Can someone, anyone, tell me the names of these consultants?!? WHO are they? WHO pays their salaries? HOW MANY are there? Who are these nameless, faceless worthless hacks? Can anyone start leaking their memos and emails, so we can see just what stupdity they are peddling?
Mewling bastards. People want BOLD. They want VISION. They want to know WHAT WE STAND FOR.
We will NOT continue selling the country to Communist China. We WILL break our addiction to Saudi oil. We WILL hunt OBL. We WILL provide our troops with body armor, armored vehicles, and benefits. We WILL enforce the laws. To us, no man is above the law, and no man is beneath its protection. We WILL restore pride in being AMERICAN.
demtillians are just another version of reptillians.
it has ever been thus.
the only solution is a cleansing of the augean stables that is the us congress.
sweep all the incumbents out.
vote for paul hackett even though the demtillian elite squelched him.
demtillians like war/murder every bit as much as reptillians. they too represent the munitions-makers.
and never forget it.
Somebody remind these guys that every issue that they let slide is one more issue they'll never again be allowed to bring up. That should be the lesson of 2002.
Drop NSA, and it's gone. Forever. You'll never be able to raise it again. Do these people still fail to understand how Rove and gang operate?
Sorry, but these "consultants" and leaders are running this party into the ground. And it's got squat all to do with being "moderate" or "centrist" or "progressive" or where on the spectrum of left and right you line up.
Posted by KM at February 15, 2006 10:00 PMIf you are interested in promoting a health insurance program for all americans,the worst thing you could ever do were to refer to it as universal health coverage, because that's what they have in canada and it will be attacked using all the problems they have their with that system. I can hear the repubs shouting out of all the problems a " univeral health care coverage" will bring to americans citizens, even if its not true. So don't ever refer to it as
UNIVERSAL HEALTH COVERAGE!
I'm sorry, we have to let it go? Why on earth do we have to do that? This strategy is utter bullshit, based on total misreading of the electorate and the issues at hand, and we're supposed to just fork over our money to these people and shut up? I don't think so. I will support candidates I believe in, not candidates who run according to a pussy strategy of nonconfrontation. I have things I could be buying with my money, thank you very much.
In addition, I don't see how you get from the paragraph that begins "Republicans are worried that the center-left blogs" to the thought "Let it go, the decision has been made, there's nothing you can do." Really? The blogosphere's momentary overreaction to Paul Hackett being forced from the race means we have to swallow everything we believe in and want our party to stand for and follow a bad plan devised by people who refuse to answer to us?
The ONLY way you could even begin to believe that is if you really think this bad plan could work. And I really really really really don't.
Posted by Alexander "Benjamins" Hamilton at February 15, 2006 10:53 PMAfter reading this post, I think I will just throw-up!!
This post confirms the death of the two party system. We need to concentrate on getting more of the 50% that refuses to participate in this illusion to go out and vote. If any candidate - Republican or Democrat- refuses to block the destruction of the republic and middleclass, we should vote them out.
We don't have to have a public war with the Democrats that want to be republicans, we need to drop them like a cheap suit.
Posted by smooth at February 15, 2006 10:56 PMCondor, don't make the mistake of confusing universal health coverage with a single payor system.
Posted by Steve Soto at February 15, 2006 11:31 PMSteve, when you say consultants, do you mean the same sorts of upwardly mobile failures like Joe Hansen? If the answer is yes, then we are so-o-o-o screwed-- and I might as well start packing all my belongings for British Columbia.
Posted by DrewVSea at February 15, 2006 11:40 PMIf they don't fight this, then they have the backbone of a soggy noodle.
The NSA issue isn't about incompetence, misrepresentation, and lawbreaking -- or at least not just about these things. It's about an administration that refuses to allow oversight by other branches of govt and reads the constitution to mean whatever the hell it wants it to mean. Genuflecting to the executive as it rides roughshod over the legislature and the constitution cannot be an option. It seems to me that if the invertebrates in Washington, and their tonedeaf advisors, don't have balls to fight this issue, then the blogosphere has a right -- a responsibility -- to castigate them for it. And keep on castigating them until they wake up and smell the coffee.
The fact that the Beltway insiders are determined to commit this act of political cowardice shouldn't be a signal for the blogosphere to lie back and think of England while Bushco has its way with the American constitution and the very checks and balances of govt. To the contrary, it should signal that it's time for the blogosphere to redouble its efforts to make the Democrats see sense. If the blogosphere doesn't hold politicians accountable for their gutlessness, it just perpetuates the problem.
If they're waiting for a perfect time to dig in and fight, then the country's screwed. There is no perfect time. An election will always be just around the corner. Liars and charlatans on the other side will always attempt to "spin" things to your disadvantage. So just accept it, and fight the good fight. If they showed some gonads, they might just be surprised at how many people will join them at the barricades.
