You said

"The Democratic Party is a political party in name only.

No ideology, no agenda, no strategy, no rhetoric, no party discipline and no leaders."

Right. Just a lot of people making a lot of money at our expense, and exercising power over us at our expense.

Their strategy is to get fat. Their agenda is to get fat. Their ideology is that getting fat is good.

Their rhetoric is that them getting fat is good for us.

I sympathize with your worries. However, there are things Obama can do that don't jeopardize his position. He can talk to Dems in the Senate about his objection. Several of them are hoping for VP positions (like Webb, who voted FOR warrantless spying and immunitity before) or other jobs in the new administration. Or he can talk one Senator into putting a hold on this bill (like Dodd - or Leahy, who sent an email stating his opposition) and then pressure Reid into honoring that hold.

If we let Obama off the hook or tippie-toe around his passivity, then there's no incentive for him to stick his neck out even behind closed doors. Believe me, the forces of evil are already at work to get him to abandon his "changes."

We must crank up the heat now while Obama still has something to lose. So let's stop cowering and start demanding! We can't rightly criticize our Congress critters for their cowardice if we act the same way.

It looks like you were wrong, Glenn, the FISA Act of 2008 is CRITICALLY IMPORTANT:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121390912472789731.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

that Nancy Pelosi is not very smart.

http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/06/dems-agree-to-e.html

Dems Agree to Expand Domestic Spying, Grant Telecoms Amnesty

By Ryan Singel

June 19, 2008 | 3:09:21 PM

President Bush is set to win a huge victory in the controversy over warrantless wiretapping, as the House Democratic leadership agreed to telecom immunity and expanded spying powers.

Breaking months of acrimonious deadlock, House and Senate leaders from both parties have agreed to a bill that gives the nation's spy agencies the power to turn a wide swath of domestic communication companies into intelligence-gathering operations, and that puts an end to court challenges to telecoms such as AT&T that aided the government's secret, five-year warrantless wiretapping program.

Civil liberties proponents quickly blasted the deal.

oBAMA IS DAMNED IF HE DOES, DAMNED IF HE DOESN'T. iGNROE THE GOP PAENUT GALLERY. tHEY WILL ONYL BE HAPPY WITH A 3RD BUSH TERM.

-- rufus11

I'm starting to think you're actually a troll here. If you're calling me out, look up my history. As you'll see, my Obamaton bona fides are well in order.

But that doesn't mean the man can't be criticized or called out when necessary. True progressivism means you're constantly pushing to make things better -- to progress. By Obama's position as the party's presidential nominee, whether he likes it or not, he is THE party leader, and right now he has a lot of pull. He can make a HUGE difference by taking the lead on this issue.

How is Obama damned by taking the lead on this important issue? The Pubs are going to try and throw as much shit as him as they can anyway, so what's the difference? Might as well stand up and do what's right.

It's like William Wallace said in Braveheart (Yes, I'm quoting Mel Gibson here ;-) ): If you would just LEAD, I'd follow you, and so would everyone else.

What kind of leader does Obama want to be? Talk is great, but action tells the tale.

"Maybe not begging, but if he gives them what they want, then they can probably live with it.

-- The Small Town Hick "

The worse case senerio is obama get's elected, doesn't do what he says, and we get a third party take-over. That is fine with me as most dem's are spinless. But the gop is done.

you must be a republcain, hick, if you think the republcains are not finished. Where else do you get rewarded by doing near nothing right?

Obama can't fail. As the first african american he will nto be allowed to fail (by african americans). He cannot fail, as the first liberal president since fdr (liberals won't let him fail).

I have to assume many of these people are dittoheads. Stir up trouble. divide adn conquer. They can win. All they got is whine cry discredit. Lie and spin. Driving wedges. May have worked in the past, gop. nto this time.

And to the tough guy talking about obama's mentality beign responsbile for iraq and 4000 dead soldiers. I was one. One of those deaths WOULD be me (as the fascists would pat tillman me), if I was still there. Those dead soldiers ARE me. So be very careful when you start throwing around these attacks. If you are republicans and want verbal combat, bring it on. have courage to show yoru fascist faces. If you are "concerned dem's/hillary supporters/closet republcains" then you have options. But if you think john mccain will lead on this, you are a lying propgoandist. to the hillary supporters, where has she been teh last 8 years in this fight? Where has she been on fisa? you love to talk and talk about hillary here, why not today? She's still a senator. Is she on vacation>?

And, this is why I don't give money to the Democratic Party for the election of House members. I support progressive Democrats only. And Barack who is my main man. The House members who voted for this horrendous piece of legislation should be required to read the constitution and write a paper on the history of the Bill of Rights. If we don't know what the constitution says it won't be long before what we call a democracy will be ancient history.

Nancy Pelosi says

But these bills depend on the commitment to the Constitution of the President of the United States and of his Justice Department.

I see the problem now. They are talking about the Constitution of the President of the United States and of his Justice Department.