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Its also been a terrible year for the dems in the house and senate with capitulation after capitulation after capitulation. I know THAT more than anything else has sapped my energy and hope.
John McCain hates children.
by discocarp on Fri Dec 28, 2007 at 07:04:28 AM PDT
the dems have broken all their promises all year long. That has been a big part of my not showing up here everyday.
by onemadson on Fri Dec 28, 2007 at 07:07:16 AM PDT
[ Parent ]
I took a long break this fall because I was being worn down by the actions of Reid/Pelosi. I'm back now, but I might move to lurker status after the primaries depending on the outcome.
by discocarp on Fri Dec 28, 2007 at 07:09:22 AM PDT
I have been a daily reader, frequent commenter and occasional diarist for years, but it has been the performance of the Democratic majority -- and NOT the presidential candidate wars -- that has sapped my energy and motivation.
The purpose of this site is to elect Democrats. It is a goal that I used to pursue with fervor. For the past few months, however, it has been really hard for me to gin up much enthusiasm for that goal.
Would it be better to have a bigger Dem majority in Congress, and a Dem president? Sure. Better enough to make it my primary focus? I'm not as sure as I used to be.
I can understand not cutting funding for the war -- not AGREE, but understand. But standing idly by for the ongoing subversions of the Constitution? Not taking a stand on torture? On habeus corpus? That makes it hard for me to see a Democratic government as worth the trouble.
Stupidity kills more Americans each year than terrorism, lightning, and bad gravy combined. -- Hunter
by jmart on Fri Dec 28, 2007 at 07:42:15 AM PDT
As long as Commander Cuckoo Bananas is around, negotiating with the White House is like negotiating with a brick wall.
At least Reid is doing what he can in frustrating the White House, like preventing recess appointments from being made.
January 20. 2009 cannot come soon enough.
by Crisis Corps Volunteer on Fri Dec 28, 2007 at 07:29:30 AM PDT
For so long this site was about electing more democrats. We got our Dem. congress in 2006, and on the issues which really piss a lot of us off (the war, and de facto repealing parts of the constitution) the Dem. congress has been every bit as bad as the Republican one.
And while Kos has been moving in the right direction by supporting primary challenges against the worst of the worst, we still supposedly cheer for every Democratic victory or fundraising imbalance in our favor, and it feels empty.
Get a Vegetarian Starter Kit and a Dem. Party Mastercard
by Cat Servant on Fri Dec 28, 2007 at 07:40:12 AM PDT
the Dem. congress has been every bit as bad as the Republican one
This is exactly the type of thing that makes me think the site is going to pot. Absolute, otherworld nonsense about how we'd be no worse off with the likes of Lott or Hastert leading a lockstep Republican Congress.
The only foes that threaten America are the enemies at home, and those are ignorance, superstition, and incompetence. [Elbert Hubbard]
by pelagicray on Fri Dec 28, 2007 at 10:26:50 AM PDT
I've never been so demoralized. The Dems' failure in Congress this session has tuned me out of the process altogether.
Hard to believe I once thought investigations leading to impeachment were going to happen...they are giving him blank checks for more war. It's not possible to be more wrong than I was about them.
So I've quit reading much about politics, and I've quit writing about it altogether.
Damn right I'm angry
by Strat on Fri Dec 28, 2007 at 07:42:04 AM PDT
sitting in their comfortable retreats doing nothing.
So there are no calls to be made and no capitulation to try to fight.
I kind of like, "Where's Waldo?"
The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake that, you've got it made." --Groucho Marx,
by Flippant on Fri Dec 28, 2007 at 08:01:24 AM PDT
I so wish that Markos would ban that word from this site. It's an insult to a lot of people who are working very hard to run a nation in spite of an obstructionist right-wing who really doesn't give a damn if the nation simply stops working because it will only serve to prove that Government is ineffective. There are reasons that Dems are voting the way they are. I truly wish that people here could bother to try to understand them instead of simply writing Dems off for "capitulating".
by dianem on Fri Dec 28, 2007 at 08:08:54 AM PDT
Sorry, but I strongly disagree with this. I've tried to make sense of their votes, but there is NO answer left that I find satisfying other than capitulation or (worse) collusion. I shudder to think it might be the latter, so I'll put my money on the former for now.
by discocarp on Fri Dec 28, 2007 at 08:19:45 AM PDT
incompetence, stupidity and greed to consider as well.
