Tuesday, October 31, 2006
One Week to Go....
It's getting so I can't watch any of our local news channels (Channels 9, 7 or 13) because the negative ads seem almost constant...Even worse...the nasty ads are starting to show up on cable ,CNN, MSNBC, and THE HORROR, THE HORROR IT'S EVEN ON THE WEATHER CHANNEL. I'll never be able to watch Sharon Resultan describe the "west coast weather" again without thinking of Green's nasty little distortion about Doyle. (by the way....Sharon Resulatan's first "gig" as a TV weather person was at WSAU (Channel 7) in Wausau...over 20 years ago) edited at 5:13....blogger "unbuggered" and picture is up....
back to politics......
There's a new poll out from U W Research that confirms what the St Norbert Poll showed last week...Doyle ahead of Green by double digits....MOE +/- 4%. Let's see Green go into full denial spin on this one...
Amy Sue seems to be faring quite well...even among some of my ...ummmmmmm....conservative ...friends...
Interestingly enough, it isn't because of her stance on concealed carry...they just don't like her opponent. Fair warning: this is truly anecedotal evidence and not scientific....Democrats seem to know the difference.
Saw Dave Zein on his flag-desecrating motorcycle on Sunday. My "better half" kept me from doing something stupid (probably for the umpteenth time...I think she really does keep score). He was coming out of an event at the Old Armory. The event? Well duhhhhhhhh....it was a gun show!
Keep up the great work folks...one more week to go.....here's a schedule of events from Dave Wille:
Sunday, November 5 (Rapids only)
We have a "knock and drop" lit drop planned in the city. We have three shifts available (9:45-noon, noon-2p.m., 2p.m.-4p.m.). You can work one, two or all shifts. The event will leave and end from our office at the Mall.
Monday, November 6 and Tuesday, November 7 (Rapids and Marshfield)
Get out the vote phoning will be done at both sites. We currently have three phones at each site. Shifts available on Monday are 10 a.m.-1 p.m., 1 p.m.- 4 p.m., 4 p.m.-7p.m.. Tuesday shifts are 9 a.m.- noon, noon- 3p.m., 2p.m.-6 p.m., 6p.m.-8 p.m.
We also need folks who can bring in cell phones and call using their phone or simply donate their phone for others to use on these two days.
In addition, we need people to work visibility in both cities on Election Day. This would entail standing with a sign at a pre-determined location during a busy time of the day. Also, we need folks to volunteer to bring in food for workers during the final two days.
We all are tremendously optimistic about our party's chances this year, but it's really now or never in terms of volunteering to help make sure our goals are realized on November 7. Please strongly consider volunteering in some way during the final three days. To volunteer you can reply to this e-mail or call me at 384-8764 or in Rapids call Dede at the office at 712-0273
See you soon....work until you drop...vote as if your life depends on it...because...IT DOES!
Sunday, October 29, 2006
The alternative:
Pitchforks and Torches......
and then, of course there's our old friend Mike Lukovich's comic entitled, "Halloween at the Cheney's"
The only real bummer today was opening up the on-line version of the Wisconsin Rapids Tribune and discovering that, after interviewing both candidates before the Editorial Board, they decided to endorse Dave Wessner for Sheriff instead of Tom Reichert. Actually, I was a little bit confused by the editorial because it recited the many fine qualities of both Tom and Dave and then, without apparent explanation, endorsed Wessner.
The worst bummer though was reading the reader's comments on the editorial endorsement...at the time I looked at them there were two...and both were not only negative toward Tom, but downright nasty.....one boardered on bigoted...apparantly slamming Dave's graduation from Assumption...pretty bad...I guess I was hoping for better from this campaign...
I guess the only opinions that will count are those that will be in the form of ballots on election day......
e
Saturday, October 28, 2006
hehehehe...gotta have a sense of humor
Sure, my beloved Republican party has made a mess of everything it’s touched, but according to Rush, Mr. Hannity, and that guy at the coffee shop who’s always ranting about commies, the Frenchmen in the Democratic Party will be much, much worse. That’s why I want to see Democrats elected this cycle. It’ll prove once and for all that Republicans aren’t the most inept elected officials on the planet. At least, that’s what I hope.
http://patriotboy.blogspot.com/
Sure hope the repubs take his advice....hope everybody is enjoying this beautiful day....
btw: I am deliberately staying away from the Matt Lauer/Catie Couric take on the Michael J. Fox political advertisement because I don't want to get carried away and use THAT kind of language on the blog.....besides...it would be a long, long, long rant.....e
Friday night blogging...stream of consciousness style
11 days to election....the slime is piling up...it's always been this way, hasn't it? Or, is it really worse this year?
Saw Olbermann a few minutes ago...talked about Senator George (Maccaca) Allen's attack on Jim Webb for sexually explicit passages in a novel he wrote about 10 years ago....it's really silly...especially when you consider that our side just laughed and poked fun at Lynn Cheney's novel "Sisters" about two lesbian plains women in the 1870s....and we only did that because Lynn thought that John Kerry went "beyond the pale" by mentioning that Lynn's daughhter, Mary, is a lesbian....
