I'm in blog mode; prowling the blogosphere for the article that will clarify, the un-noticed blogger with insights into victory, the writer that I've not given due attention to.
They're out there, little keys to victory. But what is victory? The Republicans have been victorious recently, and they have nothing to show for it. They only thing they have to stand on is their victories over Democrats. They celebrate on election nights, only to wake up the next morning to realize they must govern.
Is that the kind of victory that we want? I personally am torn between fighting the good fight and losing verses the notion that you can't do any good if you can't get elected.
We have the Republican model. A whole infa-structure designed to obtain and keep power. The goal isn't to govern, it's simply to win. They don't base their arguments for election and re-election in any sort of reality that we know of. They go primal; fear and smear. It's easier, it's clearer and it costs less.
Lying is ok. Cheating is ok. Slander and corruption are ok. If a few republican operatives have to take one for the team and spend several year in jail, that's ok. If post-election analysis reveal serious mishandlings and intimidation on election night, that's ok. The elections are over. Those in power are uneffected. Two more years, four, six more years, and the cycle of power continues.
Meanwhile, we discuss, we analyse, we break down the facts, we reveal the lies, and we look towards November, when every logical exploration says we will gain seats in Congress, if not win back at least one house. Yet we're still not sure, amid all the absurdity, that we're going to win anything, and it's difficult (for me pesonally) to articulate why.
For all the knowledge we see running around the left blogosphere, we don't see that knowledge trickling into the democratic politicians representing us in Washington. Yes, the press are involved; their fear of being liberal, their shock that progressives disagree on important issues, their laziness and complacency. But how do we get our own Congressmen to act like our representatives?
I'm wondering if this is the divide bewteen being a congressman and being a politician. The current crop of republicans in Washington are politicans first and congressmen 2nd. They define the parameters of the game, and their game is re-election. We're running around trying to govern while they're running around trying to obtain and keep more power.
So, is it better to be ourselves and lose? Or must we do whatever it takes to get elected? Should we continue to discuss the issues, push forward facts, reveal republican incompetence, secure in the notion that the country will eventually come around and realize they've been used for the past six years? Or must we play the republican game of fear and intimidation, only better, to finally gain back a majority?
Is it better to lose as ourselves, or must we do whatever it takes to get elected?