Recently in Democratic Party Category

(McClatchy) LAS VEGAS _ The netroots, the liberal Democrats who've been instrumental in making the Internet an important political tool, are disappointed in President Barack Obama.

While the left is hardly abandoning a man they helped elect, the 2,000 Democratic bloggers, activists and organizers who wrapped up four days of Netroots Nation meetings at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino Sunday are sending him a message: It could be harder to generate the kind of passion in this November's congressional elections that was so crucial to his 2008 victory.

No kidding. It is a mid-term election. I am not all that enthused about there being any amount of turnout this year. The economy is neither free-falling, nor improving, leaving an empty feeling in the gut of many people. There will be little actual anger from the left at this point. Not yet. If things remain the same two years from now, then I expect a return to anger. And anger, these days, benefit the Democrats, not the Republicans. The days of blaming Democrats are over. After decades of conservative rule, the ability to pin the blame on Democrats is just not there.

However, that does not mean there will not be a flare up of anger. It is just that it is currently from the Teabaggers - not exactly the dominate voting block in the nation at the moment. And as Kevin Drum pointed out, when the Teabaggers start making headway within the Republican party, independents run away. That is not the way to win an election.

While the Republican/Conservative movement has relied mostly on the megaphone style of political persuasion, I see the Whisper Campaign as a more effective style of political persuasion for the Democrats/Progressives. Let the Republicans blast away with the few megaphone mouths (Limbaugh, Hannity, Beck, et. el.). The Democrats can simply walk softly and whisper quietly to individuals among the masses. You know, do the grassroots thing.

Granted, the Teabagger's movement was a type of grassroots in that the corporate/conservative elites were able to tap the anger of the intellectually ignorant; feeding them misinformation and out right lies. But it only created a squeaking wheel. It did not constitute any huge majority, or even a respectable minority. Instead, it brought together a whole bunch of crazy, that left a poor impression on the general population.

From what I can see, the Republican/Conservative grassroots movements have been an abysmal failure, easily falling short of fund raising as accomplished by comparable progressive movements. And in what is no doubt the greatest irony of all; the Republican/Conservative grassroots rely on funding from individuals comparable to their rich, liberal, villain De jour, George Soros, the man supposedly funding the entire progressive infrastructure.

I just can't help but see the Republican/conservative elites losing power. Not when their efforts include the manipulation of ignorant, intellectually lazy people. Contrary to popular belief, the majority of the human race is not ignorant. If it was, we would still be Neanderthals living a stone age existence.

Sigh. Yes, I understand Rush, Hannity, and Beck might exemplify the modern Neanderthals, but they really are still a minority.

DougJ over at Balloon Juice hops into his wayback machine to discover the wise wisdom of Cookie Roberts as she espouses on about the Democratic Party kicking Joe Lieberman out in 2006.

.....I think, a disaster for the Democratic Party, and it's going to be very interesting to see what happens as a result of it.

[....]

Yes, I do because I think, first of all, that pushing the party to the left, which is what's likely to happen, is pushing the party to the position from which it traditionally loses, and In presidential elections but also it will send a signal to everybody in the Senate, watch out, the only smart thing to do here is play to your base, and then what that means is that your legislation becomes a mess, which it already is but even more of a mess, and you get.

[.....]

Well, and it certainly - and Bill Clinton, it's also no accident that Bill Clinton is the only Democrat who has been elected president for two terms since Franklin Roosevelt, because he was a Democrat in the middle from the south with a very strong acquaintanceship with scripture. All of that and I think you start, you know, talking about the liberal blogs and all that taking over the party and it will be a disaster.

Is she not just one amazingly precise prognosticator? Since then, the Democratic Party picked up 15 senate seats, 55 house seats, and the Presidency. One seriously unmitigated disaster, I tell you.

MN Progressive Project has a post up about Minnesota Republican infighting that has gotten ugly. It is the usual personal attacks on character that we have come to expect from today's Republican party. It is reminiscent of the attack George W. Bush's campaign made against John McCain back in 2000

Now, don't get me wrong. I have no doubt that Democrats of days gone by have engaged in the same personal attacks and will do so in the future. Currently, though, it appears to be a Republican trait. If anyone has done any reading on Karl Rove's past, you learn that he started his dirty, character assassination tricks at a young age, and at a local level.

I know, for myself, that in the past I never paid attention to these kind of low brow political attacks. I considered myself above them, or just felt it was not important enough for me to take into consideration. But I have come to learn that it is important these types of antics be exposed and brought to the attention of the electorate, and at a local level. Just imagine a world where Karl Rove's sleazy campaigning were exposed when he first started out, and had not been at the helm of George W. Bush's campaign, and by extension, his administration.

