Progressive Primaries & Budget Cuts

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Tuesday February 15, 2011 · 9:55 AM PST

2011/02/15 · 09:55

In my last diary I wrote about building the need for building a progressive primary infrastructure. It is easy to feel like this is a side issue which we will pick up come election time.. This is a huge mistake.

Today's news cycle is aswarm with commentary concerning Obama's new budget. The budget itself and the way it is covered both make clear the massive issue we are facing and that we must start dealing with it now -- not come election time.

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Our Next Act: Progressive Primaries

BlueThunder

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Sunday February 13, 2011 · 5:49 PM PST

2011/02/13 · 17:49

I have been thinking a lot about the last couple election cycles. From 2006-2009 I was on a high as Democrats racked up seats and generally favorable ratings with the public. But while the Democrats have made good theatrics of trying to get their policies through, they have let far too many progressive battles and potential victories slide through their fingers. This diary is about where we should go from here.

I thought organizations like MoveOn, DFA, Bold Progressives, the SEIU union and others would hold leverage over the Democrats. I volunteered very heavily through them, and donated money though them. I thought given all the work and money we had provided would count for hard power-- power which must be answered to. I was wrong.

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Progressive Primaries

BlueThunder

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Sunday February 13, 2011 · 8:07 AM PST

2011/02/13 · 08:07

I have been thinking a lot about the last couple election cycles. From 2006-2009 I was on a high as Democrats racked up seats and generally favorable ratings with the public. But while the Democrats have made a good show of trying to get their policies through, I think the Democrats have let far too many progressive battles and potential victories slide through their fingers. This diary is about where we should go from here.

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They are taking us for granted!

BlueThunder

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Tuesday January 19, 2010 · 7:31 PM PST

2010/01/19 · 19:31

This will be a short diary-- as are many on the recommended list tonight. The upset in Mass feels like a period at the end of a long dreary sentence, and I think we feel kicked around by those we put in office.

To Save Them, We Must Fight Them. The Dems in office are not great, but they are what we have. But they must fear losing our support. The upset tonight might just be the first in a series of warning flares we can shoot into the air. This is not a message to Obama or DLC or any of them. This is a message to us-- and to the networks we are part of.

They are taking us for granted- and that is why they are losing. And we need to wake them up.

BlueThunder

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Saturday November 22, 2008 · 1:03 PM PST

2008/11/22 · 13:03

We've seen a good number of posts already on where to go from here. Some of them very good including What Should be the Future of Daiky Kos by slinkerwink.

I want to offer my two cents.

We have been building our ability to run progressive primaries for a while now, most notably in the case of Lieberman on 06 and Donna Edwards in 08. MoveOn.org chipped in on the Edwards race, and groups like Strange Bedfellows have the funds to run ads against bad candidates.

I say we make 2010 the year of the progressive primary.

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Is this a good use of time and money?

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Is this a good use of time and money?

Hell yes

35 votes

Hell maybe

4 votes

No I like my Democrats weak, tepid, and spineless

6 votes

Obama: "Yeah I don't do cowering" and means it!

BlueThunder

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Tuesday November 18, 2008 · 3:31 AM PST

2008/11/18 · 03:31

One of the best lines spoken by Obama during the entire campaign:

Yeah, I don't do cowering.

He meant it. We knew Obama could be tough without shouting and scorching the earth in an attempt to tear apart his opponent. We knew those who called him Obambi were wrong.

And we are seeing this tough side of Obama as he assembles a battle-ready crew for D.C.

BlueThunder

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Sunday November 09, 2008 · 3:31 PM PST

2008/11/09 · 15:31

This election season was amazing in so many ways. Democrats outstripped Republicans in every conceivable metric: enthusiasm, volunteers, newly registered voters, money raised, new donors, seats won... and of course the crown jewel... the presidency.

