Daily Kos

View Story | 24 comments

  •  Strong enough to stand up (none / 0)

    Aren't WE the Democrats?  Unfortunately, for a long time I think many of us (and I'm including myself here) saw being a Dem as a spectator sport.  Or maybe a romance novel -- a heroic savior, pure of heart, rides up on a white steed, says all the right things, does all the right things, and makes our fondest political fantasies come true.  Don't get me wrong, I'm in favor of criticizing our team when they mess up, but geez -- Durbin got 99% of it right here, he spoke out about torture that most folks in Washington are only too happy to ignore.  And the poster is right -- the rest of us HAVE been too slow to defend him.  I'm guilty too, and I'll call his office in the morning to fix that.

    Saying "support is nice, but..." misses the point: this is OUR team, we're actually on it, we're not just watching it.

    by Mendenhall on Wed Jun 22, 2005 at 01:38:17 AM PDT

    [ Parent ]

    •  He's the Whip (none / 0)

      Durbin's job is supposed to be bringing his party into line. Obviously he didn't do a good job.

      Some people were slow to defend him.

      Some of us were not. Those of us were not slow got the rug pulled out from under us when Durbin apologized. Understand that we're sorta more then a tad pissed at him for undercutting both his and our credibility with that stupid crying apology.

      I suspect the next time a Democrat takes a stand, there will be those who think twice about defending them, worried that this history will repeat itself.

      by RangerShade on Wed Jun 22, 2005 at 02:15:53 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

      •  Re: He's the Whip (none / 0)

        Well, I can understand how you would feel like you got the rug pulled out from under you by the apology, and I understand your anger better now.  I guess I'm just still stuck on the fact that the wording of Durbin's criticism generated WAY more of an uproar in the media than the actual torture that spurred the criticism in the first place.  I'm not nearly done being angry about that, and I think that's maxed out my anger meter for the moment.

        by Mendenhall on Wed Jun 22, 2005 at 03:04:33 AM PDT

        [ Parent ]

View Story | 24 comments