There's the attack on Ron Kind for a mistaken phone call to a telephone sex number....
There's the attack on Micheal J. Fox's commercial supporting stem cell research....Limbaugh mimicking Fox's almost spasmatic motions from his medications...bad, bad stuff really....
Had a nice tak with a Republican in OUR HEADQUARTERS this afternoon. She debated the Marriage amendment and filled me with so much legaleze that my head is still spinning...she's goooooooooddddd....real good.
Tinfoilhat is getting tighter....Eisenhower Battle Group is in the Straits of Hormouz...A HUGE NATO battle fleet has assembled off the coast of Lebanon.....American Naval forces have been put on a "heightened state of alert in Saudi Arabian waters" on fears/rumors/intelligence that Saudi offshore oil facilities are being targeted.....
Anybody here old enough to remember GULF OF TONKIN!?
Bill Maher comes on tonight....might get some comic relief...where's that wine bottle?
Gotta hand it to Dave and LoLo....it's been a helluva week for both of them as far as party work and organization is concerned...topped off with a spur-of-the-moment surprise visit from one of our party luminaries...Barb Lawton...I don't think DeDe's week has been much better...lots of work going down...sometimes I forget to mention that the Rapids group is doing really well.
Dave Obey was in town...didn't stop by...didn't want to "preach to the choir"????
Did I mention I like Shiraz?
I've seen some of the Dave Zein commercials on TV...Dave must be getting pretty desperate...he's attacking the crap out Kreitlow and most of it appears to be crap///
Suder attached himself to Zein...they call themselves a "team" I can't figure out who's linking to whom...they're both waste-oids as far as Im concerned.
Not much out of Juncer in Amy-Sue's race...maybe he did (as he claims) draw the short straw...(evil-grin)....
Sheriff's race? I dunno....I think it's going to be close but I'm enthused about the number of Reichert signs in the Marshfield (repub) neighborhoods.
Governor's race? I find it hard to believe anybody is actually buying the crap that Green is throwing up against the wall. Doyle doesn't seem to be able to "break out of the pack"...he may be a good governor but he doesn't seem to be able to get the message across ...so I'm a bit worried about that race...
Kohl? How much money does it take to win a Senate seat? Never mind. Whatever it is Kohl has it...
So who else is out there? We've already sort of covered Kreitlow, Swiggum, Reichert, Doyle and Kohl...I guess that leave only Falk and Obey...
Obey...I have it on good authority that even God is voting for him....
Falk...better than a poke-in-the-eye with a sharp stick....and several magnitudes better than Van Hollen. I think she's a shoo-in...
Have a nice weekend everybody.....(pouring an last glass of wine)
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Why the Debate?
There are some Democrats who are saying that they wish the New Jersey Supreme Court decision regarding Civil Unions wouldn't have come out until AFTER THE ELECTION. There is a school of thought that says this decision will only serve to "rile up the Republican base"...and...give them another reason to bash Democrats.
Even though I have often been accused of being a charter member of the TINFOILHAT CLUB, I don't believe for one minute that the timing of the decision was political or orchestrated in any way by Republicans, conservatives or RW, radio talk-show hosts.....I think it was jurisprudence working at its own pace
AND
I don't think any amount of gay-bashing by the Republican base will change things...they have a pedophile on their hands and I don't think they want to be reminded of it....
What do you think?
e
HOLY CRAP..BUSH SUPPORTS CIVIL UNIONS!!!
Wednesday, October 27, 2004
WASHINGTON — Some conservative groups expressed dismay Tuesday over President Bush's (search) tolerance of state-sanctioned civil unions between gay people — laws that would grant same-sex partners most or all the rights available to married couples.
"I don't think we should deny people rights to a civil union, a legal arrangement, if that's what a state chooses to do so," Bush said in an interview aired Tuesday on ABC. Bush acknowledged that his position put him at odds with the Republican platform, which opposes civil unions.
"I view the definition of marriage different from legal arrangements that enable people to have rights," said Bush, who has pressed for a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage (search). "States ought to be able to have the right to pass laws that enable people to be able to have rights like others."
Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry (search) backs civil unions for gay couples, too. He opposes gay marriage but also opposes the idea of a constitutional ban.
(Story continues below)
Now...The New Jersy Supreme Court just ruled this afternoon that Civil Unions cannot be banned because rights cannot be denied to same-sex couples...
Paraphrased by Tristero:
The court found no fundamental right to same-sex marriage, but found that unequal dispensation of rights and benefits were contrary to the constitution. That sounds like something old St. McCain, who has flipped flop more than a dying carp on this issue, agrees with. The NJ legislature will have to find some way to profer equal rights and benefits to same-sex couples. Unless it decides to, the state will not be obligated to perform any marriage ceremonies. They could decide that it's a simple form that must be filled out and notarized. Churches will have to decide if they want to perform ceremonies or not, just as they do today, and the state has nothing to say about it --- just as it doesn't today. All this amounts to is equality under the law.
In other words, the Wisconsin "Protection of Marriage Act" is probably just as unconstitutional as the laws of New Jersey.....This should be viewed as a great victory for our friends at FAIR WISCONSIN....
