...but after what happened today? It just got a little easier.

Forgive me if someone has already pointed this out in this here forum, but why is this story buried on Salon's front page? This should be the lead story.

It was the lead story - i.e,. the cover story -- on the front page of Salon all day yesterday. It is the most-read article on Salon as well, as the front page indicates. Should the vote be more prominently featured again today? You could certainly make that argument, but it got a lot more attention at Salon than it did at most other media outlets in the country. I doubt there's another paid writer in the u.S. who has written about it as much as I have right here at Salon.

The brilliance of the current crop of Authoritarians in government and the media was to simply ignore protest, and when protest could not be ignored, to mock it.

I disagree completely. For one thing, nothing the right-wing troglodytes currently occupying Washington have done is in any way unusual or clever for them. All they've done is the same stupid, inane crap their kind has been doing for over a century.

The difference is that lately it's been working. Granted, it stands to reason that we should ask why.

But the thing that is different is that there's nobody fighting them, and with a few exceptions there really hasn't been for a generation now.

Let's put it this way — suppose your neighborhood is plagued with thieves, and you decide to start leaving your door unlocked and wide open whenever you're not at home. When your house is inevitably looted, does it make any sense to conclude that the thieves were therefore somehow suddenly possessed of dazzling brilliance?

The kind of movement that's sprung up around opposition to telecom amnesty is a ghost, a shadow, a pale imitation of the kind of citizen advocacy that should be commonplace in our society, but is totally, utterly absent. There's nothing but empty streets, creaking saloon doors, and tumbleweed in Liberaltown.

When our legislators see that every vote they make exposes them to the risk of thousands of dollars and thousands of votes being marshaled against them in a matter of hours, the way it used to be with the unions, then the sway of authoritarianism will dry up practically overnight.

"WTF Salon?

Forgive me if someone has already pointed this out in this here forum, but why is this story buried on Salon's front page? This should be the lead story. Instead, we have a review of another Mike Myers movie about dick jokes.

WHAT THE FUCK????

What, Joan, too busy looking for sexism in every single political story to show how very progressive you are to miss how the Constitution is being gutted or do you truly not give a shit?

-- senorplaid "

Contributing to the anti-hoyer, et al campaign is good, but we need to try and start a complete boycott of all fundraising for all democrats.

I have already cut them off cold, vow to NOT vote for a single Democrap in the Fall, including Obama unless he actually does more than make a speech against the Senate bill, and actually, besides giving money to Glenn's crusade against the traitors via Act Blue, I even donated directly to Hoyer's GOP competitor Collin Bailey. THAT was hard because I have never EVER given money to a Rethuglican before, but this one felt good.

I did provide them with a bogus email so I wont get GOP spam emails from now on.

Any money I WOULD have been willing to give to Democraps is now reserved for removing Democraps, attacking Democraps who in any way, shape, or form supported or voted for this Dictatorship Bill.

Yet again, another completely mindless insulting response from you. You are the clear example of a Troll on here.

How old were you in 1990? 2 or 3 yrs? It was actually talked about quite a bit on CNN that we couldn't stack up to Iraq's Army but you were probably too young back then to remember. I remember it very well.

And for the record sparky, we defeated Saddam in 1991 but pulled back because we were not there for regime change, at that time. We defeated Saddam again in 2003, but poor strategy after his removal led to the insurgency. So, yes, we would defeat Iran rather easily in a conventional war. Too bad you have exactly zero experience in this arena to actually carry on an intelligent debate. Clearly I'm not the brainwashed one here on this blog.

For whoever it was that questioned my belief in the Constitution, I've served my country for over 16 years now in several different war zones to include Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan. What have you done to defend the Constitution in your lifetime?

It ain't easy, bein' Green.

And you can count me in as a new member.

I'll never vote Dem again. I may even actually vote for Nader in the Fall (anyone but a GOPer or Democrap).

I really wish people stopped propagating this nonsense:

"We have no choice but to go on the mat for Obama"

"Yes, Obama must be the next president"

Huh, come again? You might as well try this for a change:

"We have no choice but to go on the mat for McCain"

"Yes, McCain must be the next president"

What gibberish.

No wonder Democrats are happy to trash the constitution. They know they can count on people rallying around them in the same blindly idiotic way in which six years ago they rallied around Bush.

We do have a choice, and we must exercise it now.

petition for this particular bill to be included on the ballot in November

I'm curious what you think this means.

Maybe you live in California, as I do, but no matter how many people with petitions lay in wait for voters outside Targets in, say, Peoria, this bill will never be "included on the ballot" in Iowa.