Everyone here knows that this is about more than wire-tapping. This is about the constitution. This is about ensuring that even the executive branch (especially the executive branch) adheres to the law. This is about preserving the legislature as a coequal branch of govt.
If the Democrats don't draw a line in the sand over this, when will they ever?
Posted by mang glider at February 16, 2006 12:34 AMHello, DLC? What have you done with Steve's brain and soul?
Steve, if you're still in there, come out.
Oh and by the way:"This won't happen until the party pulls into parity this fall." I can't believe my eyes. HOW do you expect the Dems to achieve parity by rolling over and spreading its legs for the republican thugs. If the base stays home - AND IT WILL IF THE DEMS KEEP PLAYING DEAD - then the party will NEVER - NEVER NEVER NEVER - achieve parity.
Why is it so hard to understand that the rush to chase the GOP has been the CAUSE of the Dem's demise, not a reaction to it?
Posted by Real Tough Cookie at February 16, 2006 12:56 AMSteve,
Explain again why I can expect that these unprincipled wimps will change their behavior if there are no consequences for their cowardice. And explain again why I should support politicans who have no interet in fighting for the values in which I believe.
Why wouldn't my life be better if I just went fishing instead?
Chad
Steve, I'm unconvinced that they learned anything from 2002, or from 2004 either. They're just following the same well proven (losing) strategy.
Posted by SJ at February 16, 2006 01:55 AMSorry, I should elaborate what I think the strategy is:
Vote for us, we'll do exactly the same things as the Pubs, like fight an illegal war in Iraq, illegally wiretap people, but we'll do it better! And we'll increase taxes, too!
Posted by SJ at February 16, 2006 02:04 AMSteve, I just can't disagree more with this idea.
The one lesson the "advisors" in the Democratic party never seem to learn, is that in today's politics, you don't do nuance. When the other side controls the flow of information and has an uncanny ability to control the perceptions of about 30% of the population, subtle political stratgies are worth much less than a bucket of warm spit.
What will our response when another 5,000 unexplianed voting machine "glitches" are reported, on page A17, once, in a few newspapers. And the fact that, impossibly, every single break was in favor of the Republicans is haughtily dismissed by the gaseous pundits AND newly enriched "Democrat" consultants, what do we do? What should be our response when, again, in a few key states, Republican Secretaties of state and voting administrators practice BLATANTLY unlawful "miscalculations" that always hurt Democratic voting districts, lose registrations and NEVER count provisional ballots?
This is no game. The future of all of us and our families stand in dire, lifelong jeapordy. I agree with most of the other posters here. Expose the Joe Hansons and Shrums as the abject failures they are. Turn our attention on them, not their victims. As the alleged availability of Luntz to suddenly work for Democrats, because he's on the outs with Boehner shows, that class of vermin have little loyalty to the values of their advisees. Many of them would probably be happy to switch, if the price is right. The blogosphere should investigate, expose and counter the very bad advice our Congresspeople are getting. Maybe we can get a little fresh air flowing through the enfeebled minds of beltway denizens.
Posted by DeminNewJ at February 16, 2006 03:14 AMappeasement. Worked for Chamberlin.
Posted by glichte at February 16, 2006 03:31 AM"We don't have to have a public war with the Democrats that want to be republicans, we need to drop them like a cheap suit."
Smooth, Move On is going after those who would betray us in the Democratic Party by supporting progressive candidates and I, for one, support their efforts. There is a movement to rid ourselves of those who can't decide whether they are Republicans or Democrats like Lieberman. These people are killing our Party and everything we have historically stood for.
Posted by Judith at February 16, 2006 04:02 AM"Democratic consultants and strategists have convinced Senate and House Democrats not to make a principled stand against the White House on the NSA spying issue, because the GOP would use this to make the Democrats look weak on national security."
The only thing that is making the Democratics appear weak is their refusal to take a principled stand. Fire those fucking consultants and strategists and get people with principals and backbone. I agree with Reed Richards, who in the hell are these people? I want names and email addresses.
Posted by Judith at February 16, 2006 04:14 AM
The "consultants" have been doing such a good job the last, what, ten years now? They really have pulse of the nation. Off with their heads!
Posted by yesyesyes at February 16, 2006 04:15 AMThe democrats already appeased...hello IWR vote and look what good that did them. Yes, that appeasement strategy worked so well in 2002, and in 2004... I mean the Democrats picked up so many seats during those election cycles.
Posted by emal at February 16, 2006 04:30 AMI'm working at the Democratic Party booth at the Florida State Fair this week. One thing we've heard over and over from Dems stopping by our booth is that they want our leaders to get a backbone.
Here's what you can do:
1. Join your local party and become a precinct or block captain. Talk to your neighbors and get them out to vote for Dems in November. We have to take power back from the consultants in Washington. That's what Howard Dean has been telling us for months. NOW IS THE TIME TO ACT!
