I think we in the progressive blogosphere are having another Diebold moment. Another moment of insanity, powerlessness, pouting, negativity, and basically conspiracy-theorizing. It reminds me of in 2004, the trolls saying, "Why bother voting, the system is rigged anyway, Bush is gonna make the Diebold machines show he won, etc etc."
This happens to people when they feel powerless and hopeless. That is why hope is necessary in order to have power. No hope, no action, and thus no power. The rich never lose hope. That's because they're rich. We, have to work harder at it.
This is a very stressful time. Our future is in the hands of corrupt corporate shills (i.e. bought-and-paid for Senators) over whom we have little or no control, and not too much recourse to hold them accountable-- at least not right away.
But, I've said this several times, and I will once more: the solution isn't hope, it's action. Hope comes as a result of it. So does power.
The problem with all the "it's a rigged system, we can't win" crap, is that it causes people to give up. Sometimes, militantly, as in the hold-your-breath-until-you-turn-blue, pouting, "I'll take my votes and go HOME!" kind. Well, that will make the problem worse.
Here's why: if you take your votes and go home, and get "demoralized", and give up on "the Democrats"-- then you basically have made the corporate shills in Congress move even farther to the right. Why? Because if they can't get your votes, they'll just move to the right and try to capture the "moderate" or "independent" vote, or peel off Republicans. That's beyond stupid.
It's even stupider if you do that BEFORE a major vote on important legislation. Getting "demoralized" and planning not to vote in 2010 means that the congresscritters need to vote AGAINST you, because you won't be around in November to make a difference, you have just made yourself irrelevant. To stay in office, they need instead to vote with the Republicans, and their corporate owners, who they at least know will be there for them when they need them. Unlike you.
What's the solution? Pressure these bastards from the left. Run primary challenges. Volunteer and donate to primary challengers-- real Democrats, progressive Democrats who share your values and principles. Do it NOW, before they vote on this legislation, so that they are scared. I want them scared. I want them terrified-- of US. Because they're already terrified-- of pissing off their corporate donors. We need to up the pressure from our side. Even if we don't win, we can still move their votes to the left, by pressuring them from the left.
Whatever happend to "Crashing the Gate"? Didn't we learn anything? This is exactly how the wingnuts took over the Republican party. They organized, they got involved, they were patient, they kept working, they pushed their agenda and their candidates. Wasn't this site formed on the concept of us applying the same successful tactics to the Democratic party?
Get involved at your local Democratic party headquarters. Bring friends, and take the place over. Do work for candidates. Find the most progressive candidate you can, and back them. Do it NOW; primaries are starting up in a few months.
Target the bastards who voted for Stupak. Target the bastards who are obstructing HCR. Target the bastards who just voted NO on financial reform. Target them, and bounce their corrupt asses out of office! In a Democratic primary. NOW.
The thing I loved most about dKos is this focus on action, on taking back the system. What happened to that? How did we get stuck into whining about being "betrayed" and pouting about not showing up at the polls, or volunteering, or donating? That's beyond destructive. It's a forfeit.
If you don't like the Democrats who are running, then find and support better Democrats this winter, to back in the spring. If you can't find any, then run for office yourself. Otherwisee, please stop with the pouting, the conspiracy theorizing, the hopeless, nihilistic, "don't bother, it's all rigged" rhetoric.
Yeah, it's all screwed up. So get a freakin' mop.