Discouraged by Democratic Losers

Dear Auntie Pinko,

I’m depressed and discouraged that San Diego County Democrats couldn’t get a candidate elected to fill the seat of Duke “Show Me the Money” Cunningham. If we can’t even motivate enough voters to make an election un-stealable when we’ve got Randy’s French Commode to run against, how are we ever going to take control of Congress and impeach, try, convict and execute the traitors who have hijacked our country, killed hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians, effectively repealed nuclear non-proliferation, and doomed us to generations of crushing debt and market fascism?

Margaret
La Jolla, CA


Dear Margaret,

Time out! Heavens, what a clutch of assumptions to base an assessment on, no wonder you’re feeling depressed and pessimistic. Take a deep breath, pour yourself something relaxing to drink, and watch a sunset or count the stars tonight. Auntie’s been hearing an awful lot of negative hyperbole lately, and it’s not helping, not helping at all.

Let’s start in the Busby/Billbray race. First, the Democrats in San Diego County were not “running against Randy’s French Commode.” Ms Busby was running against Mr. Billbray. In a district that has always been overwhelmingly dominated by Republicans. The Republican margin of victory was narrow and they had to spend about twice as much as the Democrats to obtain even that narrow margin. Mr. Billbray had been a Congressman in the past and had good name recognition and powerful friends. Even with long and varied experience as a community activist, the toughest election Ms Busby had under her belt was School Board Trustee.

While I certainly would have liked to see a stunning upset here, I didn’t expect it, and I’m rather pleased that a relative unknown like Ms Busby could gather such a large percentage of the vote in a district so heavily Republican. Especially when the Republicans were putting so much money and effort into fighting her. It speaks well of the San Diego County Democrats that they managed to mobilize as much support as they did, in an area where being a Democrat is politically equivalent to being an invisible cockroach.

There is certainly no denying that Mr. Bush’s regime has created dangerous challenges for America and the world to meet, challenges that will be with us for generations. It is easy to look at the negative and feel discouraged. The size and scale of the problems seems to demand a vigorous, dramatic, powerful reversal of course, a high-profile refutation of everything associated with the GOP and its agenda, and a forceful implementation of activist programs to undo everything Mr. Bush has done since 2000, not to mention cleaning up the festering wounds left by Mr. Bush, Senior, and Mr. Reagan. We are yearning for “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” moments, for fiery, inspiring rhetoric, for leaders of adamantine conviction and high moral purpose.

In their absence, it’s all too easy to conflate individual Democrats with the Party’s failures, to magnify those failures into irreversible disasters brought on by malign intent, timidity, etc., to write off the Party altogether, and despair. Not to mention take out our frustrations on fellow-Democrats who don’t seem to share our urgency, clarity of vision and steadfastness of purpose.

Unfortunately, there’s no better way to become part of the problem.

The Democratic Party is certainly part of the problem. Democrats spent decades in power in Congress and had some pretty spectacular runs in the Executive branch during the second half of the 20th Century. The system worked for us, so we saw little reason to question the system.

Politics is based on human nature, and human nature in the aggregate is like gravity: With tremendous effort, we can overcome it for short periods of time to achieve important snippets of progress, but we always end up back on the ground. The architects of our government knew this, which is why our Constitution is such a pragmatic document. It doesn’t attempt to overcome or reverse human nature, it merely tries to nudge us toward the better side thereof, and ensure that we’ll always have the tools to fix whatever we bust when under the influence of our least admirable selves.

The end of the Cold War removed a form of “higher purpose” that could be used to effectively unify politicians and factions whose agendas otherwise differed widely or even opposed one another. It’s not surprising, then, that we have enjoyed the moral equivalent of a long, celebratory binge of pandering to self-interest, consumerism, one-issue agendas, the pursuit of power for its own sake, and vicious partisan conflict.

Mr. Bush and the senior strategists of his cabal clearly hoped that the “War on Terror” could be used to rekindle that “higher purpose” orientation, and enforce a kind of unity, or at least a stifling of dissent, that would allow them to take bold, dramatic actions. It is rather fortunate in a paradoxical way that they defeated their own purpose by their incompetence, shortsightedness, and the transparency of their driven, self-serving agenda. Had they been able to delay gratification, make some hard choices in foregoing tax cuts, focus on clearly justified and widely supported initiatives like Afghanistan, they might have ensured Republican majorities for another fifty years and won plenty of cover for a longer and slower transformation of America into an authoritarian corporate oligarchy. Difficult as it will be to alleviate the damage they’ve already done, that would have been much harder.

