The RW knows that the country agrees with liberal policies and

programs. That's why they work overtime to subvert democracy. Voter roll purges; California electoral vote revisions; voter intimidation;the Gray Davis recall election;Texas congressional redistricting; audit free computer voting; outright vote fraud in Florida and Ohio are proof positive that the Republicans understand what Democrats are too timid to believe. There is a majority constituency in this country that prefers traditional Democratic policies to the Republican theory of governance. Only a party with no integrity would stoop to such chicanery to seize and retain power. Only a party with no spine would allow them to do it.
2008 affords Democrats what may well be their last, best chance to be a relevant player in national politics. I pray that the Party does not muff the opportunity to return the nation to its core values. The stakes could not be higher.

It's about time! The GOP can only win by decieving the public. Reagan rarely spoke of union-busting/deregulation/tax cuts for corporations, he spent his time on social issues attacking the progressive ideals of this nation as a backdoor to enact his reactionary economic policies.

All contrived to hide the true nature of Republican policies. Thanks for the K&R.

Is it just an empty phrase that Poppy thought sounded good?

of using language to obfuscate rather than illuminate.

the end justifies the means.

have to read and see them.

It does have that sort of urgency to it doesn't it. A last chance to try to turn things around, to try to save what is good and turn our backs on the path that leads downwards into despotism or revolution.

There have even been some repug's that have quietly said that if they had to run on issues alone, or if the poor and working class merely voted their interests, the republican party would lose every election.

Its so simple-- why would they stoop to the level of corruption and deceit that they have if they could win elections on good old fashioned ideas? Clearly they can't, and they know it. They've stayed relevent through sheer intimidation, and of course the deification of Reagan, but if we democrats knew how to play the game better we'd be a step ahead of them every time. Too many people are turned off of politics largely because the republicans have set the rules of the game and the democrats have been too weak to recognize that they could be playing in another league alltogether. Perhaps if we actually had some confidence in our own beliefs and history and presented them to the country without the self-perpetuating stain of republican ridicule we'd get those hundreds of thousands of people who don't vote to come to the polls and support what, in reality, are most certainly the mainstream and modern views of the country.

You rightly point out the deification of Reagan. Has there ever been more propaganda produced to cover up the basic wrongheadedness of an administration? The Reagan legacy should be a case study for PR classes on how to turn a sow's ear into a silk purse.
Somewhere in the era of Gingrich and Luntz, the Republicans discovered the power of ridicule. I still remember Jim Nicholson when he was RNC Chair staging an event ridiculing Gore's childhood stays in a DC hotel and on the farm in Tennessee. It was so vile and untrue, but effective.
A common thread in the efficacy of these tactics has been the whole-hearted support of the corporate media. The networks and the major newspapers have willingly lent their outlets to these efforts.I am afraid that 2008 will be no different.

That's the amount in earmarks contained in the upcoming Transportation bill. And that is from all our elected leaders from both sides of the aisle. I know Dems want to spend money more wisely than Repubs, but for pete's sake -- we need to find some way to rein in politicians who feel they can spend money whatever way they want.

How can we ever stop this pandering when the Pols need to do it to get votes, and yet it so clearly diverts money from necessary things?