Eight years of George W. Bush in the White House has taught me that all politics is local. Any and all personal attacks, whisper campaigns, and other Lee Atwater dirty trick antics, whether by Republicans or Democrats, must be exposed early on at the local level, or else we can look forward once again to an incompetent and immoral presidency.

Democrat, Republican; corruption is corruption, and the rule of law is to apply to all. Now, put him in jail. 

And I really don't care who started the What _____ said. Atrios can bite my ass.*

But, for those of you not all that up on Minnesota politics...., well, these two post I'm about to supply links for ought teach you not to count your baskets before the eggs, errr, ah, won't be tricked again........**

Oh Hell! On to the links.

Blog of the Moderate Left: Inevitable
The Power Liberal: Once Upon A Time IN 2007

* Like the back handed way I gave credit?
** What I don't understand; why not more traffic to my site? I mean, a man was elected POTUS for just that type of folksy, unedumacated type sintax. I should be getting more traffic.

That the nation has voted Democratic does not mean they voted progressive. I know, I know. It saddens me as well. After years and years of the Mighty Wurlitzer vilifying the Democrats as liberals, as if such a term in and of itself were a smear, to see the Democrats now voted into office, one would believe liberal values and goals would hold sway. Of course, you would be wrong.

Let us remember also that as the Mighty Wurlitzer labeled Democrats liberals (even those who were obviously not) it labeled Republicans as conservatives (even those who were obviously not). Because of this constant chatter of stratification, our political parties are now seen by the average, non-inquisitive American voter as ideologically split. Obviously, that's not the case.

Now, truth be told, there was a strong, almost successful, push to drive all but the most staunch conservatives from the Republican party. And when I mean almost successful, I mean totally successful, to the point where even nominally conservative members were purged, leaving mostly arc-conservatives. But, that's not really my point. What's important is that the Democratic party did not mount any type of purge of it's own to clear their ranks of conservatives. If anything, there was a concerted effort to move members more to the right.

So, let us remember, boys and girls, just because we have been told by the Mighty Wurlitzer and the Legacy Media that the Democratic party is liberal does not make it true. Indeed, it is a conservative lie. Therefore, let us not convince ourselves that the Democratic majority now seated in congress is liberal, or progressive, because that would be believing in a conservative lie.

One can only hope that more of this will become common place as Obama's term moves forward

Update: And just after initially publishing this post, I found this.

More please. More. More. More!

Atrios simply called him a wanker. That's too kind. Evan Bayh is Jack Ass of the Day. What it boils down to; he doesn't want to have to vote on a bill and show his loyalties to the insurance industry.

See, there are consequences for acting like an arrogant prick.

The Washington Post

The Senate dealt a blow tonight to Sen. Arlen Specter's hold on seniority in several key committees, a week after the Pennsylvanian's party switch placed Democrats on the precipice of a 60-seat majority.

In a unanimous voice vote, the Senate approved a resolution that added Specter to the Democratic side of the dais on the five committees on which he serves, an expected move that gives Democrats larger margins on key panels such as Judiciary and Appropriations.

But Democrats placed Specter in one of the two most junior slots on each of the five committees for the remainder of this Congress, which goes through December 2010. Democrats have suggested that they will consider revisiting Specter's seniority claim at the committee level only after the midterm elections next year.

You know, I've tried to work up some tears over this surprise development, but my eyes are as dry as bleached bones in the desert sand.

Chris Dodd is a very evil man!

The New York Times

The provision, written by Senator Christopher J. Dodd, Democrat of Connecticut, highlighted the growing wrath among lawmakers and voters over the lavish compensation that top Wall Street firms and big banks awarded to senior executives at the same time that many of the companies, teetering on the brink of insolvency, received taxpayer-paid bailouts.

So much so, he's my hero!

CNN

(CNN) -- Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is in federal custody on corruption charges, a law enforcement official said Tuesday.

Blagojevich and his chief of staff, John Harris, are charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and solicitation of bribery, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's office for the Northern District of Illinois.

Both men are expected in U.S. District Court in Chicago later Tuesday.

A news conference is expected at noon ET.

Federal prosecutors say Blagojevich, Harris and others conspired to gain financial benefits in appointing President-elect Barack Obama's Senate replacement, according to the statement.

I'd normally be suspect about this move, except that the person spear-heading this investigation is none other than Fritz! What the hell was Blagojevich thinking?