A Message from Russ Feingold

Hi All...

Paula asked me to use whatever electronic means available to us to post this message from Russ...his email address is at the bottom

Scribe

Dear Wisconsin Progressive,

I’m writing today to thank you, the local activists, for all of your past support and hard work on behalf of myself and other elected Democrats – at all levels – across our state. As you know, by working together last year, we were able to take back the State Senate, make huge gains in the Assembly, elect a Democrat in the 8th Congressional District, and of course re-elect our Governor/Lt. Governor and Senior Senator in resounding victories.

But there is much more work to be done as we inch closer to 2008. My staff and I are continuing to travel the state, hold our steering committee meetings, and talk to folks on the ground in every corner of every county. We’re continuing to build on the work we did together last year and will again do all that we can to elect Democrats at all levels leading up to 2008. However, we can’t do anything without your help.

So I wanted to be sure you had our campaign’s contact information. The easiest way to contact us is through my State Field Director, Paula Zellner. She may be reached at zellner@russfeingold.org or 715-735-7811. We want to hear directly from you; whether you, or someone you know, are thinking about running for state office, or even if you just see something in your local paper that you think we should be aware of, we’re counting on you to be our eyes and ears on the ground.

Again, the work that you do at the local level helps Democrats statewide. I can’t thank you enough for your commitment and dedication.

With high hopes,

Russ Feingold
United States Senator
http://www.russfeingold.org/

Xpost here

Bop on over here for my latest temper-tantrum:

Oh yeah....and for the lighter side try this video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rixkck8QnjY

Have a nice weekend.....

Against the Wall, Pig!!!

I remember that particular phrase from the 60's as the unabashed declaration of commitment to a cause (pick one or more if you like: Civil rights, Woman's rights, Reproductive rights, Viet Nam War, Legalize Pot (and all other drugs too), Free ______(insert name of person/group here), Animal rights)

Whew!

There were a lot of things to get behind in those days......

but now?

Now we're infected with the Lieberman Method...which is..."partisanship" is not cool. Nosireeee.....if you're a "partisan" (e.g. you believe in something...strongly and have the audacity to say so) then you're "not a serious person". Because serious persons ALWAYS compromise on ALL ISSUES. Serious persons always capitulate to their opponents. Serious persons always "go along to get along."

BULLSHIT!

Once again, I reference the admired Jane Hamser over at firedoglake in her sterling defense of partisanship.

She says she is proud to be a partisan, and I agree with her. Here are a couple of choice snippets:

But people like Joe Lieberman (and his protege Barack Obama) who consistently indulge this frame ought to know that sometimes the right thing to do is to acknowledge that the other side cannot be bargained with, that no negotiation is possible, that what you’re up against is just wrong and it’s incumbent upon people of conscience to draw a line in the sand and say “enough.” That too is partisanship, and they need to stop decrying it just because it focus groups well with people sick of the GOP and their bully tactics. Partisanship in fact has a glorious history.

snip

Lieberman considers his refusal to criticize Republicans a reflection of the fact that he is above “partisan bickering,” but really it’s just collaboration with those who have gone utterly rogue and lawless. It’s an excuse to do their bidding for personal political gain. And with all due respect to Barack Obama, about whom there are many things to admire, the “pox on both your houses” messaging he so frequently invokes whether he is promoting himself or criticizing this administration does not do justice to those who have steadfastly fought the battle to hold George Bush, Dick Cheney and their criminal cabal accountable. Yes, we’re partisans.

The need to fight right now to restore the Constitution and end the war is strong, and that means some people are going to have to take a stand against a ruthless and intractable opponent. We need to rally behind them and acknowledge their heroism rather than stand back and allow others to tear them down as “partisans” for their willingness to do so.

Because sometimes fighting is the right thing to do.

I’m proud to be a partisan.

Because of "fair use" requirements I'm not reprinting all of Jane's article but you need to know that she touches upon examples she learned from a visit to the Holucust Museum in Washington D.C. just a few months ago. That part of her post is extremely touching...actually very moving...but wouldn't make sense to our readers without the context of what I published above.

I am reminded that we, locally, were faced with a choice between the "Lieberman Method" and being labeled "Partisans" not long ago. And today, I see the individual struggles our membership went through in choosing between the two polar opposites. Maybe I've provided (through the eyes of Jane Hamser) a different context in which we can evaluate future political decisions....

Maybe.

Full plate for a couple of days...

For a more detailed explanation, click here

I'll explain more later on...in the meantime enjoy the blogosphere...

scribe

I knew it, I knew it, I KNEW IT!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blUTIUxh-Mk

roflmao....

Sunday Morning...cuppa coffee anybody?

Just clicking through the blogs and finding some interesting stuff....

Our old buddy Attaturk has a great piece on the "Why do they hate us?" puzzle....and some interesting responses...Check it out here..

Also the Headline over at Jesus General caught my eye...the headline? "If Knowledge is Power to the Public, then Ignorance is Power to the Leaders." Yeah, that seems about right.

The bigtime bloggers (KOS, Digby etc) like to refer to right wing columnist David Brooks as "BoBo" and regularly dis his work......for good reason.....apparently (according to Brooks) the Iraq War is "all the Democrats fault". I'll explain right after you wipe the spewed coffee off of your monitor.......ready? Okay...here goes...

It seems "journalistic rules" prevent the mainstream journalists from questioning the pResident. They can only "report" if others question him. Obviously, the Democrats never actually questioned the pResident or perhaps didn't question him enough....so they merrily went on to war without question....

See?

It's all our fault.

Digby has few links to follow

Pancake breakfast at the airport this morning........I love the smell of coffee and JP4 (jet fuel for you slackers) in the morning...it smells like.....victory

Ya gotta read this....

I have been urging all of you to read Last Chance Democracy Cafe for some time now.

Well I'm doing it again.....The owner/bartender/writer of the Cafe', Stephen C. Day, (scroll down for the bio)has been treating us to a serial episode of the Cafe (a serial within a serial....hmmm...whodathunk?) that starts off slowly but I guarantee you that you will soon find yourself hopelessly hooked on the series and anxiously awaiting tomorrow's final, concluding episode.

I'm reminded of a line that always brings a tear to my eye from The Impossible Dream, from the Play, The Man of La Mancha:

"....to be willing to ride into hell

for a heavenly cause...."

Yeah....

Now I remember....

That's why I'm in politics....