It is time that we stop look forward for a moment and start pointing out some significant facts in the past. The entire Al Queida leadership was holded up in Torra Borra. The mountain retreat was surrounded. At the time we were scurrying to get all of our forces poised for an invasion of Iraq because draft dodger Cheney wanted Sadam. The Bush administration had Osama where we could kill or capture him. This was early enough in the terror campaign that it could have had a psychological advantage. He got away. The Bush Cheney duo lost Osama and with him Afghanistan and Northwestern Pakistan. They were not just weak, they were stupid, unless they meant to let him go for reasons that are classified. The Repub policy lost Osama and his leadership period. They had the perpetrators of 9-11 and LOST them. This needs to be brought up everytime a chicken hawk begins talking about handling a war theater. Every time Cheney's little girl mouths some untruths about how the world is/was and how it works. Her Daddy let the most vile terrorist of the 21st century slip through his fingers bacuse he wanted to play war elsewhere (IRAQ).

They need to be aware that adding a phony trigger like they did to get the Medicare Part D fiasco passed will be viewed by progressives as a failure. This fig leaf will provide no cover for the Dems as they approach 2010. All progressives should let the DNC and DSCC know that they are going to use the same trigger as the congress. All contributions of time and volunteer support will be aligned with the Public Option Trigger. Once the trigger is executed and the Public Option is deployed, then we will start giving to the party again.

By the way, is the rumor that the DNC chair passed away correct? He has not been heard from for many months.

I believe this is a common sense solutuion to the use of stretched federal resources. However, I believe the motivation is to be the second Lilly Ledbetter moment. They have disappointed progressives on almost all of the serious issues including Healthcare and the public option. They are looking for a watered down way to provide a symbolic option (trigger or co-op) to appease the progressives that recently have been causing problems back on the reservation. They really don't have the police resources or the prison space to continue what has mostly been a vindictive campaign around legalizing Pot. This is supposed to make us feel like he is again one of us.

The true test with progressives is whether we get a symbolic Public option or a real one. Don't care if they legalize all pot for everyone for every reason. They need to listen to their progressive base at least as well as their Repub apponents. If you don't include a robust public option in the healthcare legislation, then you might need to make a trip to one of the clinics come Nov. 2010.

The Democratic party has been living on the [progressive legacy of FDR and Johnson for decades now. They have been trying to be the Republican lite party for some time now. They periodically have had to throw a progressive bone to the masses, like minimum wage. They propose raising it all the time and on rare occasion they actually get it raised. Most of the progressive attempts are around the edges, and even then it is mostly talk. Even on Healthcare, Obama ran on it with the Public Option (which is being denied now)and the congress ran on this reform that they could pass it if only they could get 60 Democratic Senators. Unfortunatley they got 60 Senators and have been spening months trying to kill the appetite for the public option or at the vary least degrade the public option in a way that allows passage but not deployment (trigger, co-op). Obama and the Democratic leadership never wanted real reform. They want a bill that does something so they can call it historic and move on. Snowe has no real power here. They did not need her vote to get out of committee, yet you would have thought she broke an 11 to 11 tie. Instead it was 14 to 9. Her vote was meaningless. Only a moron would think her vote made the bill bipartisan. She is the beard for the Democratic leadership. They are trying to build up her impotance to make all of the capitualtion to the industry her fault. It amkes you wonder do we really need 60, if they are these 60. They were this bad with 51. We could have saved a lot of campaign donations if we would have known.

PS: to the invisible man, DNC chair Kaine, please do not send out any more campaign donation requests for the need to create a buffer for the 60 seats. With this leadership we would have trouble getting legislation passed with 104 senators.