Letters to the Editor
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in response to the babbling of ...
RE: << It does not matter whether one is uber-liberal or not, a supporter of Mr. Dean of not, as the issue discussed is whether the Democractic Party has the gumption to stand up and defend the principles of our democracy and their legal expression>>
You mean as YOU personally prioritize them. If you haven't noticed well over half of America, at least, prioritizes things differently which has been a problem for the Democrats for at least 30 years, and particularly for 15. Furthermore, seeing as how you clearly can't deduce the obvious,30 years of similar diatribes/rants/fartings by your shrill uberleft predecessors that insisting that everyone who doesn't share your last sentiments must be an "operative" and should "leave the party" has resulted in one hell of a lot of people doing just that.
From those of us sick and tired of watching the GOP take base after base of our votes from blue collar men to soccor moms to black evangelicals , all as the white uberleft insists the Dems must pander to uberlefties, kindly go suck an egg.
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Democrats weak image
Another thing to add. I think that the fears of seeming weak on national security is too myopic. The problem isn't that people might perceive Dems are weak on national security. The problem is that people perceive Dems AS WEAK. By being weak in the overall point in order to seem strong in a segment of it just defeats any hyper-focused action.
Dems need to address the WEAKNESS image overall. Standing up for yourself is not only a good start, it's the only start.
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what?
To those of you who wish for a Democrat to stand for something:
I happened to be tuned into c-span this week for Senator Leahey's speech at Georgetown Law Center, wherein he announced his opposition to Alito's nomination to the SC, based on a reasoned assessment of Alito's record in regard to executive powers, and his (Alito's) stonewalling on this issue during the confirmation hearings.
It is astonishing to me that this speech has been ignored by both the MSM and the bloggers... here is a Democratic senator standing up for an important principle, yet everyone ignores him? And then goes on to complain that Democrats don't stand up for their principles?
What's wrong with this picture?
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THE BOOT OF FASCISM TREADS GINGERLY AT FIRST
And then pounds liberty to dust under its heel. It happens
so slowly and insidiiously at first one does not realize
it is actually taking place. First comes the repeated lies
eg; "They hate us because we are free" (where in truth;
they hate us because of our government's actions around
the world) then comes the wearing away of such freedoms
as to feel free to say anything on a phone or write any-
thing in an e-mail without fear of someone listening or
reading your private communications to loved ones, friends
or business associates. Propaganda repeated enough times
becomes pausible to some and then a truism for them and
they begin to take up the lie: "They hate us because we
are free" BE AWARE OF THE LIAR AND HIS LIES LEAST YOU
BEGIN TO HEAR THE POUNDING OF THE HEELS OF FASCISM IN THE
STREETS OF AMERICA.
firstobserver
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Get off your asses, gun owners!
You are always going on and on about how your guns are necessary to defend the Constitution and the American way of life against despotism.
Guess what? The despots are in the process of seizing control of this country. The Bush administration is slowly eroding our civil liberties and turning this country into a cheap knockoff of the Soviet Union, complete with secret police monitoring our phone calls. They are like a bunch of rats chewing on the Constitution, slowly nibbling away at our freedoms.
Yet I haven't heard of gun owner one doing a damned thing about it. In fact, many of you voted for the very people who are trashing the Bill of Rights.
Now's the time to put your money where your mouths are, gun fans. Is your gun nothing more than a phallic substitute?
Are you going to fight for your freedom, or are you going to sit back with your precious little gun and do nothing until it's too late?
I'm not advocating armed overthrow of the government. But I do want to point out the complete idiocy of supporting freedom-hating Republicans just because you like guns, and the complete cluelessness of those who imagine that the freedom to buy a Saturday Night Special from an unregistered gun dealer somehow makes up for losing the right to free speech, free assembly, and the rest.
At the very least, you guys could do a "Million Gun March" -- the sight of a million armed Americans on the Mall in Washington DC would send quite a message to the people who would trash our lives, liberty and pursuit of happiness to make a quick buck and maintain their sorry asses in power.
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Babbling about babbling...
I see, Dems2006, we should forget about the fact that the government is illegally spying on people, using the frightening justification that the present cannot be restrained by law during wartime, because if we mention these things too often, the Democrats might loose elections. God forbid!!! It might be worth noting in your strategic playbook that some of us vote for the Democrats because we expect them to stand up for certain values, like the rule of law or the idea that being a citizen gives one certain rights and freedoms. My interest in the political career of my local congressman for its own sake is pretty non-existent.
But if you want to talk pragmatics, fine. The Republican Party has consistently become more radical, and continued to win, and win bigger. Yet the Democrats, who strive to occupy that ever shifting center are falling apart. Why is this? The Democrats read the polling data. They've found out what's of value to John and Jane Q. Public. They've changed their priorities to match those.
It's not clear. My guess is that while the Republicans have been building an increasingly mobilized and dedicated base, by having consistent positions on controversial issues, the Democrats have alienated their base, or allowed it to slip into apathy. And while the Republicans can present themselves as people with a vision, a plan, who are willing to make unpopular decisions for the good of the nation (at least as they perceive it), the Democratic party looks completely spineless. A Republican friend of mine very worried by Bush, ended up voting against Kerry. He didn't think that Kerry had any policies that he was sincerely committed to, and would be willing to abandon these policies with the next cycle of poll data. When people are worried about terrorism, an image like this is fatal.
If you'd care to offer an alternative explanation of why the Republicans are succeeding, please do. But it isn't obvious that poll chasing is as successful as you claim it is, or that taking a stand on contentious issues is political suicide.