Monday, October 23, 2006
Congrats to Linda and Lolo
Our ladies were sent to the awards ceremony at the Concourse Hotel in Madison where they got to "hobknob" with a lot of Democratic Party luminaries including Joe Weineke, Tammy Baldwin and of course, our own Lt Governor, Barb Lawton. Here's a pic of the two happy ladies with Barb...
Here's Tammy Baldwin:
about MR CONSERVATIVE
Anybody who gets HBO simply must see the HBO documentary, Mr. Conservative: Goldwater on Goldwater. The man who (arguably) started to modern conservative movement is by our modern standards a raving ,screaming, howl-at-the-moon liberal. That's right, the man who said
"Extremeism in pursuit of liberty is no vice
and moderation in pursuit of justice is no virtue."
just happened to be FOR EQUAL RIGHTS FOR GAY PERSONS.
just happened to be AGAINST LAWS RESTRICTING ABORTION.
just happened to be FOR STRONG DEFENSE
just happened to be FOR A BALANCED BUDGET
just happened to be FOR LIMITED PRESIDENTIAL POWERS.
Now don't get me wrong , I didn't like Barry's foreign policy one little bit and I was pretty suspicious of his position(s) on civil rights, although I did buy into the "Party of Lincoln" mantra in my college years but Barry would have been a "moderate" Democrat by today's standards.
HBO painted a very favorable and sympathetic picture of the man and I have to admit that I was moved by it. Perhaps, because the nostalgia for those days the emotions ran rampant.
There were plenty of conservatives on the program who complained that the values of Goldwater (those would be legitimate CONSERVATIVE values) have been abandoned by the neocons and there was even some remorse from the the likes of Richard Viguere who is the architect of the modern Republican machine (mailing lists and phone banking).
I suspect the program will be out on DVD or CD shortly. If you have the opportunity to watch it, please do so.It's great ammunition to use on "moderate Republicans" who need a reason to vote for Democrats. It's a good tool.
on edit: speaking of the 1964 campaign....Goldwater's running mate was Bill Miller, Congressman from New York...his daughter is now a successful LIBERAL RADIO TALK SHOW HOSTESS, STEPHANIE MILLER.
Sunday, October 22, 2006
Rapids Open House
Sorry it took so long to get these on the board but DeDe just gave them out last Thursday night....
Anyway here are the pictures of the Rapids Open House at their headquarters in the Rapids Mall
Part of the Crowd of estimated 50-60? people who showed up to open the offices....good crowd.....
Sheriff Reichert, DeDe Pleet and Marlin Schneider...
Another shot of the crowd...sorry I don't know the names for this one.
Congrats Rapids on a great Open House..
note: edited to add larger pictures where available...e
Sunday Morning Talking Heads
I saw Barack Obama on Meet The Press...I'm upset that the mainstream/corporate/conservative press is pushing Obama for President. In fact, there was a post last week where both a Democratic AND Republican consultant recommended and urged Obama to seek the Democratic Nomination....I don't know about you but I'm not enthused about Republicans and Corporate Media choosing my candidates for me....Barack Obama is....is...is...
I don't know what or who Barack Obama is just yet.
I don't think he has been field-tested to determine the metal of which he is made. He needs to be put in the crucible of public life and tested. He let Timmy Russert flatter him into admitting that he is at least "thinking" about running for President in '08. I wish he wouldn't. I think 2012 is better....much better...because by then we (not to mention the rest of the country) will know Barack Obama well....well enough to decide if we want him as our President.
I'll try to get the pictures up later today....don't have access to the scanner just yet...using the laptop and wireless at the moment...
Got the first glimpse of ROTARY LIGHTS in Wildwood Park when I got home around 8:30 last night...I'm not impressed.
note: at this moment Packers and Dolphins are scoreless...
e
Friday, October 20, 2006
Just got back
got pictures from the Wisconsin Rapids Open house that I hope to have up online tomorrow sometime...
Had a couple of great presentations....one on "The Sojourners" which I found absolutely fascinating....
Officers were nominated....we're losing Tom who is moving out of the area in a very short while...boy ....are we going to miss him...(I think he's a genius)...
I hope to also have pictures of our TWO NOMINEES FOR THE "LOCAL ACTIVIST AWARD" for the State Eleanor Roosevelt Awards. In case I forgot to mention it, we had two from our Wood County Delegation out of the 12 total nominees from the whole state. The two nominees were:
Linda Melski...who was our office manager in Marshfield for the '04 elections and who is deeply involved in the FAIR Wisconsin movement, the Vruwink campaign and still a hardcore party supporter...oh yeah, did I mention that she pioneered the FIRST county-wide data base for local democrats?
Lois Greehling...who is our present office manager...also involved with FAIR...tremendous efforts to recruit, train and inspire volunteers..leads a progressive woman's bookclub, updates data bases and puts in countless volunteer hours, co-chairs the County Party's Membership committee. She's the "den mother" of the North Wood County Democrats....
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Another Distinguished Visitor
Anyway it was nice to see her...
