My Argument for Sitting Out 2010

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Tuesday December 15, 2009 · 1:40 PM PST

2009/12/15 · 13:40

This is my argument for sitting out the 2010 elections, or at least foregoing donations, GOTV, and such, in the wake of the (sure to continue) health care debacle. I am not actually convinced of this position, and am willing to be persuaded it's wrong, but I at least want to give an argument as to why this is, in the long run, the best option for us. Briefly, the arguments in favor of this are:

-we will lose relatively little ground if Republicans gain some seats
-we will make progressives a credible threat in the future

The arguments against, which I will attempt to refute, are:

-this was the best we could have hoped for on health care
-we are still going to see more good from Dems in Congress than Republicans, so we should hold our nose and GOTV
-the Republicans listened to their base, and look what it got them: loss of the House, Senate and White House
-most Dems in Congress are sympathetic to our efforts, don't punish them

But, I should say from the outset, this isn't about payback or revenge. It's about what's best for progressive policies, in the long run. It's about changing people's political calculus, and giving ourselves a bigger voice. My argument below the fold:

Poll

70 votes Show Results

What should we do in 2010?

70 votes Vote Now!

What should we do in 2010?

Same as every year - full speed ahead

30 votes

Vote, but don't give time or money

17 votes

Sit out

23 votes

James Crowley Lied in his Police Report

BigBlue

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Saturday July 25, 2009 · 3:32 PM PDT

2009/07/25 · 15:32

I have read all the back and forth about the controversy with Skip Gates and James Crowley, the Harvard Prof and the cop who arrested him. The media loves it, because it gives them an opportunity to go on and on about race, and all the stuff that goes with it. But the fact is, this isn't (primarily) about race. It's about the power cops have in situations like this, and the abuse of authority that occurs. And, in this case, the evidence that the cop, James Crowley, lied in his police report. Why do I say that, you ask? Well, read on...

BigBlue

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Wednesday March 04, 2009 · 11:41 AM PST

2009/03/04 · 11:41

Look at this story, which has had a rather low presence on news sites over the last few days. An asteroid passed very close to the Earth - within 39,000 miles (compare to almost 250,000 miles from here to the Moon), which is tiny when you consider the scales we're talking about. One news story I saw said that an impact would cause an explosion comparable in size to the Tunguska event.

But not to worry, says the news article:

"If discovered in advance and with enough lead time, there is the possibility of pushing it off course, if you have decades of advance warning," McNaught said. "If you have only a few days, you can evacuate the area of impact, but there's not a great deal [else] you can do."

Well, guess what - this thing was discovered only a few days ago.

Poll

402 votes Show Results

Should a threat to the world like this be made public?

402 votes Vote Now!

Should a threat to the world like this be made public?

No, never

15 votes

Yes, immediately upon its discovery

266 votes

Yes, but only after the threat has passed

43 votes

Only if the asteroid is made out of pie

78 votes

Actually, you should really NOT be on Facebook...because you're OLD

BigBlue

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Tuesday February 24, 2009 · 9:36 PM PST

2009/02/24 · 21:36

So there have been two recent diaries talking about whether someone should be on Facebook or not. All the talk about keeping in contact with friends, the controversy over privacy and the terms of use, and all the rest, really glosses over the main issue here. That is that you shouldn't be on Facebook if you're old. When I say old, I mean over maybe 27. As a rule of thumb, if Facebook didn't exist when you were in college, or of college age, then you are too old to have it.

Poll

125 votes Show Results

Is Facebook worse now because anyone can join?

125 votes Vote Now!

Is Facebook worse now because anyone can join?

Yes

17 votes

34 votes

OBAMA!!! WOO!!!!

26 votes

Pie

18 votes

No matter how inclusive the poll options are, I will always choose "other"

21 votes

Other

9 votes

AP Gives Sarah Palin Credit for "Killing" Bridge to Nowhere

BigBlue

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Saturday September 20, 2008 · 11:07 PM PDT

2008/09/20 · 23:07

An AP story up right now on CNN:

The bridge project became the symbol of federal largess, and Congress eventually dropped the earmark for the bridge.

The state still received the money, but last fall, Gov. Sarah Palin killed the project, valued at nearly $400 million.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH...(head explodes).

To remind everyone of the truth, Sarah Palin endorsed the Bridge, and only opposed it after it became a laughing stock, and even then STILL was supportive of the project, saying:

Much of the public's attitude toward Alaska bridges is based on inaccurate portrayals of the projects here, but we need to focus on what we can do, rather than fight over what has happened.

BigBlue

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Friday August 29, 2008 · 12:34 PM PDT

2008/08/29 · 12:34

Dems have been attacking Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin as inexperienced. I don't think that is quite the right way to go after her, I think it is something slightly different. That is who has what it takes to be President. Despite how long he has been Senator, I think most people can now imagine Obama as President; he clearly is an intellectual force to be reckoned with, and a great leader. People can imagine McCain, Biden, and Obama as President, but as of now, they can't see Gov. Palin there. That is what happens when McCain picks the first pro-life woman in the party he can find. And this is what happens when he makes a pick about winning, rather than Obama's pick about governing.

BigBlue

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Monday August 11, 2008 · 12:58 PM PDT

2008/08/11 · 12:58

It may seem a bit odd to suggest that the President should visit an active war zone, but in this situation I think it would have a number of benefits for the President to visit there are show our support. And while we (rightfully) criticize the President a lot here, we can all hope for a good response from him to this situation, since doing so will help both the people of Georgia and the USA's standing in the world.

