For those of you who read Daily Kos, you probably have seen in recent weeks, the laments of those who are looking for the Democratic Party to grow a spine and fight back. Starting with the forcing/quitting of Ohio Senate Candidate Paul Hackett from the Democratic Primary in favor of Rep. Sherrod Brown; whether you agreed with it, or not, it appears that when the Democrats have an opportunity to capitalize on the corruption emanting from the GOP, you would think they would know how to act on the opportunity when it's presented.
You are forgiven for thinking in ways that make common sense, because the Democrats obviously don't.
Today, the Capitol Hill newspaper, The Hill, reported that the initiative led by Illinois Senator Barack Obama to reform Ethics in Congress, was met with underwhelming response from Obama's Senate Colleagues in the Democratic Party. Read about it here:
http://http://www.tpmcafe.com/node/27293, or here:
http://www.thehill.com/....
Now, get this: Obama's the "point man" on ethics.
What all of this tells me is one of three things: (a)the Democratic Party is not serious about taking back Congress; (b)the Democratic Party doesn't want real ethics reform and (c)the fact that GOP Senator Trent Lott introduced a similar measure, though not a stringent as Obama's and it passed.
What are we to deduct from the actions of the Democratic Party, and let's not include slinging their own members under the electoral bus in favor of an "annointed" one, because they no longer believe in Democratic Primaries? Why, we voters just might f--k up and start thinking about who we want to vote for, and lo, and behold, the candidate we choose may not be the candidate Chuck Schumer or Rahm Emmanuel wants.
God Forbid that the voting public actually does something independent of the manipulations of the Democratic leadership. Guess it beats rigging an election like the GOP does.
No, you are not going to hear from me that we should abandon the Democratic Party and just vote independent; because we should be doing that anyway, party affiliation notwithstanding. What you are going to hear me say is that it's time to clean the Democratic Party house, and we need to start in the grassroots with an eye towards sending strong messages to Emmanuel and Schumer, Reid and Pelosi, because they have all abandoned the values that got them to Washington and have become far too comfortable within the Beltway.
Before you flame me, hear me out: it can be done. San Francisco is a good example. When Ms. Nancy began sounding far too much like a war hawk, and less like the liberal she was, the constituents in San Francisco grumbled, but that's not what got her attention. What got her attention was a former Democrat/turned Green Party candidate named Matt Gonzalez. Gonzalez almost made history by forcing fellow Board of Supervisor Gavin Newsom into a tight Mayoral race, and Gonzalez didn't lose by much, either. So, when Gonzalez took notice of how much Ms. Nancy appeared to take for granted that she ran as a liberal Democrat, and that San Franciscans were the first in the country to protest the Iraq invasion, Matt Gonzalez didn't.
There was grumbling and rumors that Gonzalez was thinking about challenging Ms. Nancy in the primary. Suddenly, Ms. Nancy starts sounding more like a liberal Democrat. Plus, her ordering a boycott on the Katrina hearings by the Democratic caucus, makes her look foolish, now that the report is published and the Republicans blamed the government for the piss-poor response in New Orleans. Add that, plus a Gonzalez challenge, and not to mention the fact she left Jack Murtha hanging on his resolution to get the troops out of Iraq, ASAP, makes her vulnerable. Especially since she coasted to victory for several years since she succeeded the late Sala Burton in the seat.
When you can come up with areas where these Democrats are vulnuerable, I say we should exploit them, because the only thing these leaders fear more than being caught up in scandal, is the actual fact they may have to work to campaign for re-election and get defeated.
We have no choice. It's either that, or continue to watch them sling one another under the bus until there's no one left.