Instead, they went for the ‘smash and grab’ approach, perhaps judging that too many variables might interfere with a longer, slower disembowelment of the Constitution, and mistrusting (correctly, I think) in the potency of the “War on Terror” as a unifying, dissent-suppressing force. Fearmongering based on terrorism can be powerful in the short term but as long as terrorism poses no coherent, credible structural threat to a nation’s society, culture, and economy, the focus of the fear can’t be sustained. Republicans know their days are numbered, they are now trying to loot as much as they can politically and economically before the electorate turns on them. And they are not without hope, as they are profoundly aware of the trap lurking in the path of the Democrats. They have every reason to hope that their looming exile will not be a long one.

And those of us who will be satisfied by nothing less than a total refutation and reversal of everything the Republicans have done for the last thirty-five years are in danger of pushing the Party right into that trap. So long as we focus on being “the anti-Republicans,” our only appeal to the electorate is as a dose of Pepto-Bismol to deal with the queasiness resulting from what we’ve swallowed recently. But no one drinks Pepto-Bismol as a steady diet. And human nature makes it far more likely that, rather than swearing off the greasy pizza we’ve been fed, as soon as our collective stomach settles and the memory of the pain is a little less vivid, we’ll go right back and order a nice, greasy meatball sub.

And if the number of people who want to drink Pepto-Bismol on a regular basis is small, the number of people who can sustain a total vegan macrobiotic diet of local produce is microscopic. A Democratic Party that offers the equivalent of a fully-equipped gym and a healthy, macrobiotic diet might get a huge rush of business when the electorate’s “dietary” guilt and revulsion is fresh, but it won’t last.

I think that what Americans are looking for in the way of leadership can best be expressed as “realistic optimism.” That is, an acknowledgment of the challenges and the sacrifices that will be needed to overcome them, but also a focus on some very real, very positive, and clearly achievable benefits voters can experience tangibly. If we do that, we may not achieve the dramatic turnaround that many of us are longing for, but we are more likely to achieve real, sustainable change for the long term, even if it’s not as immediately satisfying as giving every Republican scoundrel his or her comeuppance. I hope that helps you cheer up a little, Margaret, and thanks for asking Auntie Pinko!

That is really not shabby! :-)

And while DCCC and DLC might not be stuff to write home about, the progressive sides DFA did rather well in California, with DFA-List candidate Debra Bowen winning a come from behind victory in the race to try to become the Golden State's next Secretary of State, moving from the last poll's down by 6% to a win.

If all Congressional districts swing 18% (Busby's 22% down to 4% down), I suspect we will have rather nice November 2006!

:-)

let's not forget, the main things we need to work on, no...pound on!!! One, get those damn computer voting machines OUT of the electoral process. Until that's changed, they've got the keys, they drive the car. And, if that's off the cliff, then over we go. Paper ballot/hand counted is the only verified way, IMHO.
Next, publically ONLY funded elections. As long as the scoudrels, and I'm being polite here, can accept coporate $, well, it ain't rocket science as from what we've seen, the proof's in the pudding.
As a former co-worker of mine taught me, hope is not strategy. Am I optimistic? Yes. But you still need a plan and if the Dems can't make an issue out of the two items above, then they're right in the complicit mix. Do we have a real opposition party? Hard to tell, at times but I am still miffed as to where the outrage is from Dem leaders. They need to start framing the debates, now!!!

It's not easy to get a message out there, when the Corporate Media is the willing lapdogs of the Repukes!

Not easy.

America is inundated, hundreds of hours per week, with the Repuke propaganda, and that's not easy to overcome!

Rush, himself is 15 hours per week, add to that Hannity, another 15, add to that Savage or beck, or whichever right-wing asshole gets the late slot in your hometown, and there's another 15. Add to that Neal Boortz, Dr. Laura, or Beck...whichever asswipe gets the early shift on your local station, there's another 15...so that is 60 hours a week, and then we haven't even talked about FAUX NEWS, CNN, MSNBC...not to mention most local newspapers have a decidedly right-wing editorial slant!

I mean, Democrats...we are up against a behemoth! A juggernaut! It's not gonna be easy to fight against it, but we must...the future of our country...and our lives...is at stake!

