This is my first diary on this site. Borrowing a comment from LaFeminista, "I write for myself". Don't we all was my first thought. It's late, miles to go, I will check for any comments demain. I try to limit my online addiction to Kos to one hour per day.
I read an article on FiveThirtyEight. I'm not demoralized, burnt out, wouldn't give the opposition a percentage point on energy or optimism. It's difficult to be patient when we expected to see some progress towards at least a down payment on our ponies. The previous administration left President Obama with a heaping pile of unexpected consequences. Issues that are far more critical than my wish list. Electing a Democrat President is progress.
there is more below the fold.article on FiveThirtyEight.
I suppose those to the left of Dennis Kucinich could label me a moderate progressive. Labels, while convenient for surveys and polls, don't convey the multifaceted lens through which we view the world, including politics and politicians.
Practicing bipartisanship is an oxymoron. If you're partisan then you've decided you're a fervent, militant supporter of an ideology that is valid for one party only, your own. Let's send the word bipartisan to the graveyard for the ridiculous lexicon of politics.
Barack Obama was the person I wanted for President in 2004 after reading his keynote address.
Yet even as we speak, there are those who are preparing to divide us, the spin masters and negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of anything goes. Well, I say to them tonight, there's not a liberal America and a conservative America - there's the United States of America. There's not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America; there's the United States of America. The pundits like to slice-and-dice our country into Red States and Blue States; Red States for Republicans, Blue States for Democrats. But I've got news for them, too.
Many Republicans and Independents are just as angry about the bank bailouts without strings or regulation as we are. Health Care costs are a concern for the majority of Americans. The economy and jobs are at the top of the list of concerns for the majority of Americans. Protecting the environment and sustainable energy technology has support across party lines. We need to market the expansion of green jobs as the road to economic recovery, and energy independence from foreign oil before it is to late.
The majority of Americans are dissatisfied with Congress as indicated by polling disapproval ratings. Populist politics, if the President is sincere, looks like a winner for 2010 and beyond. If we wait for Congress, well, what is a cold day in hell like?
We should learn from the missteps during the past year that resulted in a few disappointments for Democrats. What will be unforgivable is if we do not take our lumps and figure out how to prevent it in the future.
How do we organize to win in 2010 and beyond? Is Will Rogers still valid today? "I don't belong to any organized party. I'm a Democrat." If so, better forget about ponies and settle for eating crow.