Essentially, yes.

If you are a single-issue person and this is your issue, your money is rationally better donated to Human Rights Campaign or some other LGBT special interest group.

If however, you are a progressive interested in promoting a broadly liberal platform then, not only is in-party whining unflattering, but adopting these tactics hurts your own causes.

Either way, the issue advocacy for legislation with strong opposition is fundamentally the activist's job, not the politician's.

So what? Nothing I have said contradicts these points. We do not live in a direct democracy, but in a clunky representative one.

Given your affinity for reality, you recognize that in large chunks of the country voters can still be faithfully relied on by the GOP to vote out politicians who take courageous stands on social issues. Now, health care progressivism is similarly being linked to "socialism" and while people support a "public option" in polls, most still oppose a "government-run health insurance company." Hence, predictable hesitation.

There is nothing new about this. American politics have always lagged popular movements on progressive issues. Always.

I do not like it any more than you do, but progressives need to master at least remedial strategic thinking here. Except in the most extraordinary of crises, when politicians do not have political cover, they do everything they can not to go out on a limb. Again, this is by design. You can count on it.

Strategically, the progressive organizations that actually achieve their objectives are those that focus on softening the national opposition, rather than squawking at basically sympathetic party flacks.

The most compelling evidence is the failure of the LGBT community to secure a stable winning majority in every single state referendum on the issue yet held.

The country is getting close, but even California isn't quite there yet.

I never specifically characterized you as a whiner. Me thinks thou doth protest too much.

Actually, to some degree, yes. The recent swing in public opinion against Don't Ask Don't Tell is the strongest driving force in the LGBT movement today and the organizations behind it have done a great job. I would indeed be willing to bet that it will be the next domino to fall.

You want things to move faster? Well, convince your fellow American that it is a higher national priority.

This is just how a democratic organizational system works. If liberals could use this simple truth to their advantage, rather than whining about it, they could really do some impressive things with their electoral majority and with the direction of this country.

What a bunch of little whineDems the progressive coalition is attracting lately. Hate to break it to them, but electoral vicrories are just the beginning of getting the nation as a whole to change its position on an issue. And, as advocates, those tasks they keep simpering about are in their court.

In four simple steps:

1) The country remains almost evenly divided between two largely irreconcilible ideologies- progressive modernism vs. religious traditionalism.

2) Elected representatives are, well, elected to represent. They can sacrifice public support to lead on a few issues of personal importance, but are (by design) unable to diverge too much from the mean average view of their constituents.

3) AS CITIZEN ADVOCATES, LEADERSHIP IS YOUR JOB AND FAILURES IN LEADERSHIP ARE YOUR FAILURES. Unfortunately, a majority of Americans still do not support most of the LGBT agenda. As citizens who support these things, it is our job to convince enough of America that we are right.

4) While they have plenty to answer for on other fronts, heatedly blaming Obama or Pelosi or any individual working politico, really, for failure to enact unpopular legislation is a loser's strategy.

You want an ambitious agenda enacted? Well, there is a lot of convincing yet to be done first.

It is about a prophetic (not to mention quite mad) artist named Tom Harris who saw early on just how disturbingly distopian a society into "reality entertainment" has the potential to become, and has made communicating this central to his projects.

It works. One cannot see the film without admitting that this can be an awfully scary trend, and America is headed right into the heart of it.

Lately, I often seem to be remined of this film every time I open the newspaper. Or the web browser.

I agree, Mr. Sirota.

After the two years that you have blessed us with your presence here in Colorado, it is unconcionable that the state government still does not run just as you personally demand.

If I were you, I would demonstrate my outrage with my feet, You should leave and demonstrate to Governor Ritter that you aren't playing around here. In fact, I encourage it.

Really, don't mind us. We'll be able to get by on the self-righteous C-grade pundits that we have here already.