Just read the recommended diary "Why I Became a Conservative" rant which leads off (I became a conservative) "because I"m lazy and selfish." I think this is a lazy rant and indicative of why we are about to get our asses kicked and suffer through a neo fascist Congress.
We better take this groundswell seriously because it is real and, even though we don't like it, is going to shape things for a while. And, unless we start fighting fire with fire, we're not going to get our own counter surge.
Yes, most people are checked out from politics. HELLO! This is not new news. PEOPLE have been checked out in our republic forever. We are not going to fix this or win by only talking to people who actually understand and follow what happens in Congress and DC. Most Americans do not care about policy. They care only about their lives and they are suffering and pissed off and all our admin offers is policy and not an answer to their problems. The other side is not making the same mistake
The GOPs jumped out and painted a picture of a bad guy -- the Obama admin. Who was our bad guy? Obama refused to go after the bankers in a satisfying way or nail anyone responsible. What happened to our Pecora hearings? Or going after scummy Mortgage companies? Anything?
Instead, what we got was a bunch of policy. I supported and am, personally v. happy about a lot of what got done legislatively (and am impressed by it) but I think we and they (the OBAMA admin) lost the plot along the way.
No one gives a hoot about policy, they wanted a bad guy hung up. People in this country have lost everything. If you were a 50 year old UAW worker who got laid off wouldn't you be mad? Do you think hearing about how policies you can't understand are going to help in the long run would make you feel better? No, you'd want to get the f'ers who did this to you. The elite And, only one side is telling you that they want to help you do that.
The answer is not to tackle the checked out American electorate and hold them down until they hear about all of Obama's policy accomplishments (or make fun of them if you can't catch them), the answer is give them something they can hang their anger onto in a constructive way.
And, still now (two months before the election) we get more policy (with the latest stimulus) which, as a former mass transit advocate I love but I think entirely misses the point.
And, so does a diary not taking these people seriously who should be voting against the man and who are voting for the man. After all, our side haven't really given them anything to vote for except a bunch of policies (that look and sound pretty darn elitist).