To which I replied: "As for nowhere left to go, I guess i just don't know what that means. If you care about the country and the direction of its politics, you stay involved in pragmatic political action. If you don't, you don't."
I'm not sure what else there is to say. People need to make up their own minds. I'm not sure where the idea got started that any of this stuff was easy. And is anybody really under the illusion that in the history of this country this is a unique moment of political adversity or reverses?
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/...
Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo collectively answering emails he has been receiving from progressives
Josh calls it talking progressives down from their collective angst over this latest from the health care legislation.
I find the answer to be just about right.
We are all angry. Disappointed. Upset. Enraged.
We do need to get this out of our systems and then figure out what we can do to fight back. Bitching is all fine and well. I'm all for it. But, in the end, once you get it out of your system the question is "then what?"
People can walk away. Decide this is just too hard and too fraught with potholes to invest emotion, time and energy.
Or look to a 3rd party to go with.
Some can organize and out teabag the teabaggers with mass emails, storming the gates of Washington, show a massive support for a strong health care bill with people numbering far more then any pathetic astro turf teabagger picket.
Some in the northeast may even start to actively look for a good candidate to run in Conn. against Traitor Joe. Maybe take a page from the teabaggers and hand him in effigy - only do it coordinated throughout the state.
But, what else is someone going to do? The president has worked behind the scenes, called people, pressured them, coo'd to them and stroked egos, did what all presidents do. Only the president is not one to do so in front of cameras but, you hear floating tales of people going to see the president.
VP Joe has been there talking to old cronies and pals. Used his long time in the senate as a way of pushing.
They began this whole process with a promise from Traitor Joe that he was not going to sink it, as far as I've read and heard. Traitor Joe decided to pull a fast one on the democrats at the last minute.
Honestly, what did you expect the leadership to do? They cannot mind read. And outside of the angry rants I certainly do not hear of anyone coming up with a really good idea of how to fix it.
Strip Traitor Joe of his chairmanship is a good punishment but, it doesn't fix the problem of what to do right now.
Frankly, part of this blame fall on us. The progressives. I know I have, and I am sure others have as well, tried to tell others not to over react and go crazy over every rumor, go overboard if the president did not say Public Option all the time and downplayed it. And the Leadership as well. To just calm down a bit and quit demanding a public display of fealty to the public option.
And this is exactly why. These guys have been in politics awhile and dealt with wily cuses like Traitor Joe, among others. They would see the desperation towards this as an opening. And he did. He saw the way progressives acted about the public option. He knew then that it was the Holy Grail. And so, he decided this was his opening to pull the plug and make progressives pay.
Progressives need to learn not to go into rage mode and let the world know how you feel about certain parts of the legislation. Over reacting, demanding fealty to the public option, going into paranoia and rage whenever someone did not mention or make a huge deal about the Public Option only gave the whole game away to Traitor Joe.
So, while you point those fingers at Reid and Obama, ect., make sure the other four are pointing right back because you share some of that. Blaming is so easy until we learn we may share in some of it.
We need to learn not to make a huge deal of things when these guys are playing real life poker with each other in dealing with legislation. Let them know how we feel but, not to the point where it becomes a Holy Grail.