Debate Viewing tomorrow night...
Don't forget the Debate viewing party at the N. Wood County Headquarters at 230 N. Central Ave in Marshfield.....6:30 I think is the right time.....we had a great time for the last two debates and Amy-Sue Vruwink was good enough to join us for the last one. She gave us a great insight into the legislative side of the things that the Governor was saying and the version (coughliescough) Mark Green was telling. Anyway I hope you can join us.
btw
I just heard a clip on The Stephanie Miller Show of Bruce Springsteen's No Retreat, No Surrender which was really John Kerry's anthem during the 04 campaign. It still brings tears to my eyes....and inspires me to no end....here are the lyrics ... I hope they inspire you too.
We busted out of class had to get away from those fools
We learned more from a three minute record than we ever learned in school
Tonight I hear the neighborhood drummer sound
I can feel my heart begin to pound
You say you're tired and you just want to close your eyes and follow your dreams
down
We made a promise we swore we'd always remember
No retreat no surrender
Like soldiers in the winter's night with a vow to defend
No retreat no surrender
Now young faces grow sad and old and hearts of fire grow cold
We swore blood brothers against the wind
I'm ready to grow young again
And hear your sister's voice calling us home across the open yards
Well maybe we could cut someplace of our own
With these drums and these guitars
Blood brothers in the stormy night with a vow to defend
No retreat no surrender
Now on the street tonight the lights grow dim
The walls of my room are closing in
There's a war outside still raging
you say it ain't ours anymore to win
I want to sleep beneath peaceful skies in my lover's bed
with a wide open country in my eyes
Mark Green needs this store
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/W/WI_ELECTION_POLL_WIOL-?SITE=WIEAU&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Yeah.
Right.
In the interest of compassion I offer Mark Green the following
Chat with Jessica Doyle
"...like the thrill that'll git ya.."
I'll bet the Republican Party isn't exactly thrilled to get their picture on the cover of this week's Rolling Stone.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Yes. Yes they actually said that........
From THE LEFT COASTER
10. Rick Santorum (PA-Sen), contradicting the administration's own weapons inspectors:
Congressman Hoekstra and I are here today to say that we have found weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, chemical weapons.
and for old time's sake, here's Santorum's classic from 2003:
In every society, the definition of marriage has not ever to my knowledge included homosexuality. That's not to pick on homosexuality. It's not, you know, man on child, man on dog, or whatever the case may be. It is one thing. And when you destroy that you have a dramatic impact on the quality —
snip
6. Peter King (NY-03) on how Baghdad is just like Manhattan! (Did you clear that with Mayor Bloomberg, Congressman?)
As we go through the city of Baghdad, it was like being in Manhattan. I mean, I'm talking about bumper to bumper traffic, talking about shopping centers, talking restaurants, talking about video stores...
...
Again, that's not something you'd see on television, and at any given time a suicide bomber can walk into an amusement center, but the point I'm making is that the situation is more stable than you think.
read it all..............and laugh...or cry
"All Politics are local"
I'm up to my neck in it at the moment so I haven't had time to post some of the things I've wanted to.....
for instance, take this from PM Carpenter at Buzzflash called "Don't Uncork the Champaign Yet!
snippets:
Significantly, 26 of the 29 districts awash in GOP cash are “R”-incumbencies, and “D”-hopefuls should not, but probably will, make the mistake of discounting the power of negative advertising. Not only has it shown historically to be the most effective form of political propaganda (despite voters' protestations of dislike and disgust of it), its primary purpose isn't to rally the troops, but to dampen the opposition's turnout. Given that so many Democratic-leaning voters are – let's face it – plain lazy, it often doesn't take much for the Rs to make the winning difference.
snip
Then of course there's the GOP's scientifically refined, get-out-the-vote organizational skills and the in-place organization itself. Simply put, Republicans know that politics should be run with businesslike efficiency, while Democrats still tend to huddle, whenever it's convenient, to shout feel-good Walmart cheers and then rehuddle on election eve to ask who among them is perhaps willing to help get friends to the polls.
Obviously I exaggerate, but I kid you not – I've had dealings with Republican operatives and dealings with Democratic operatives, and I've nearly always felt the difference was that, respectively, between working with a John D. Rockefeller and working with Mayberry's Ernest T. Bass. What surprises isn't that Democrats are 21 seats shy of a Congressional majority; what surprises is that they hold any seats at all.
He is, of course exaggerating, but it's a difference that is real and one that I have pointed out before. It is also leading to a debate and an ensuing battle that I beleive will take place within the Democratic Party in Wisconsin between now and the '08 elections.
In that time period, reform-minded Democrats will try to build a true, grass-roots organization of activists, candidates, workers and voters who will be the core (actually heart and soul) of the party for years to come. There has been some debate within the party about how it should be organized and currently it is organized "from the candidates and office-holders on down". There are those among us who disagree with this form of organization and will make every reasonable attempt to change it.