No LG, it's not easy. But, where is it written that defending democracy was going to be easy? I certainly get your point and it's frustrating, to say the least. As I said, they've got the keys, they get to drive. And drive that message home as much as you've said. But the Dems need to get out in the street and look up. You ever do that? Just go out into the street and look up, in a busy intersection. The next thing you know, people are stopping and looking up to see what you're looking at. There's plenty to look at! Forget the MSM. We need to get OUR message out, any way possible. I see USA Today has a big impeachment ad...there's a start and an example. It just seems to have taken soooo long for folks to get pissed...is it too late?
I spent 4 years in the USAF during the 'Nam campaign. I took an oath to protect and defend the Constitution, not just for the 4 years, but for life. My elected officials did the same thing when sworn in. They must be held accountable. I certainly don't have the answer, or even pretend to, but why not more noise in any way, shape or form? I'd hate to stoop to their level but maybe that's what they're counting on. That the good, decent people will stay good and decent and unwittingly become the "sheeple".
We've been bullied for the last time! It's time to take the gloves off. I just hope Fitz has got Cheney in his sights. That will really be a start!

Thanks! Actually been here awhile but have stayed fairly quiet. But, I'm gettin' fired up. I just need to keep taking my BP meds!!! Oh, and I'm a rabid Yankees fan. But believe or not, the Sox are my next fav.

e respect for the pinstripes history. I love the rivalry-the best in all of sport no doubt.

Peace and never give up!

Amen, bro, or sis. No disrespect intended. Just not sure! Not to distract from the thread but it is fun to watch. Don't care for the media venom, in rivalrys or politics. Peace for sure!

Paper ballots and subjective ballot counting is NOT the answer.

Dems will continue to loose until they articulate a BETTER PLAN then the Reps. Right now, what does John Q. Public see from the left? Endless diatribe, criticizum and personal attacks. Ya can't wil without a plan! A BETTER PLAN. From the right they see A PLAN. From the left, no plan. Ya can't win by saying reps have it WRONG on the war, healthcare and taxes. Got to have a BETTER PLAN for the war, healthcare and taxes. NO BETTER PLAN, no political victory.

FACE IT. Constant criticizum without an alternitive plan just ain't gonna work. It hasn't so far and its not gonna work in the future. ITS BEEN A FAILURE. WHEN WHAT YOU ARE DOING DOES NOT WORK, TRY SOMETHING DIFFERENT. SO WHERE IS THE BETTER PLAN FROM PELOSI, REID AND DEAN???

Start reading: www.democrats.org/

(Since you watched Kerry enough to note the "constant" presence of the 9/11 widow, I wonder that you don't remember any Democratic issues.)

Not syaing it's the "absolute" answer. But it's part of the solution, for sure. And yes, agreed we need a plan. But we if we have a plan, why are we not hearing about it in the MSM?! We just got an impeach Bush ad in USAToady... misprint but I'm leavin' it! Why can't the Dems use the same hammer as part of their plan? I'm not talkin' about the impeachment issue, per se, but the hammer in the media like the Repukes do?

Sorry, had to throw in that litle jab. I don't know that I coulda come up with a better slogan, but that one just bugs me.
And welcome!!

(Wow, welcome to a couple of you)

There is reason to hope for Democratic leadership. No, I don't mean the DLC, necessarily. There are new leaders rising in the ranks of the Democratic Party. People like Deval Patrick, Democratic candidate for Governor of Massachusetts. Watch Stand with Deval, and tell me he doesn't inspire. He gave what was easily the best speech of the recent Mass Democratic Convention, and considering that he followed Ted Kennedy and George McGovern, (yes, that George McGovern), that was quite an accomplishment. And it wasn't just his ability to rally his supporters. It was also the message of his speech. "Hope for the best, and then work for it."

If we are serious about defeating the Republicans, why wasn't whatever funds needed poured into the campaign? Another "sit on your ass and be a cheerleader" Democratic effort. Money talks, bullshit walks and, once again all we had was bullshit.

Its no different with the Democratic Party effort to even up the huge advantage the Republicans have on talk-radio. The Republicans spent hundreds of millions of dollars promoting a strong media machine and the Democrats haven't done squat. All talk and no action. As long as this trend continues, we'll be on the bottom looking up.

Of many DUers who think we need to rethink what we are doing as a result of the loss in orange County, CA. Maybe we do need to do some rethinking, but not because of this loss!