We are the ones we've been waiting for.
by Same As It Ever Was on Fri Dec 28, 2007 at 08:24:50 AM PDT
You've simply chosen to ignore them. Heck - it's gotten harder to even find them. A few people, like me, stick around to try to find reasons for things, but most of the time discussion is limited to "are they capitulators, cowards, or in collusion with the right?". If I want to see Democrats attacked, I'll wander off to a right-wing site.
by dianem on Fri Dec 28, 2007 at 08:27:06 AM PDT
Chosen to ignore them? Are you kidding me?
There are good reasons why republican legislation takes 50 votes to proceed, but dem legislation takes 60? Good reasons for why Reid would respect republican holds but not Dodd's hold? A good reason to not even CONSIDER impeachment for some of the greatest crimes in our history? I could go on and on and on and on. This is a sour bunch of dems, and I'm sorry if the truth hurts. Is it all of them? No. But its an awful lot of them.
by discocarp on Fri Dec 28, 2007 at 08:32:50 AM PDT
This is ridiculous. This is a site dedicated to getting Democrats elected. But whenever I come here I have to spend all of my time defending the most basic actions of Democrats. The "truth" is that 1) Democrats aren't the problem 2) Republicans ARE the problem 3) There is a lot more going on than you or I can see.
The only "truth" that hurts me is realizing that progressives can't break up the circular firing squad, even when the alternative is that my nation is being taken over by very unified and very organized right-wing extremists.
by dianem on Fri Dec 28, 2007 at 08:54:48 AM PDT
aggressive bunch and not let the minority Rethugs get away with so much. I want strong leadership, I want Repubs forced to debate Iraq war budget and when troops can come home. I want our Dems to hold Repub feet to fire. Of course I'm dedicated to getting Dems elected but I'm also dedicated to getting activist Dems who will speak out and act!
In youth we learn, in age we understand.
by Jbeaudill on Fri Dec 28, 2007 at 10:56:03 AM PDT
Democratic Party vote discipline? Bad work by the whip, the leadership, undermining of the agenda by blue dogs (in which case they should be removed from positions of leadership)? The simple fact is the curtain has been pulled back, and without naming names, simply more Democrats isn't going to bring about progressive change and isn't the answer. There needs to be more progressive Democrats and a certain segment of the party needs to be primaried into retirement. If you'd except that simple truth some would be sympathetic to your argument but all blame cannot be placed on the minority party in this instance while giving props to the majority party for its good intentions.
"An entire credulous nation believed in Santa Claus, but Santa Claus was really the gasman." Gunter Grass
by rrheard on Fri Dec 28, 2007 at 11:18:04 AM PDT
Republican legislation is not passing with fifty votes. Some Republican symbolic actions, not "legislation," has gotten through.
The legislation that does get through that we tend not to like often does have support, or at least no strong opposition, in the districts or states where Democratic members have to survive.
I hear entirely too much of that "we won" stuff from people that cannot get to the simple fact that there is no national vote for Congress. It is district by district in the House and state by state in the Senate.
That is where the winning and losing took place and that is where discipline of the representatives has to take place. A "we" in New York has nothing, absolutely nothing to say about Pelosi from California's 8th or Reid from Nevada. Concentrate on your district and your state in these matters. Help with dollars or volunteering in getting more Democrats of your liking elsewhere while recognizing you have nothing, not a thing, else to say in that regard short of moving there.
by pelagicray on Fri Dec 28, 2007 at 10:41:55 AM PDT
for their votes, and negotiations are necessary on the Hill to get anything done.
But when Reid brings the Intelligence version of FISA (w/telecom immunity) to the floor instead of the Judiciary Committee's version(w/o same), then that tends to deflate any progressive's hope.
I'm willing to stick around to find out why, but I'm sure not willing to give him a pass on that move.
The unfortunately part about my first sentence is that it's obvious that the Republicans don't want to get anything done that can be a feather in the Dems hat for this session. That the Dems say they are going to put up a fight, but then don't, is the very essence of capitulation, is it not? At the very least, they could look like they were trying to put up a fight. Something that looks a lot like what Chris Dodd did with the FISA bill. I doubt many of us would be so disheartened if we saw more of that on the floor and then the bill was defeated than seeing the Dems not even try.
We can try to understand why all we want. Their record stands on its own.