Success, or more specifically, Democratic Party Success, in the future will depend on well organized we are locally. It will depend on our "ground game" in every election from dogcatcher to President. It will depend on how well we organize, and nurture our base. We can't ignore them in "off years" we have to keep them involved even if involvement in an "off year" means nothing more than a couple of potluck dinners with entertainment every year. It seems to me that we abuse our base by only coming to them when we want something from them...money...volutneer time...signs...money...(did I mention money?)...and, of course their vote.
There's a new "buzzword" going around in business circles these days that applies to us in a big, big way. The term is "VALUE PROPOSITION" and I won't go into the detailed (boring) business definition of it but I will sum it up simply by saying that your "value proposition" is the answer to a consumer's question, "What's in it for me?" (I heard the AHA! go on in your head all the way over here!) Hence, as a party organization, we have to be able to present our base AND the voters with a succinct "value proposition" which will lead to another business term we should all be aware of: brand loyalty. Our brand, Democratic Party needs to tell the voters specifically "what's in it for me?" and once they understand the value of the party to them and their ideals, they will be loyal to that brand.
A caveat though......
The "value proposition" has to be real. We can't have any counterfeit values because they will be quickly exposed and defeated. It must have "real" value............
let's talk about this......it's all about building a base....it's all about building and organization.....
e
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
The nerves are starting to show up
I keep reading (and seeing on TV ) that Democrats are expected to take back the House of Representatives and we have a "better-than-even" chance to take the Senate also.....
WHOOPEEE!!!!
but, wait a minute....
I remember having these same feelings of elation and great hope/expectations before the 04 election also...the disappointment was overwhelming and I remember it well.
Will this election be any different? I don't know....I just saw Pat Buchanan on "Scarborough Country" talking about how "Yes, the Republicans are in big trouble. " BUT, according to Buchanan, "The Democrats aren't "resonating" with the voters." Hence, the Republicans will once again prevail at the ballot box. I don't trust Buchanan as far as I can throw him I hope that he's just doing the time-honored Political technique of "whistling through the graveyard".
I hope so....
I hope that there will be a huge Democratic Victory that will eclipse the "Republican Revolution of 1994" and that we get on about the business of cleaning up this mess that 12 years of a Republican Congress has created....it may take 12 more years.
At any rate, I hope these next three weeks pass quickly.....the waiting is getting on my nerves.
Monday, October 16, 2006
Sunday night open thread....
good thing the Pack had a "by-week" ....just in time to get the garden and yard winterized....
Soooooo.............
how was your Sunday?
Discussion question: (more curiousity than anything else...)
Is anybody bothered by the fact that Bush and his advisors are "sanguine" about the prospect of losing the House, the Senate or both? In fact, they aren't even making contingency plans.
Discuss?
for the tinfoilhat squad......does it have anything to do with the Aircraft Carrier USS Eisenhower being dispatched to the Straits of Hourmoz (Iran) with an entire battlegroup including two guided missle crusiers and a fast attack submarine?
Sunday, October 15, 2006
There's only ONE place for a conservative...
The only place, oddly enough, for good conservative principles - go slowly, proceed with care, balance the budget, don't go to war unless you have a way to win, let people live how they choose, including gay marriage, encourage individual responsibility, respect the constitution - is in the ... the ... Democratic Party.
There is, of course a lot of truth in that....
Saturday, October 14, 2006
A couple of things
Also Mahablog has this chilling article about the current culture among Republican youth . So wierd HTML stuff happening with that site so I can't clip and paste a "snippet" but read the article....it's bone-chilling.
E
Friday, October 13, 2006
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Oh-oh....
Last night, Keith Olberman' s Countdown carried a piece called
The book, "Tempting Faith," not out until Monday, but in our third story tonight, a Countdown exclusive we've obtained a copy and it is devastating work.
Author David Kuo's conservative Christian credentials are impeccable; his resume sprinkled with names like Bennett and Ashcroft. Now, as the Foley cover-up has many evangelical Christians wondering whether the G.O.P. is really in sync with their values, "Tempting Faith" provides the answer: No way.
Kuo, citing one example after another of a White House that repeatedly uses evangelical Christians for their votes — while consistently giving them nothing in return;
but it gets worse....
http://www.dailykos.com/
The poll was taken from the last ten days in September through the first 4 days of October. The key findings were
57 percent of white evangelicals are inclined to vote for Republican congressional candidates in the midterm elections, a 21-point drop in support among this critical part of the GOP base
the percentage of evangelicals who think that Republicans govern "in a more honest and ethical way" than Democrats has plunged to 42 percent, from 55 percent at the start of the year.Gallup has released its own analysis today of its Oct 6-8 poll:
snip
The Democrats made gains across all groups in the October poll compared to the averages in previous months. But the Democratic gain (or Republican loss depending on how one looks at it) is more significant among religious whites than among the other two groups. Religious whites went from an average Democratic disadvantage of 23 points across the June through September months, to dead even in October. Less religious whites shifted only seven points across these two time periods, while the group of "all others" shifted 9 points.
A comparison of the September average to October shows a 22-point gain for the Democrats among white frequent churchgoers, a six-point gain among white less frequent churchgoers, and a 14-point gain among all others.
This is, of course, good news for Democrats.