2. Call, call, and call the candidates offices (not the legislative offices) and tell them how you feel. Threaten to withold financial support AND your primary vote if they don't get responsive to YOU, the voter. Tell them you are a precinct captain and will have a very important role in getting Democrats out the vote in November. Let them know that you cannot be effective in your job if you don't have passion for your candidates.
Combine this with Pandagon's Dem action plan: recloset the gays for 2006 and it looks like the Dems are running away from the very reasons we have to support them in the first place.
Very disappointing news for first thing in the morning...
Posted by Lis Riba at February 16, 2006 04:51 AMBy keeping their powder dry for scAlito to use on the NSA issue, the Dems sold women down the river. Now that the Dems aren't fighting the unitary pResidency -- for a political "strategy" rather than a principle -- there's simply no reason to support the party at any level.
Building the party from the gorund up makes a lot of sense, and but this particular group of repulsive top=down Dems will neutralize successes at any level once they bust through the low ceiling. Current top-down Dems only follow Repug cues while in office and chase Repug lockstep voters while campaigning. It's not that the votership wants Repug 'moral values' -- it's that the top-down Dems want to exist as perpetually no-account Republican politicians working behind a curtain. That club only admits so many members and like CHeney or ROve-Repugs, the ones already there put their own survival before nation, party, constituency and, pulling up the rear, principle. Only a total crash will force them out.
Posted by Peanut at February 16, 2006 05:08 AMI think Lis has it right. I think the Democratic Action Plan looks like the same plan as before. And what has it bought us lately?
Posted by idiosynchronic at February 16, 2006 05:09 AMA "strategy" that will guarantee defeat in 2006. If the DC Democrats refuse to get off their knees and fight, then I refuse to support them.
Posted by Gay Veteran at February 16, 2006 05:27 AMThey will only fight if you prove to them that you've got their back. Even then, it won't happen overnight. Dean said to get involved at the local level. Join the mosquito control board, run for dog catcher, in other words, we've got to build a bench of progressive candidates for the future. It is a long-term strategy, but the first step is to organize your own neighborhood through the Democratic Party. I guarantee that your local leaders are frustrated because they are also being ignored. They need your help. We have got to band together to fight Washington.
Posted by Susan S at February 16, 2006 05:33 AMAre Beltway Democratic consultants in training to become Beltway Democratic lobbyists one day?
Posted by Dartanyon at February 16, 2006 05:41 AMJoin the mosquito control board, run for dog catcher, in other words, we've got to build a bench of progressive candidates for the future. It is a long-term strategy, but the first step is to organize your own neighborhood through the Democratic Party.
Y'know, this reads exactly like the Green Party playbook.
Posted by idiosynchronic at February 16, 2006 06:33 AMI'm changing my voter registration today. I am frustrated beyond all belief with these people. If any one of them would come out with a message of empowerment and a rational oratory about the ills of the current adminstration I might be willing to stay. But this cuts too deeply. This is an abdication of all responsibility they have not only to the party, but to the principals we value.
Fuck them. I will never vote Democratic again in my life. They can run Jesus or Ghandi on a ticket. Fuck them. Never again.
To all you Democratic Shills out there: Never again do you get my vote. You may not put yard signs on my property. You may not have my money. You knock on my door and I will treat you like the Jehovah's Witnesses. You are, in your entirety, not welcome to pander to me. I will stand in front of my classes and lambaste you for what you have done. Any person I speak to I will tell them what you have done. Fuck each and every one of you.
At least we know what the neo-cons stand for. It's a fucking message, and they have a backbone. I just wish I could tolerate the insanity of the party. Oh well, you win some and you lose some. At least they stand for SOMETHING, even if I don't like it.
Posted by phidpides at February 16, 2006 06:52 AMThese consultants are making the oldest mistake in the book, running the next elections with the tatics of the last election. This isn't 2002 and Bush isn't at a "mission accomplished" 80% fear driven approval level. Yet the Washington Generals are once again planning to sit on a slight poll lead and let Rove use lies and outright dirty tricks to manufature another 51% victory in November.
Posted by rlp at February 16, 2006 07:08 AMIt's time for the CONSULTANTS/STRATEGISTS to get the faxes, the emails, the phone calls. If that's where the decisions are made then that's where we need to go. Jam their inboxes, run them out of paper, tie up their lines.
Posted by mainsailset at February 16, 2006 07:09 AMJust take a sip of Koolaid and it will be ok.
Posted by at February 16, 2006 07:11 AMLet it go. Waging war on our own Senators and representatives between now and November is just what the GOP wants.
The president is deeply unpopular, as is the republican congress. Despite the best efforts of the media and the Republican noise machine, news of Republican failures is actually making it to ordinary people. Only about 30% of registered voters are Republicans. The president's approval rating is 39 or 40 per cent and headed down.