Not only that, but the GOP is losing its favorite WMD, Word of Mass Destruction: LIBERAL

We're seeing a shift in the story being told about us and the story we're telling about ourselves-- and what it means to be liberal. From the Denver Post:

WASHINGTON — The political weapon cabinet might need restocking. "Liberal," it appears, isn't the lethal label it used to be.

And lets not forget weasels like Palin, Bachman, and Leiberman running from their own attacks on Obama:

That whole anti-American, friend-to-the-terrorists thing about President-elect Barack Obama? Never mind.

We did not just win. We fucking kicked ass. But it is not just as simple as winning elections.

BlueThunder

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Saturday September 13, 2008 · 6:54 PM PDT

2008/09/13 · 18:54

First let me say this. I am a big fan of the ACLU.

Their tireless fight for civil liberties, human rights, and for the constitution is inspiring and unwavering.

They do a good job of reaching people. Not all organizations do. The ACLU utilizes a variety of media. They have a great website (linked above). They have a blog. They utilize a You Tube Page. They produce television shows. They sell t-shirts and books at their website store.

They get it: people can't just read about court battles, they need to be engaged and educated on a variety of levels and in different ways. But there is a difference between reaching out to single people for single events, and organizing people into a movement.

The ACLU and our civil liberties needs a movement.
More below.

BlueThunder

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Monday September 01, 2008 · 6:47 PM PDT

2008/09/01 · 18:47

The Patriot Act is hurting the American internet business:

Engineers who help run the Internet said that it would have been impossible for the United States to maintain its hegemony over the long run because of the very nature of the Internet; it has no central point of control.

And now, the balance of power is shifting. Data is increasingly flowing around the United States, which may have intelligence — and conceivably military — consequences.

Hmm why would the military and intelligence agencies care about internet tubes?

Because yes they really do want to spy on you-- and the world.
More below...

BlueThunder

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Friday August 29, 2008 · 3:01 PM PDT

2008/08/29 · 15:01

I don't get expect this diary to get much play, given the news of the day and the last couple days, but here goes anyway. There is some serious shit that is about to go down. It has become almost myth and lore that Americans were spied on under Nixon, and today's heroes like MLK were demonized by the powers that were.

The same governmental powers which allowed things like COINTELPRO are about to return.

Follow me over the flip.....

BlueThunder

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Wednesday August 27, 2008 · 4:00 PM PDT

2008/08/27 · 16:00

Pop Quiz: In the last week the FBI has...

A) Asked for expanded powers,
B) Accused of violating the first amendment
C) Gone after a blogger who was a threat to Guns N Roses' Profit Margin
D) All 3 (the B in FBI stands for Busy)

What's the right answer?
To find out and learn more, follow me over the flip.

BlueThunder

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Monday August 25, 2008 · 2:59 PM PDT

2008/08/25 · 14:59

How is this possible? Didn't the government grant the telecoms immunity? Yes! But the government can not grant itself immunity!

Behold the beauty of the EFF (via Wired):

"If Congress wants to shut down one avenue, we will go down another," EFF legal director Cindy Cohn said, noting that the amnesty provisions in the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 do not apply the government itself as the Administration had first wanted....If it was illegal for AT&T to turn over the data, then it was illegal for government to receive it," Cohn said.

That, and the taps violate the 4th Amendment.
Support EFF!!

P.S.Thanks for taking the time to read this, and taking time away from reading all the diaries hyperventilating about what one pundit said to another.
P.P.S.
We have Civil Liberties Google Group. It is teh awesome!
Join: Your Civil Liberties Will Thank you!

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Progressive Primaries & Budget Cuts

Our Next Act: Progressive Primaries

Progressive Primaries

They are taking us for granted!

2010: The Year of the Progressive Primary

Obama: "Yeah I don't do cowering" and means it!

GOP Loses its favorite WMD: Liberal

ACLU's Constitution Voter Campaign- and what is missing

Patriot Act Hurting American Internet Industry

COINTEL PRO 2

The FBI Always Gets Their Blogger!

God Bless Them: EFF Still Going After Wiretap Lawsuit!