Billmon has a long and important essay on what he calls the gathering "proto-facsism" that lurks behind the current administration and the Republican party. He also has some ideas on how to stop it.
As I have mentioned more than once in these threads, in agreement with Kos contributors like Bob Johnson and Asak, I think Edwards is preferable to Kerry, because Kerry has a good chance of blowing the general election. There's lots not to like about Edwards, I know, and Kerry will need full support if he gets the nod. Much more is at stake in the presidential election than meets the eye. In his exceptinally clear-sighted essay, Billmon explains why.
Patriot Games
Billmon
... Progressives need to be willing to participate in as broad a political coalition as possible, in order to take back the White House and narrow the GOP majorities in the House and Senate. That may be the best that can be hoped for in this election cycle, although if the backlash against the Rovian agenda is strong enough, and the congressional elections get "nationalized," it's conceivable the GOP might lose its grip on the House. That would be a huge victory. I'm not saying it's likely, because it ain't, but it may at least be possible.
In the short run, which means for the duration of this particular election campaign, the key to building a winning coalition is to appeal to swing voters and to less committed Republicans on economic issues -- jobs and "outsourcing" in particular -- much as the Clinton campaign did in 1992. ...
Winning this year's election, though, could turn out to be nothing more than a short-term fix -- as was the case in '92. Can the Democrats create a lasting majority, one that would gradually reduce the more extreme social conservatives to political irrelevance?
