This is a short diary with not much of a point. That is why I am putting it up late so as not to push off more important stuff.
I just wish the Democrats in congress would realize that fighting for what is right is not like ammunition which you use up and may not get replenished but more like a muscle that gets stronger each time you use it.
The republicans cleared their team of moderate republicans not while they were in power but when they were out of power. Because they made a team that would fight as one then is why they have power now. Until we Democrats can enforce discipline on the likes of Lieberman and Bean etc. we will never get to power. For those of you who say we need to have all the Democrats we can now to get to leadership I say we will never get to leadership until we decide what our party stands for, fight for that ideal, and not permit anyone to call themselves a Democrat until they too will fight for that ideal.
The perfect example of this is the filibuster deal. Because some Democrats were afraid of fighting and loosing a tool of politics we now have Chief Justice Roberts and another pick. We will now see if the idea of keeping your powder dry actually works. However I fear that whomever shrub picks will get confirmed because now we have lost the momentum that was present when the deal was made and even if a filibuster goes down it can be sold as the obstructionist Democrats meme again since we all have forgotten that at the time it was the republicans that were seen as power hungry.
If we would have fought then and lost the filibuster we could not have done worse that what we have now but at least we would have carved in stone what the republicans stand for. Abuse of power. We would have also exercised that all important muscle that every minority party needs. The will to fight and not roll over even if it means loosing.
Sorry for the rant and I certainly hope I am wrong about the next Supreme Court pick but I don't think shrub will deviate from his arrogant course and give us a moderate.
I really hope I'm wrong for the sake of the constitution and the next generations who will have to live under the rulings of the new court.