Auntie Pinko is right to write that we should not be discouraged. Anyone who thinks we should, does not know Orange County. It is not only the Kool-Aid drinkingest part of California, but one of the most Kool-aid drinking parts of the nation as a whole. I used to live out in Cali, and one of my best friends there grew up in Orange County. It's upper income, corporate employees, with many people employed in defense, some of whom vote Republican because they think it is in their self-interest, some of whom do it for status, equating being a Republican with "having arrived" at a certain financial station. As with many Republican areas, these folks get into a self-reinforcing loop wherein all the folks they know are Republicans, listen to Repub talk radio, etc.

Additionally, according to the Wikipedia:

snip

"In the 2000 census, the 51st District was renumbered the 50th District. The district was gerrymandered to exclude the relatively liberal areas of La Jolla, Bird Rock, downtown La Jolla, and UCSD. Those areas were moved to the more-liberal 53rd District, and the more conservative community of Clairemont Mesa was added to the new 50th District."

snip

Let's look at the positives: this is a redrawn district made even more conservative following the last census. Nonetheless, a political nonentity came within striking distance of a well-known, well-funded (i.e. "quality) candidate. This means that Busby's performance is the best performance by a Democratic congressional candidate in that district ever! That does not leave me feeling gloomy.

California's 50th is no kind of bellwether. Even in the best possible scenario, no one would think it's competitive for Democrats. I think we will win, and win big, in 2006, provided that we work hard. We will get out the vote in our districts. For those of you who live in safe Democratic districts, I strongly encourage you to reach out and work to do whatever you can to turn nearby red districts blue--give money, knock on doors, etc. We will not win in places like the 50th in CA, but if we stick to our game plan (get out all of our voters, get as many votes from disaffected republicans and independents as possible) we will really surprise the socks off of everybody and get a solidly Democratic Congress so that we can begin to undo the work of Bush and company.

Alcibiades,
No gloom and doomer here, just a realist. But, to reiterate my point, we need to level the playing field. We can discuss all we want about votes but until the process gets back to reality I do not see how we can be successful when they control the process!? Unless it's overwhelming, they'll spin close elections any way they want, just like they did in SD. I lived out there from '74-'83. Don't know how I lasted that long. The "rat race" is tilted for the rich. No wonder they vote Repuke. If there was any true compassion, they'd see the error of their ways, but it's all about me, me, me. I got mine. What's your problem? is the attitude. If the voting mechanisms are not changed, I don't see how we can keep a 2 party system in place. Hell, the inmates are already running the asylum!

But, a suggestion. Link to the newspaper, "NOrth COunty TImes." Read the overwhealming number of nut jobs who send letters to the editor. THis represents this district. You are lucky not to get another Robert Dornan... Fundie, wacko, militaristic, Gun TOoting , lunies.
I remember reading in the North COunty Times, someone seriosly thought those who display bottled water out in public to be Communists. And I thought they only ranted about the evils of Fluoride and how it makes one go gay!
Lets hope a more astute crowd such as those in Montana, who hopefully will oust Sen. Conrad Burns, more representative of the American people.

This story is being spearheaded by DU's Brad Friedman of Bradblog. He has several postings on it on his blog
beginning with this one.

Or you can take a look at this DU thread on the topic, which is currently high atop the Greatest page!

Let's shake things up!

Her wisdom and clarity constantly amazes me. Unfortunately, it's illegal in my state, danged unconstitutional amendments.

Democrats don't seem to understand that they need to do SOMETHING for their base to latch onto and say "these guys are fighters and will go to the mat for us."

Factually, it might have been difficult to impossible for Kerry to claim the White House whatever the evidence of vote rigging, voter intimidation, and other forms of fraud. But the quick concession symbolically looked like a surrender.

The same thing is true with the confirmation of Rice as Secretary of State and Alberto Gonzalez as Attorney General. Both are arguably war criminals, and Gonzalez is beyond dispute because of his role in the torture memos. Could the Democrats have successfully filibuster these guys out of the appointment? Probably not. But they could have voted together against having war criminals complicit in a war of aggression as our top cop and diplomat.

The same is even more true with Alito and Roberts. They have a view of executive power that is not in our constitution. If the Democrats had filibustered either, it is likely the GOP would have used the "nuclear option," which would have been a tactical defeat for the Democrats but would have forced the GOP to openly show their contempt for our democratic institutions and traditions and accelerated their slide in public opinion.