If we do not win back at least one of the houses of Congress this fall, then when can Democrats ever win anything? A perfect storm of disaster is brewing for Republicans. It may be a long time before we have an opportunity like this again.
I agree with you that we should not savage Democrats leading up to this election. We should work to encourage them to join phylum chordata and stand up for something, even if standing up for the Constitution and our way of life is too much to ask.
BUT if they fail to pick at least one house this fall, then all bets are off. I intend to savage away. At that point, it will have become clear that we have to tear down the party to build it back up again. If we can't win this year, we will never be able to win, and I won't sit quietly by and be a member of party of perpetual losers. I will work my damnedest to get the fucking losers out of the party. That's a promise.
Posted by shargash at February 16, 2006 07:16 AMIn all of the great battles of history, it was not clear at the start who was going to prevail, yet the combatants went forward anyway...."Once more into the breach, dear friends". I question if one can obtain much in politics being utterly risk averse.
I fear that Bushco bluffed the Dems big time on this one---KKKarl did not really want to be fighting a "Nero Jr broke the law" front, and he has now evaded it, boldly proclaiming to relish such a situation. Riiiight....that's why they were doing impeachment prep drills.
I think history OBLIGATED the Dems to fight this battle for our Constitution's separation of powers and for the vindication of the Rule of Law. They did not have discretion to decline the fight.
They have elected to run from their historic responsibility, bitterly proclaiming:
"The time is out of joint; O cursed spite
that ever I was born to set it right!"
Refusing to challenge unequivocal presidential lawbreaking has doomed them, and worse, the Republic.
Posted by euzoius at February 16, 2006 07:30 AM
Are these Democratic consultants based at Republican headquarters? They have to be, for everytime the Dems start making some headway on a issue, this sort of 'advice' shows up to squelch it before it does any real damage to the GOP. If we needed a good example to demonstrate that we have one party rule in the United States today, this would be it.
Posted by pessimist at February 16, 2006 07:32 AMOn the general matter of, should we spend from now to November knocking Democrats?, my answer is of course no.
But, as some have more or less said above: what if the mistake in 2002 wasn't being seen as weak on national security, but weak in general by ceding the field to Bush on a war the party (and much of the county) didn't actually want? Support for invading Iraq was a 50/50 thing in '02 polls (way less in Dem circles), but enough Dems decided to vote for it anyway. I wouldn't say it exactly did them good.
Historic analogy: the problems besetting the Carter administration made Dems vulnerable in 1980 much as the Pubs are today. But the GOP eschewed a play-it-safe-and-bland strategy, nominating the then-thought-unelectably-right Reagan (and very conservative Senate candidates). Party insiders worried -- for a time, they even tried to push Jerry Ford as a moderating co-president. And, indeed, the "scary" Reagan failed to lead Carter much in the polls (despite Carter's anemic approval) right up to days before election. In the voting booth, however, voters went with the risky choice of Reagan (and lot of his soul-mates), changing the course of politics in this country ever since.
What if the Dems are at their Reagan moment -- holding a solid electoral foundation (as their bare-loss numbers in two straight presidential elections suggests), and seeing the other party collapse on almost all fronts? If the party can't be -- yes -- bold at that point, when can they?
And, alternatively: There was another party that kept trying to duck the big issue of its time and play safe. They were the Whigs. I worry that Dem dithering can blow this potential electoral winner and instead destroy the party Whig-style.
Posted by demtom at February 16, 2006 08:45 AMI hate to disparage some of the very respected people who contribute to this site regularly, but if England had not told the Nazis when they were looking at the Dover coast from France, "Just try it, you bastards, we will die first", then England would be Germany Mark II.
We have problems, large ones, but you don't throw down your rifle just because the enemy has a machine gun.
Sorry for the military analogy, but it fits.
Posted by tempus at February 16, 2006 08:48 AMLet it go. Waging war on our own Senators and representatives between now and November is just what the GOP wants.
No, what the GOP wants is for the Dem consultants to run the party and make all the decisions, and for the rank and file to shut up and get in line.
What the GOP also wants is for progressive bloggers to fold their principles in favor of a fleeting, illusory, short term political strategy that has failed time and time again.
Mission accomplished on both counts.
Wouldn't this make a 2008 Gore run all the more credible???
He's the only one who's truly anti-Bush, anti-war, anti-spying, etc..etc....
Who will save the Democratic Party from itself??
Is it worth saving??
The consultants is definitively preparing for the last war.
If the Dems aint gonna fight on the spying/no respect for law/ corruption battle (wich i think can be linked and selfsupporting charges) what the hell do the dems need to fight? That Bush nukes NY?
I think they should raise hell!
Posted by Greup at February 16, 2006 10:54 AM