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Here's where the cognitive dissonance is setting in for me. As you note:
As I indicated yesterday, I think a huge part of the problem is the top-down domination of the strictly-segregated Party caucuses, and thus the Congress, by Party Leadership.
It appears, from today's vote, that Obama is going to plug into this top-down system. The problem is that his campaign was successful precisely because he rejected that approach in building his ground game. The series of "on the ground" posts at fivethirtyeight.com documenting and comparing the McCain and Obama campaigns made very clear that the Obama approach of empowerment and distributed decision making was key to tapping into the huge desire on the part of the people to change our country. For example:
In Daytona Beach, where we found the Republican office closed and locked by 7:00 pm, the Democrats were busy, at the halfway point of the day's work. Trains of volunteers and organizers shuttled through the doors, preparing staging locations, prepping turf, and answering phone calls from voters with voting questions as late as 10 pm when we left. We hadn't planned to go all the way to Grayton Beach that night because we were exhausted, but the intensity of the effort in the Daytona Beach office inspired us. As with all Obama offices we've seen, there is an infectious, optimistic energy that feeds those present, and I drove until past 4 am with a clear eye after the Daytona Beach jolt.
Link:http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2008/11/on-road-i-4-corridor-florida.html
That's why I think you are on to something in your note to bystander:
We need to focus on creating a Resistance movement inside the Democratic caucus, or, if need be (as seems increasingly likely), outside both Party caucuses.
How ironic would it be if Obama has provided the training that is needed to achieve the change he now appears to resist?
