I was already in and didn't know it. I always run in winter with a green stocking cap so I will wear it more proudly today on my run.

Glenn and all - is there any resource that shows which Congress members and Senators have received donations from telecoms?

"Because they believe in nothing other than their own petty Beltway rituals, they assume everyone else is similarly barren and empty, bereft of any actual convictions about anything."

Etch that in stone! Great work.

Totoro is right to point out how valuable it would be to have a simplified version of Glenn's analysis available. It could broaden his reach by several orders of magnitude. I think a written summary would be useful. I also think embodying his ideas in YouTube videos could help his message reach a large new audience. The simplest thing might be for Glenn to make two minute summary videos of each column as it goes to press, and post them on YouTube. If he doesn't have the time or inclination, maybe he can authorize somebody else to do that. Auditions could be held...

along this thread that seem to assume that politicians operate in a vacuum and that public opinion is irrelevant. The good news is that public opinion does indeed affect politician's behavior. The bad news is that this helps explain all the behavior that we're finding so objectional. The drug war, for instance remains in place because a large plurality of Americans think its a good idea. As long as the people getting shot up in no-knock raids or being sentenced to serious time because the cops didn't like them anyway are Somebody Else, then the politicians themselves can simply say their tough on criminals and get an extra boost of support as a result.

If were going to get out of this quandary then some serious education is needed. Simply noting that all the candidates suck isn't going to get us very far.

RP will be on Meet The Press this Sunday.

Dan Greaney's idea is even better than the links I suggested. In the meantime, while waiting for said videos, you could select some that already exist on YouTube of the Senator, and send those to your friends. Some of them are also on his website.

"Though crediting activists for their "passion," Pelosi called it "a waste of time" for them to target Democrats. "They are advocates," she said. "We are leaders."

..........................................

If true, this Pelosi's comment reeks of arrogance and ignorance. Arrogance in the sense that she's dissing the very people who made it possible for her to be a leader; and ignorance in the sense that she does not seem to get it that without the passion of the very people she so disdainfully refer to as "activists", there would have been no Democratic majority in Congress, and she and Harry Reid would still be minority leaders - if they were lucky not to have been replaced by more progressive folks like Dodd, Feingold, Boxer, Murtha, etc. as leaders.

I have no confidence in this Democratic Congress leadership. And unless they are booted out and replaced with folks who listen to and share the values of Democratic and progressive voters before '08, I am afraid the Republican will recapture both Houses of Congress - even getting an absolute majority on top of that!

It could be that Reid is beholden to the telecoms.

Or, as crazy as it sounds, maybe they spied on Reid and have something they can hold over him.

I know it's unlikely, but nothing besides graft makes sense either.

John in Ventura... I am shocked that airline pilots make so little money. everybody in information technology with any experience is making 60-80K$ and noone's life is on the line.

It scares me...really.

John in Ventura... Regretfully, I'm betting harmony won't be restored. Unlike most posters here, who are mostly Democrats and a few Republicans, I believe what we are seeing is an inevitable development of the modern state. The implosion of the USSR was just a speeded up version in a more extreme modern state of what will happen with the US and the EU. Once the modern state reaches a certain critical mass of complexity and centralisation of power it will become more authoritarian and lawless.

This process can be slowed down and I'm all in favour of Senators like Dodd attempting to do so and I support grassroots efforts but it will prove increasingly difficult to find electable presidents who do not harbour Caesaresque ambitions. Once in office they will be compelled by the internal logic of the state to behave in much the same way as Bush; some a little better but some will be even worse now that the precedents have been set.

I really hope I'm wrong - but I doubt it. We're in Roman territory now.

What's the answer, John? Fascism now! Or else!

Fascist Poster from the 1932 general elections:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Spd-poster-1932.jpg

"Against Papen, Hitler, Thälmann"

would now be the proper characterization of Harry Reid's relationship with the Bush administration.

Regarding this:

Though crediting activists for their "passion," Pelosi called it "a waste of time" for them to target Democrats. "They are advocates," she said. "We are leaders."

Pelosi crediting activists for their "passion" with barely hidden disdain for their efforts as "a waste of time" reminded me of this Cheney quote:

"Conservation may be a sign of personal virtue, but it is not a sufficient basis for a sound, comprehensive energy policy,"

In Washington they tip their hat to your good intentiions just before they spit on them.

I guess an advocate is just a lobbyist without the power or the money, and the question many of our political leaders have is this; "Why the hell did you show up with a satchel full of passion?"

Communist doctrine used to fortell a time when the state, having fulfilled ist functions, would wither away. Instead the state, in the form of the unified executive presidency of George W. Bush, seems stronger than ever. It is democratic institutions and the citizen' " inalienable rights" that seem to be withering away.

As to the Senate, do these people, on average, believe in anything, have any sense of history, or of their role in maintaining the constitutional order? I think not. The independent role of the Senate as a true power center in the Republic seems greatl diminished by the actions of Senators like Harry Reid. This is the Alice in Wonderland, Cheshire cat era of the United States Senate.