Or is it?
For the short run I think it is good news. By "The Short Run", of course I mean between now and November 7, 2006 but for the long term this is dangerous...hence the "Oh-oh" in the title.
I may not be the brightest bear in the forest but, eventually, I catch on. Like many others I have been infuriated with the Republicans for pandering to the fundamentalist movements and blurring the distinction between Church and State and I've wanted the practice to be brought to a sudden, screeching halt. The hypocrisy of the Republicans was another issue but the separation of Church and State was the first concern.
So now, apparently, the fundamentalist movement is abandoning the Republican party and, for the meantime anyway, they're voting or tending to vote for and with the Democratic Party. But what do we have to offer them?
Not much, actually.
We won't institutionalize their religious beliefs into our platform and we certainly won't codify their religious beliefs into the laws of the City, County, State or Nation. The only thing we can offer them is the right to privately practice their religious beliefs without interferrence from Government of any kind. And that may not be enough.
So where will they go (politically)?
My suspicion of the worst case scenario is that there will be a dedicated branch of the Republican party that will eventually grow in strength and take over full control of the party apparatus much like the Neocons have presently done, or we will see a new party formed to articulate their issues.
I think a new party would be more dangerous from our point of view. Third parties tend to skew election results. Even if the third party candidates don't win, they certainly bring a new dynamic to the equation.
More thoughtful and intelligent persons than I need to discuss this dynamic because while "job 1" is currently regaining control over Congress, the lack of strategic thinking on this issue may preclude us from sustaining any victories we might win.
Discuss?
on edit: I may have to make a separate post out of this but I'll put it up here first.
With all the GOOD NEWS floating around about the voting public looking more and more towards the Democrats in the November 7 election, it might be easy to slack off...not work as hard in this election because the current is flowing in our direction.
Not true.....
The Daily Howler points out a little bit of Political Science MATHEMATICS that you should pay attention to. Here:
KONDRACKE (10/10/06): Right now the generic poll shows, as you showed, that the Democrats are ahead by 15 percent....We're still four weeks away. But at this point, what the Democratic experts that I talked to, factoring in gerrymandering and all that, say—that if they get seven percent more than the Republicans, they pick up 15 seats, which is what they need.Let’s cut through the clutter. According to this analysis, if Democrats outpoll Republicans by seven percent, they’ll break even in the House. That’s very close to the analysis offered by Krugman last April:
KRUGMAN (4/21/06): [A] combination of accident and design has left likely Democratic voters bunched together—I'm tempted to say ghettoized—in a minority of Congressional districts, while likely Republican voters are more widely spread out. As a result, Democrats would need a landslide in the popular vote—something like an advantage of 8 to 10 percentage points over Republicans—to take control of the House of Representatives. That's a real possibility, given the current polls, but by no means a certainty.
We Democrats never discuss this matter. That’s because we’re breath-takingly stupid.
So the point is this: We need to increase the margin of victory everywhere we can and whenever we can to assure a complete, total victory.
e
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Open thread
Or even better:
Thanks to our old friend Attaturk for the pics....
Dave?
What an HONOR
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
N Korea Policy for generation "Y"
Our good friend, The Plaid Adder has a great diary up this morning. And, as always, she mixes serious commentary with humor in explaining (or trying to explain) Dubya's policy toward North Korea.
Here's a snippet:
North Korea likewise has been a thorn in everyone's side for quite some time. But it was Bush's idea to decide back in 2003 that instead of trying to deal effectively with a nutball Communist dictator who was jumping up and down chanting, "We got nukes, yes we do, we got nukes, how bout you?", he was going to war against a completely different country whose nutball dictator didn't have any. It was truly surreal watching it. "It's up to Saddam Hussein to prove he didn't have weapons of mass destruction!" Dude...do you not see the crazy man with the giant nuclear warhead? He's standing over there on the right, just below where China is. _I_ can see him. Look, he's waving at you. Oh look, now he's giving you the...dude, what _is_ it with you and Iraq? Do they have the world's biggest shiny object, or what?
You can read the whole link here
See? I told ya so.......
Over the past couple of years, I've talked (okay, okay, okay.....I'VE PONTIFICATED) over the belief that the Republican heirarchy secretly despised the evangelical christians who put them in power and was only using them to maintain power. Protection of Marriage? Prayer in School? The repubs couldn't care less about the issues, they only gave them lip service in order to keep the party in power. I never knew how to approach the evangelicals because, quite frankly, I could never put up with them long enough to keep the conversation going.
Well, I'm not the only one who believes this......it seems that frat-boy, smart-ass, twinkie-fed Tucker Carlson feels the same way...
here's the link
And a snippet or two for your enjoyment.....
CARLSON: It goes deeper than that though. The deep truth is that the elites in the Republican Party have pure contempt for the evangelicals who put their party in power. Everybody in...
MATTHEWS: How do you know that? How do you know that?
CARLSON: Because I know them. Because I grew up with them. Because I live with them. They live on my street. Because I live in Washington, and I know that everybody in our world has contempt for the evangelicals. And the evangelicals know that, and they're beginning to learn that their own leaders sort of look askance at them and don't share their values.
