Digby:
The reason people think this is because we are constantly calculating whether our principles are politically sellable (and we do it in front of god and everybody.) We've been having this little public encounter session for well over 20 years now and it's added up to a conclusion that we don't actually believe in anything at all.
Perhaps the NSA scandal is a political loser for Dems. We can't know that now. But it is a winner for us in the long term. We believe in civil liberties and civil rights. With economic fairness, they form the heart of our political philosophy. If this particular issue doesn't play well, that's too bad. People who believe in things sometimes have to be unpopular. Over time, they gain the respect of the people which is something we dearly need.
A party that is described as fumbling, confused and scared is unlikely to win elections even if they endorse the wholesale round-up of hippies and the nuking of Mecca. People will listen to us if we can first convince them that we know who we are and what we believe in.
I'm of the mind to adopt "give me liberty or give me death" as my personal motto. If I have to kowtow to a bunch of childish Republican panic artists who have deluded themselves into believing that fighting radical Islam requires turning America into a police state, then it's just not worth it.
It's a vacation week. We'll see how strongly Democrats come out swinging in the new year. Feingold can't do all the heavy lifting by himself.
But there's no doubt, Democrats need to stop looking at where the poll numbers are, and start thinking about how to move them in our favor.
Stop chasing the American people. It makes us look unprincipled. Rather, convince them we're right.
And on this one, "give me liberty or give me death" is a much more saleable proposition than the police state the other side is peddling.