Republicans: Your history has earned you a new mantra: "War and waste." ~~ Marta Jorgensen (CA-24 in '08)
I am an Edwards Democrat!
by Scubaval on Fri Dec 28, 2007 at 08:40:53 AM PDT
this were one of the few things people weren't willing to give a pass on. But it isn't. Every week Democrats do something to piss off people on this site and those people write diary after diary whining about it and make the rec list. Oddly, whenever Dems do something good, it passes into obscurity quite quickly. Diaries attacking Dems = popular. Diaries praising Dems = unpopular. Saying "I just can't tolerate this" means more if you show that you are a reasonable person who is generally willing to be tolerant.
by dianem on Fri Dec 28, 2007 at 08:58:24 AM PDT
attention to what needs work, attention to what is working.
It takes both. But pure complaining and pure cheerleading won't cut it, even if they are in equal balance. Attention to the whole process is what is needed.
"In all chaos there is a cosmos, in all disorder, a secret order." Carl Jung
by Unduna on Fri Dec 28, 2007 at 11:34:35 AM PDT
But we don't get both. We get complaining to the point that it seems as if the people on this site hate Democrats as much as the Republicans hate Democrats. Attention to the process would be extremely refreshing. Balance is not about finding good and bad in equal measures. That's a stupid idea invented by the modern media. It is about being as willing to heap praise when it is due as you are to criticize.
by dianem on Fri Dec 28, 2007 at 11:52:09 AM PDT
when it is due, and I have seen several diaries doing just that, such as the one(s) commending Chris Dodd with exhortations to let him know we appreciate what he is doing. Also, I know I have commended my congresscritters when they have voted appropriately. I just don't think this site is all about whining. Maybe that's all you see, but it's not all I see. We do celebrate the victories, and we work hard for more of them. Darcy Burner is one of them I can think of right off, and I'm not in her district, but I supported the effort the only way I can from a distance.
I wasn't here immediately after the November 2006 elections, but I'm sure there was more optimism then than there has been lately. And the "lately" drop in optimism is a direct result of the actions/inactions on Capitol Hill. It gets discouraging when we don't see the Dems fight for what is right.
by Scubaval on Sat Dec 29, 2007 at 12:43:19 PM PDT
Tell me why torture is acceptable. Tell me why arrest and indefinite detention without trial or counsel is acceptable. Tell me why warrantless surveillance of Americans is acceptable. I really want to know.
by jmart on Fri Dec 28, 2007 at 08:38:48 AM PDT
by dianem on Fri Dec 28, 2007 at 08:58:50 AM PDT
They are real. They are horrible. They are vicious threats to our democracy. And the party that should oppose them with every fiber of their being currently owns both houses of Congress.
And yet those things still exist, are still are supported by too many Americans, are still waiting for a cogent, vivid, and dare I say belligerent opposition from Democrats. There is no good explanation for the lack of that. None whatsoever.
by chrississippi on Fri Dec 28, 2007 at 11:22:09 AM PDT
I've never, ever said that torture is acceptable. I never said that arrest and indefinite detention is acceptable. I never said that warrantless surveillance of Americans is acceptable. No Democrat has said that. Asking me to defend such foolishness is merely a distraction from the issues I brought up. Implying with your question that I support such things is a "straw man" meant to discredit me without addressing the issues I raised.
by dianem on Fri Dec 28, 2007 at 11:49:10 AM PDT
Which is precisely why the inaction of elected Democrats has been so horrifying. And why your argument that the rest of us need to follow your lead, STFU, and get more of them elected is---frankly---so caustic.
by chrississippi on Fri Dec 28, 2007 at 12:14:49 PM PDT
for anybody except Democrats. Ever. But that I have to acquiesce to what passes for Democratic politicians right now? Never.
by chrississippi on Fri Dec 28, 2007 at 12:17:16 PM PDT
Start here, with one of the best political writers active today, Glenn Greenwald:
http://www.salon.com/...
Live Free Or Do Whatever It Takes So I Don't Die
by nasarius on Fri Dec 28, 2007 at 09:37:48 AM PDT
I don't think Greenwald is one of the best. He tends to argue from emotion rather than logic. This certainly makes him interesting, and popular, but it doesn't necessarily make him one of the best. I think Olbermann is a much better reporter, and there are a lot of others out there who don't get as much attention. Neiwert of Orcinus, for example, has some brilliant analysis of the current political climate. I guess I lean toward more unbiased reporting and less emotive expression.
by dianem on Fri Dec 28, 2007 at 10:10:44 AM PDT
angry and sad as to Dem Congressional captitulation; colour me frustrated.
by Jbeaudill on Fri Dec 28, 2007 at 10:50:50 AM PDT
wide narrow
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