MATTHEWS: So this gay marriage issue and other issues related to the gay lifestyle are simply tools to get elected?
CARLSON: That's exactly right. It's pandering to the base in the most cynical way, and the base is beginning to figure it out
It seems to me that the hard question now is this: "Where do the evangelicals go if they abandon the Republican Party? For me, the answer is easy. They go back to their churches and try to change souls one person at a time instead of trying to codify their religioon into law. I heard on the radio today a report about the Amish in Pennsylvania who lost those five young girls in the school shootings. Those Amish consider themselves "spearatists" in the sense that they do not participate in government or politics on any level. They know and understand that their religion and government are meant to be separate. I don't suggest that evangelicals cease and desist from participating in public service, but they shouldn't do so with the intent of turning their religion into the law of the land.....they could actually learn something from the Amish....a small part of it, anyway.....
Events! Events! Events!
Monday, October 09, 2006
Ironic...or hypocritical?
Preparedness Against Terrorism Act of 2000 - Amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (the Act) to include acts of terrorism or other catastrophic events within its definition of "major disaster" for purposes of authorized disaster relief.
and the freepers response? Take a look....
To: Comus
Suspension of Constitutoinal rights, habeus corpus, search, sezure and arrest rules, grand jury process. The institution of dictatorial rule by executive powers and enforced by the military, now under the command of the atty. general. In short.
To: Comus
(LOL! Busted!) Suffice to say tyranny , will not prepare us for terrorism anymore than wayward fingers will prepare us for typos.114 Posted on 10/04/2000 12:48:22 PDT by Keeper of the Flame
okay, I get it.....if Clinton suspended Habeus Corpus, then it's tyranny, but if Bush does suspends Habeus Corpus, it's good.....
Sunday, October 08, 2006
It's hard to believe
Just a hint: they're starting to speak of the Republicans in the past tense. Christy Hardin Smith at firedoglake has a great commentary on it, sparked, of course, by the cover of Time Magazine this week. You can read the commentary here.
I hope all this means the end of the 12 years of Republican rule but we can't let up. We can't assume that the Repubs will roll over and "play-dead" for us.
We need a better effort to get out on the literature drops for our candidates and we need support from the campaign organizations of individual candidates, the State Party Organizations and the DNC.
I caught just a few minutes of This Week on ABC this morning; just enough to see Rahm Emmanuel evisecerate some red-headed Republican Congressman that the RNC decided to feed to the wolves on the Foley scandal. Even better, Emmanuel was fighting back for the first time I can remeber.....unlike previous DLC tactics of "playing nice" with Republicans....I wonder if Clinton standing up to Chris Wallace was a wake-up call to the DLC? Did they learn the lesson (which...ahem...I've pounded on for the last year or so....) that no matter how you kowtow to Republicans; no matter how you try to portray yourself as "pro-gun/life/tort reform/whatever, as long as you have a "D" next to your name, they will brand you as a "gun-stealing, baby-killing, tax-and-spender".
It is, in my humble opinion, better to stand up for principle than to weasel and dissemble.
Gotta run....
jump in with your opinions.
Friday, October 06, 2006
More pics as promised....
Thursday, October 05, 2006
So who is responsible for the Foley Scandal?
Hastert says it's a left wing plot....
Foley says, it's alcohol
Foley says it's a priest who molested him
Foley says it's because he's gay....
Another picture (or two)
This is one of my favorites....in Marshfield's otherwise quiet downtown, the Wood Co. Dems lit up the night.....
that's Sheriff Tom Reichert speaking to the crowd.
What would a Democratic gathering be without music....some classic Dylan, some folk songs and some of the sounds of the 60's provided by
Wayne Jellish.....
Thanks Wayne, the music was great and it sure got everybody in a festive mood.
Very Successful Open House
Estimates were that we had between 75 and 90 people drop in during the course of the evening.
Amy Sue Vruwink gave a great rundown on why this election is so important and Sheriff Tom (Reichert) gave a rundown of his efforts since being appointed by Governor Doyle about 18 months ago. Bryce Luchtrehand gave a speech in behalf of Governor Doyle....it was a great evening. Got to meet lots of Dems from the North End of Wood County and also some of the Clark and Marathon County Dems.
Lots and lots of yard signs went out....
There was tons and tons of food and there will be treats like banana bread, pumpkin bars and CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES to snack on at the office for days to come (don't forget the debate party Friday Night...)
Here are some pics...I've got to get the pics from Lois's camera too.
Assemblyperson Amy-Sue Vruwink "meets and greets" visitors.
On right, our own "Sheriff Tom" Reichert addresses the crowd. (Amy-Sue mentioned how great it is at long last to have a Democratic Sheriff in Wood County)
Part of the "Standing-room-only" crowd at the N. Wood County Democratic Headquarters open house.
I'll post more pictures later.....
in the meantime....
mmmmm.....Subway sandwiches for breakfast....mmmmmmm
e
Hello from the open house....
