You guys are there with the powerful people. Make a statement. Interrupt the proceedings and have a session with those people. Why FISA, why now, why the McConnell resolution? If YKos cannot make a statement, what does Crashing the Gates mean?
I know everyone is partying and all that, but there is serious business at hand. If you at YKos have not read the recommended diaries on this topic, please go to The Day the Music Died and Breaking: Senate Democrats fail on FISA.
Those exact same Democrats who want your support, your grassroots organizations, your dollars have just made a statement in Congress. And it is probably not what you stand for. Here's grannydoc speaking to you as well as to the Democrats:
Where are the men and women who value the American Experiment enough to stand for the Constitution, and the Civil Rights of citizens over campaign cash, and Rovian threats, deliverd with no subtlety, no real skill, and no power to effect, if they just stood up on their hind legs and made the case for the Separation of Powers?
Here's gooserock in the comments in andgarden's diary:
Republicans Still Run the Emipire, the Military
the pulpit, the economy and the public square.
They just fell to slight minority position in Congress. It's pretty clear the Democrats see no viable way to oppose institutional power. The only thing I can think of for activists to do is en masse pull out of all the major candidate races and put our work into strong progressive candidates and challengers.
Activists are too individualistic to do this, but there's really almost nothing else left. As I've been commenting for a couple years, the Enlightenment is over, most policies based on that kind of thinking aren't competitive any longer.
You guys need to organize right there. You need to pull whatever representatives you can get your hands on over there (I heard Leahy was going over) and put together a statement. Not just from YKos, but from YKos and the reps combined. We want that statement to go over the wires, over the TV, over the Internet that yes, America matters. Not George Bush, not his conniving Rove or subservient Gonzo, not Dick Cheney, but America. Our Constitution, our way of life, our democracy, our freedoms.
FISA is just the tip of the iceberg, the first battle in the war for democracy. But in this, our representatives have failed. Indeed, grannydoc, the music has died.
Well, the diaries are coming strong and fast. Here's another one from Lefty Coaster: Senate Caves In to Bush on FISA - House Vote set for Tomorrow Hotlist. Has anyone talked with Howard Dean? If you are reading this and have a list of contacts in the House, could you please add in the comments? I definitely want to make my views known to the House leadership, and maybe there are others here. OK, activistguy gave me the link, here's how to contact Congress. The point is, the House is meeting tomorrow, so there is some hope of influencing them at this late stage. Obviously a statement from YearlyKos would be much more effective, but we can all make our own calls.
Just want to be clear: I am not suggesting disrupting YKos at all. But issuing a deliberate statement from YKos AND representatives from the Democratic party would be constructive in terms of YKos taking a position. If enough representatives sign on, it would also make the news (specially if someone put together a 1-2 min video that could be played on TV stations and/or UTube). Besides, that's what YKos stands for, right?