Response to some of comments: I did not see a whole lot of people trying to address any of the questions I raised. Until we move past our anger and start looking for solutions instead of bickering, we are just spinning our wheels (to use a tired cliche.)
So why are some of us ignoring the reality of the Senate in 2008 and the House now? The fact is, we, as a country, are paying the price for the last 2 election cycles. Particularly 2010. If you insist on having everything you want, when you want it, you are acting just like the other side.
I am sorry, but I expect the left to be smarter than this.
Use your passion for whats right by moving forward instead of blaming Obama for not getting everything you want. (BTW: Yes, I'm angry about his environmental and criminal prosecution of Wall Street/bankers/war criminals stances.)
We need to change Congress not Obama. Just think what could happen with a reasonable Congress. Realistically, we will never have a super majority for very long, so its not reasonable to expect that. Even when we did have the super majority in the Senate, we had conservative Dems who did a good job of gutting several good things. (Examples: Nelson, Lincoln, Lieberman (I) and even Landrieu) Another Reality was that we wouldn't have gotten anything through if we didn't have those Dems either. We will never have the money that the corporations and Wall Street have to compete with their lobbyists. What is reasonable is shooting for effective government.
How many of you that blame Obama for everything have a viable plan for trying to educate and protect moderates, independents, young voters, seniors etc, besides the base? (Yes the word is protect-thats how bad it is right now with this Congress particularly the House Repubs) Thats where the power for change is. The voters.
After all, whether we like it or not 50% of the country is on the other side.
I would rather shoot for several steps forward and get only 1 or 2 than rather go back to those horrible Bush/Cheney days in a heartbeat. This country can't afford to go backwards anymore. Our democracy, what little there is left, won't withstand many more hits like the Dubya/Vader years.
I would much rather discuss how to answer some questions like these than constantly carp on whats not possible right now. Not ever, just not right now.
- Its easier to be on the offensive (just ask the Repubs) than the defensive. Whats the plan after we succeed in getting Congress back?
- How do we pace ourselves so that we don't burn out and expect the President to do the heavy lifting next time? We need to be able to protect and defend 24/7 not just before each election cycle.
- Are we capable of getting behind some priority goals and pushing for them or do we have to do it in a scattershot way?
- What's are communication strategy. Lets face it, we suck compared to the Repubs. We need to combine truth, intelligence and emotion to appeal to a broader base of people.
- I haven't seen any plans on how to educate the voters. Its very overwhelming and confusing voting these days because of the misinformation/disinformation and lack of information and lack of interest that hits the potential voters. It not enough to just get out and vote. We need educated voters. How do we boil down the insanity that is our politics into a palatable form for the majority of voters who just don't care about the usual political cycles. You know they are busy worrying about silly things like keeping a roof over your head and food and clothing for your family.