I thought I would post this after having a frustrating time reading some of the comments posted on the discussion regarding the Gonzales nomination. I am new to this blog and seems to me, unfortunately, that one someone gives an opinion that is something less than "keep guns blazing, damn the torpedoes, and go after the bastard no matter what the costs (i.e. W.)", they are accused of being an apologist, a "New" Democrat, a Centrist, and the like. Their opinion seems to be dismissed as not counting for anything, when we are simply trying to come up with a coherent strategy for the next few years.
The Gonzales discussion was a perfect example. When several folks indicated that we needed to question him in the confirmation hearings hard, but stop short of filibuster, we esentially accused of being apologists for the current administration. Not only is that unfair, it's wrong.
I'll put my progressive cred up against anybody's anytime. I worked for Jim Hightower on his radio show in Texas, I worked on the Hill for one of the most liberal members of Congress (and helped get her elected), and was an early Deaniac when Dean was just a candidate, not a movement. And here the problem as I see: bringing progressives together is like herding cats. I offered a strategic point of view on Gonzales, and a lot of people shot me down for saying I did not go far enough in opposing him (despite the fact I indicated that we need to question and hit him with everything we got).
OK, fine, filibuster if you want, but is that what the next 2 to 4 years is going to be about? Filibuster everything that is repulsive to us? My point is this: we are going to dislike ALOT of stuff coming down the pike the next few years. We will need to pick and choose our fights.
We are supposed to live in a "reality-based" community, so let me give my opinion about a few doses of reality that I think a few on the blog need to understand:
BELIEF: Stand up and fight the bastards at every turn!
REALITY: We are not in power, so the tools we have to fight with are limited.
BELIEF: Our message is to attack everything Bush does!
REALITY: That means we don't have a message, but we are the "loyal opposition".
BELIEF: We lost because of moral values!
REALITY: We lost because we had no message, outside of "the other guy stinks".
I'm all for calling out Dems that roll over for this administration without so much as a peep as to what they are doing wrong. And let's make sure they understand what the agenda and message should be. But until we get a coherent message , other than "Bush is bad", we will not win the hearts and minds of Dems in power, let alone those of the American people.
So let's start the brainstorming. The way I see it, we need five to ten good issues to push over the next few years. And as for a message, let me offer this one from my mentor (Jim Hightower's) daddy:
Everybody does better when everybody does better.
Save the spewing bile against the "red states" for another day. If you truly care about the state of our nation (as I do), you give a damn about the people in those red states as much as the blue states. So let's prime the pump, stop the infighting, and get to work on change that is concrete and real. National politics is but one cog in this machine, and we need to get on board with a unified, principled message. Any ideas are welcomed...