama. Eric will be at the event and Jenn and Brian will call in from Denver shortly before Sen. Obama delivers his speech.
We're asking for a $20 donation. Please RSVP on this event listing or email speech@apaforobama.com.
More info - http://www.ericmar.comJoin our FACEBOOK PAGE -http://www.facebook.com/pages/Eric-Mar/12068760165?ref=ts
Wow, really great article. http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080901/borosage_kvh
Progressives in the Obama Movement
Four years ago I worked on the MoveOn "Leave No Voter Behind" campaign. When we recovered from that defeat, a number of us got together and started a progressives group. That group stayed together for two years. We helped to elect a city council member, passed a human rights ordinance, worked on a ballot initiative to stop gerrymandering in our state, expanded curbside recycling, and helped to defeat an initiative that would have ended home rule.
Last night I called 30 of these folks thinking that they would all jump at the opportunity to meet again--this time to help Obama to win Florida. I was dismayed at the number of my friends, who shared these common values, who said "I'll vote for him but I'm not happy about it." They were Hillary supporters. To be balanced, there were more of them who were Obama Mamas like me.
I was glad I had never attached to Hillary. From the moment she was testing the waters, I raised the question "what about Bill?" Her campaign would have been historic for women but also for a new twist on nepotism in the presidency. We have had fathers and sons (Adams, Bush), cousins (Roosevelts) but never spouses. I didn't think the country was ready for that. Who would ever agree to be a VP with a former president in the White House? Was this a way around the two-term rule? What about the ugly side of the 90s which ushered in Newt Gingrich and the contract ON America?
Back to recruiting. Since I was talking to my friends, I found myself thinking deeply about what to say. I didn't respond to the "I might change if she is VP" comments. I simply said "well when you wake up one morning in September and you feel a chill in the air and realize it isn't a seasonal change but a slow realization that it could be Pres. McCain next January...call me. We will have something for you to do." That generated a chuckle and left the door open for them to help us elect a true progressive. The first one in my voting lifetime. And I'm 49.
Are some liberals or progressive ideologues making too much of Obama's alleged flip-flops?
CAN WE CALL AMERICANS RACIST
AND STILL EXPECT TO GET THEIR VOTE?
Michelle Obama made a simple statement-- "For the first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of this country"–and one would have thought she declared a jihad on America. FOX news, Rush Limbaugh, and the various other Republican conduits have been harping on it for months now, trying to convince the American people that she’s hated America all of her life. But the fact is, when Michelle Obama made the above statement she was actually complimenting America.
Conservatives are representing her statement as though she said, "For the first time in my adult lifetime I am proud of my country." That implies that she has never been proud of her country before. But that is not what she said at all. She said, "For the first in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of my country." When she used the word "really" as a modifier to the word "proud" it means that she is "exceptionally" or "more proud" of her country than she’s ever been before.
Barack is losing support among many of this nation's leading progressives following his most recent address before the AIPAC audience (eg, see, for example, Chris Hedges' article in www.truthout.com entitled "The Iran Trap" and subsequent reader comments). Barack appeared to indulge in some saber rattling toward Iran during his speech as well as making a radical statement that Jerusalem must remain Israel's "undivided" capital.