Briefly, the benefits are as follows. First, it will stop the fighting, as Russians will not risk putting the life of the President in danger. Whereas the normal cease-fire procedures, of UN peacekeepers and such, would take forever, if we intervene in this manner it will cause Russia and Georgia to want to cease fighting on a much quicker timescale. Second, it will signal our support of Georgia in a stronger way than the usual hand-wringing and foreign policy equivalents of sternly worded letters (we condemn Russia's actions and strongly urge them to stop eventually) without actually involving us attacking anyone. Thirdly, it signals our seriousness about the situation, as opposed to Bush's current ogling of our volleyball team. Fourthly, it signals our commitment to Democracy, national sovereignty, and all those values that the USA is supposed to exemplify.

BigBlue

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Thursday July 10, 2008 · 11:40 AM PDT

2008/07/10 · 11:40

John McCain has has come out in favor of Social Security Privatization, or as he calls it, personalization (sound familiar?). From his website:

John McCain Will Reform Social Security. He will fight to save the future of Social Security while meeting our obligations to the retirees of today and the future without raising taxes. John McCain supports supplementing the current Social Security system with personal accounts – but not as a substitute for addressing benefit promises that cannot be kept. He will reach across the aisle, but if the Democrats do not act, he will. John McCain will not leave office without fixing the problems that threatens our future prosperity.

Hear that? He will not leave office without implementing Bush's plan for Privatizing Social Security.

McCain's disrespect for Social Security is becoming more and more apparent. It is a huge winning issue for us - if we can get people talking about it.

BigBlue

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Thursday July 03, 2008 · 10:41 PM PDT

2008/07/03 · 22:41

So it is the Fourth of July, and I suppose a lot of people, like me, have taken some time to consider how lucky we are to live in this great country of ours, especially when so many people around the world live in such great poverty, or under a despotic government. At the same time, since Patriotism has been talked about a lot in the media the past few days - by which I mean various commentators insinuating that Obama is not Patriotic - I have been thinking about how the Right has seemingly stolen the word. Part of the reason is that those on the right seem to regard the word Patriotic as synonymous with the word Conservative, but also I think that we progressives don't always do a good job with articulating our own patriotism, and with it, our vision of what America is and can be. There are various reasons for this, such as not wanting to validate conservative arguments that we are not patriotic, or not wanting to get into stupid jingoistic statements about how the USA is infallible or something.

So I hope to start a discussion about how we can best articulate our version of the word patriotic, and with it, our ideas about what's so great about this country of ours, and our vision for its future, as well as share some of my own ideas. So read on...

BigBlue

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Thursday March 20, 2008 · 11:25 PM PDT

2008/03/20 · 23:25

With the ongoing dispute over delegates from Florida and Michigan, Time Magazine has decided to do what the media always does - attack Howard Dean. In a new article on its website, TIME basically blames the whole problem on Dean, painting a picture of a situation that would be easy to resolve if it weren't for Governor Dean and his petty childishness. It, of course, glosses over all of the issues involved, and paints Hillary Clinton as the savior of Florida voters. And of course, as is consistent with journalistic principles, the article only quotes Dean critics, giving neither him nor the DNC a chance to respond.
Here is the key passage:

Instead of the typical jokes about Flori-duh, the Sunshine State debacle currently gripping the Democratic Party has evoked reminders of the Dean Scream — the notorious petulance of Democratic National Chairman (DNC) Howard Dean

BigBlue

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Thursday March 20, 2008 · 12:39 AM PDT

2008/03/20 · 00:39

I have been a supporter of Obama for awhile. Yet there was always one big thing Hillary had going for her. It was the immense amount of irrational, visceral disgust for Hillary that came from the right. People like Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck would go on about how Hillary was the worst person in history, how she would never be elected because "Real Americans" all hated her, etc. I figured that if she pissed of those people so much, there must be something good about her. Glenn Beck called her a b*tch, not just as a passing comment but as a major segment on the show; he later called her the anti-Christ as well.

However, since Obama started to take a clear lead in the primaries, the right's seemingly endless animosity slowly shifted over to Obama. With the Jeremiah Wright stuff in the media, the coverage from the right has finally reverted to the visceral, snarling hatred once reserved for Hillary. And with that, I have yet another reason to support Obama.

Poll

71 votes Show Results

Do polls add to the value of a diary?

71 votes Vote Now!

Do polls add to the value of a diary?

Yes

9 votes

6 votes

Only if they are in any way relevant

13 votes

Only if there is one option that everyone will obviously pick, so it gives no information

1 vote

Only if there are multiple viable options, so that the poll will actually yield information

26 votes

I only click on diaries that say (w/poll) in the title

2 votes

This is the stupidest diary ever

4 votes

This is brilliant

0 votes

Somewhere in between

0 votes

America

10 votes

RSS

My Argument for Sitting Out 2010

James Crowley Lied in his Police Report

About that Asteroid which Almost hit the Earth

Actually, you should really NOT be on Facebook...because you're OLD

AP Gives Sarah Palin Credit for "Killing" Bridge to Nowhere

On Palin: it's not experience, it's who can be President.

President Bush should visit Georgia

Attacking John McCain on Social Security

America: Fuck Yeah. (or, Progressives and Patriotism)

TIME Magazine Attacks Howard Dean

Another Reason to Support Obama (w/poll)