The intent of this series is to mobilize progressive voters to hold the line against the perception that mainstream media is trying to sell us - that a Republican stampede is inevitable. In spite of the heavy promotion of this outright lie, the polling is showing cracks in MSM's arguments. In virtually every race across the US, even in the races where the progressive candidate was down by double digits a month ago, when Fox was heavily promoting the Beckapalooza in Washington DC, the progressives and other Dems have cut the perceived leads in half or erased them completely. Contests that were once sure wins for Republicans have already been moved into the blue column or are now considered toss-ups.
We can't say this too often - GOTV doesn't happen if you wait for someone else to do it.
Email me if you don't know where to start - nNomad_@newspatriots.com
Evidence of the fact that MSM is lying to you can be seen in the news black-out of the One Nation Rally in Wash D.C. last weekend. We suffered through over a week of MSM slavering over who said what and how well it was received by the wonderful, well behaved 87,000 mostly old white folks, some of who are unabashed bigots, who attended Beckapalooza on 8/28.
Last weekend, over 175,000 working people showed up on mall to demand that Republicans in Congress stop blocking programs designed to provide a little security for working families and to provide small business assistance to provide more jobs for the idled workers, but you wouldn't know if from the media coverage it didn't receive.
The simple truth in 2010 is this - YOU can prevent the most extreme right-wing slate of candidates in MY lifetime from steamrolling their way into Congress, or you can believe the MSM's lie that Dems have already lost the race. You can stand on your philosophical high ground and "sit this one out" and watch America descend into the Republican depression that Bush intended to leave us with, lose all of the progressive advances we have gained in the past 45 years preceding the Reagan dark ages, or you can help the progressive community prove to the wealthy elite that America will not sell out our government to the highest bidder.
The stakes are indeed high in this election. In the first diary in this series, the statement that
"The stakes have never been higher" was called a cliche and questioned. Well, it is a cliche, but there is a reason why phrases become cliches. Certainly they get overused, but there is substance behind this claim in this election cycle. Imagine returning to an era when the poor and elderly have no social security or medicare.
If you believe this is just "liberal scare tactics", perhaps it is time to talk about Rand Paul.
KY-Sen
Most Americans don't know much about Rand Paul because his handlers have been keeping him out of the national media - for good reason. He has, however spoken publicly about what he would do if elected Senator, which may be why Jack Conway has virtually eliminated the double-digit lead that Rand Paul enjoyed when Fox first started promoting Paul's candidacy. For example, in the following YouTube, the Senator wanna-be, Rand discusses his view on medicare - "a ponzi scheme"
Paul says that social security should be privatized. Speaking of cliches, does the average reader even understand the significance of what would happen if social security were privatized? Perhaps a primer on social security privatization will be the topic of a diary in the near future, but for now, consider this. Image that you had your social security invested in the subprime derivatives that bankrupted Lehman Bros, brought AIG to the brink bankruptcy, nearly brought down the entire banking industry and wiped out 50% of the private retirement accounts of people lucky enough to have a little extra income to invest in 401K plans. Privatizing social security may be a cliche, but it has very significant meaning the working men and women who have benefited from a secure retirement for the past 75 years. Rand Paul would do everything in his power to eliminate social security.
If you live in KY and have not found a way to help Jack Conway pull decisively ahead of Rand Paul yet, what are you waiting for? Social Security privatization is not a gamble that America's retirement should be entrusted to. America is counting on you, Kentucky. Don't let Rand Paul convince America that Grannie's medicare is a ponzi scheme.
GOTV 2010 should at the top of everyone's list of priorities. Please, if you have not asked 4 or 5 of your friends to go to the polls with you, if you have not volunteered to join in a phone bank for one of the progressive candidates in your state or community, if you have not written a letter to the editor stating the importance of maintaining America's social safety net, don't wait till tomorrow. Sit down right now and start YOUR GOTV effort. Make a plan, involve as many fellow progressives as you can and let's show the Corporate Elite and their PR division, the MSM, that we hold democracy dear and our government is not for sale to the highest bidder.
Update: In response to JesseCW's comment, some of the threat of extreme action that would result from Democrats "sitting this one out", while unlikely during the next 2 years, would be given a great boost by a Republican House. Even without a majority in the Senate, a Republican House would spend the next two years executing the same smear campaign they subjected Bill Clinton to. With the aid of a complicit corporate media, two years of mudslinging and Congressional investigations would take a toll on President Obama and, by proxy, the entire Democratic Party.
And it should be noted that while a Republican Congress may not have the super majority required to enact extremist measures like the repeal of social security over the veto of the President, defunding these programs is certainly a possibility.
nNomad_