One of the characteristics of all politics, but especially of the Republican Party of the last few decades, is the cult of personality. Christian members of the GOP can engage in the most disturbing forms of idolatry in speaking of Ronald Reagan without any apparent signs of self-awareness. The issue of FISA, which goes to the heart of the founder's ideas in multiple ways, is potentially a superb opportunity for Democrats.

While it is an easy exercise to make demons out of Republicans, there are many honest members of that party who seek the same fundamental things for Americans as any Democrat. For every policy proposal, there are counter-proposals which can be debated without any real resolution. However, the encroachments on our liberties of the last seven years transcend policy or person. To take a stand for our founding principles, rather than allegiance to some politician or party platform shows that our first priority is to the opportunity to live our those principles rather than engage in fearful efforts to ward off the latest danger, real or imagined.

Democrats have an opportunity in both fighting back against the capitulation on FISA and in holding our presumptive nominee to first principles to show that we believe as Barbara Jordan did as she expressed herself in her statement to the House Judiciary Committee as they considered articles of impeachment against Richard Nixon:

My faith in the Constitution is whole; it is complete; it is total. And I am not going to sit here and be an idle spectator to the diminution, the subversion, the destruction, of the Constitution.

If she were alive today I feel strongly that she would be able to point out to Senator Obama the imperative that he be willing to take a stand on the Constitution rather than on political ambition. If he will not, then we have the opportunity to show that Democrats are starkly different from the perversion of the modern Republican Party and its cults of personality by vigorously pointing that imperative out to him for her.

The more the left pushes him on this -- particularly organizations like Move-on, which have been carefully demonized by the right and the MSM -- and the more he resists, the more he looks like a "centrist" who is courageously staring down the "fringe elements" of his party. That isn't reality, but it's the way it will be portrayed, and it's a favorable frame for Obama; the only way he loses here is if the issue gets accurately reported in the media, which will happen some time after Al Gore stops inventing the internet. Obama wins on the policy, wins with Congress, wins on the politics, and we lose.

Anyone want to bet that his campaign hasn't thought of it this way? Anyone want to bet that the Chris Carney people look on those ads being run against him in the same way? Don't get me wrong -- I think donating to the Act Blue campaign is a good idea. But it's just the start of a long, hard slog. The real fight here will be what happens after this bill passes. If people like Glenn and Hamsher and the rest of them can develop all this into a movement with legs, something that can apply pressure and get results even when there's no primary going on. These people are cowardly and corrupt 365 days a year (well, maybe some of them take Christmas off), and it's going to take 365 days a year of pressure to make them behave better.

There' s a lot of Obamapologists blogging around. Their opinions of Obama may or may not be nuanced; what annoys me more is that some people believe we must constantly bring up the spectre of a McCain Presidency every time someone makes a critical comment about Obama.

I believe that most people who have decided not to vote for Obama are making a decision based on their own reasoned out political beliefs and don't need to be scolded for not playing the game. It's a presidential election; there's millions of people voting. If there is a safe space for someone to state that their vote for President will not be going to one of the two major entrenched party candidates, I assume it would be in the progressive blogosphere.

I think we all labor under the illusion that our tiny vote makes some big stinking difference in presidential elections. Our vote matters for city council, for school boards, for state and county offices. Obama-- I'll vote for him or not. I live in New York State-- I could vote for Big Bird if I wanted and it wouldn't make a damn bit of difference to Obama's victory here. I just may. This does not disenfranchise me if I'm still a responsible citizen at the local and state level.

It's just a tiny vote. Do with it what you want. I mean come on, how many real progressives are there in this country? 10,000? 100,000?

And please don't argue Nader in 2000. George Bush cheated. That's why Gore lost.

"Well, I hate to break it to you, but you just might not have any more choices if McCain gets elected. The Republicans have already stolen two presidential elections, and God only knows how many congressional elections. They've saddled us with unverifiable, no receipt black box voting machines. They've illegally suppressed the Democratic vote in every way they can. They've attempted to criminalize being a Democrat, with blatantly political prosecutions.

And they've gotten away with it, carte blanche, not in small part due to people like you, who can't see the forest for the trees.

-- Renegade Iconoclast"

Is it the assholes who voted for Nader or is it Karl Rove and RNC fraud that gave the WH to Cheney/Bush? It may be annoying that people stuff "protest" votes into the box but it's juvenile to avoid the realities that you yourself detail. Rove has been working on engineering rope-a-vote by computer processing for over thirty years. Admittedly, it wasn't his only angle, vote caging and suppression of every stripe was employed. These elections are his masterworks, though. The laurels don't go to the foolish people throwing tantrums.

(In advance of the "Oh it's just like the bogus WTC theories to buy this..." stuff that inevitably crops up when I mention the obvious; cheats CHEAT. If there is any chance in hell that a crooked player can put his thumb on the scales, he WILL. A cheat leaves NOTHING to "chance" or fairplay.)