Also ran into 3 other bloggers at the get-together...couple of folks from south wood county
The Sheriff and Amy Sue were also here...
wonderful turnout...
more tomorrow
Oh yeah, anybody want any subways?
e
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Hmmmm.....
Candy from Strangers
...probably the worst joke of the day....thanks to TBogg..
Is that a tootsie-roll in your pocket or are you from Fl(16)?
Hint: Fl(16) is Tom Foley's congressional district.....
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Hey Rapids...got any pictures?
We'll post them here....
likewise, I'll take pictures on Wednesday night and post them here....
and just for fun, thanks to firedoglake for the pictoral essay on Bush and company Foreign Policy....
Monday, October 02, 2006
WOOHOO! Party in Rapids....
Sunday, October 01, 2006
Calling Wisconsin Rapids...Calling Wisconsin Rapids
You out there?
Hello?
Anybody there?
tell me about your Open House/Grand Opening on Monday night....
e
Political Science 505, Thanks to Attaturk
I don't usually do this but Attaturk did an exceptional post this morning that read like a graduate level University course in political science which qualifies (I think) as a post worthy of thoughtful review.
It is series of opinions from a Political Scientist, Hans Morganthau who wrote of the Viet Nam war in the most realistic terms of anyone all the way back in 1965. It is not, however, just relevant to Viet Nam. It tells us of our mindset and the futility of dealing with Civil Wars of other countries....and tells of the danger of meddling in them in our uniquely American way. You can click here to read the whole work
The reasons for this failure are of general significance, for they stem from a deeply ingrained habit of the American mind, We like to think of social problems as technically self-sufficient and susceptible of simple, clear-cut solutions. We tend to think of foreign aid as a kind of self-sufficient, economic enterprise subject to the laws of economics and divorced from politics, and of war as a similarly self-sufficient, technical enterprise, to be won as quickly, as cheaply. as thoroughly as possible and divorced from the foreign policy that preceded and is to follow it. Thus our military theoreticians and practitioners conceive of counterinsurgency as though it were just another branch of warfare, to be taught in special schools and applied with technical proficiency wherever the occasion arises.
This view derives of course from a complete misconception of the nature of civil war. People fight and die in civil wars because they have a faith which appears to them worth fighting and dying for, and they can be opposed with a chance of success only by people who have at least as strong a faith.Magsaysay could subdue the Huk rebellion in the Philippines because his charisma, proven in action, aroused a faith superior to that of his opponents. In South Vietnam there is nothing to oppose the faith of the Viet Cong and, In consequence, the Saigon Government and we are losing the civil war.
snip:
And another quote that sums up the disaster of Bushworld:"The statesman must think in terms of the national interest, conceived as power among other powers. The popular mind, unaware of the fine distinctions of the statesman’s thinking, reasons more often than not in the simple moralistic and legalistic terms of absolute good and absolute evil."- Hans Morgenthau and Kenneth Thompson, Politics Among Nations, 6th edition (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1985), p. 165
So much for Sunday morning education and culture.....
If you're hungering for a little anti-bush snark, take a look at this put down by H.L.Menken aimed at President Taft....if could be quite relevant to the current occupant of the White House.
He writes the worst English that I have ever encountered. It reminds me of a string of wet sponges; it reminds me of tattered washing on the line; it reminds me of stale bean soup, of college yells, of dogs barking idiotically through endless nights. It is so bad that a sort of grandeur creeps into it. It drags itself out of the dark abysm of pish, and crawls insanely up to the topmost pinnacle of tosh. It is rumble and bumble. It is flap and doodle. It is balder and dash.
So where's the "tipping point"?
By "tipping point" of course, I mean the point at which the public gets fed up enough with Republicans and their hypocrisy, scandal, lies and, oh yeah, THEIR WAR..and vote straight ticket Democratic.
We've had six years of demonstable lies and prevarications from this administration mixed in with one scandal after another. There have been so many scandals, in fact, that we've forgotten half of them. Do you remember the Ground Zero Air Quality Scandal? How about the "Bush was wired for the debates" scandal? What about Jeff Gannon? What about the Downing Street Memo? Teh WMD lies?
See?
There have been so many we've forgotten.
But this week has been a loulou for scandals. In just the past week, we've seen:
The leaking of the NIE that lays bare the truth about the effect of the Iraq invasion on the Global War on Terror (GWOT) In case you didn't see it, it says that invading Iraq made it worse instead of better...prompting the epitome of Bush Administration Diplomatic logic, John Bolton, to comment, "Sure it's worse. Violence in the Pacific INCREASED after Japan bombed Pearle Harbor, didn't it?"
Then there's the release of Bob Woodward's new book, State of Denial, in which he outlines how Bush locks out anybody who disagrees with any assessment of Iraq that doesn't fit what he, Rummy and Cheney want it to be. Damaging....very, very damaging. ...almost enough to redeem Bob Woodward in my eyes.
And now, breaking just in time for the weekend Congressman Foley, Chairman of the commission of Missing and Exploited Children, resigns from Congress amid charges that he has had "inappropriate" contact with an underage, male Congressional Page....
When is ENOUGH....REALLY ENOUGH?