Prepare to be very disappointed in November

if you expect that we can sit back and watch the country change itself.

Nothing is going to change in this country unless we change it.

Democrats are not going to be the recipients of a miraculous pendulum swing in their direction which simply happens as a result of negative news stories against Bush and his disciples.

If we are going to take back the House and the Senate in November we need to get out there and start talking to people, raising money, and giving everything we've got to make this happen.

All of us. Starting now.

The Reps are already out there stirring up hatred like the fiends that they are. We have to work harder than they do.

Right now, some of our biggest hopes are that Ned Lamont defeats Joe Lieberman in the CT primaries and Barbara Ann Radnofsky defeats Kay Bailey Hutchison in the TX Senate Race.

and have been supporting and contributing to that. It is going to be an uphill battle though. Until events affect a lot more peoeple who will go out vote, things will probably get a lot worse before they get better

I live in Texas, have contacted Radnofsky at least three times over the last year and a half to get her position on the drug war and such. She wrote back once last year and asked what suggested to do about it, I answered and haven't heard from her since.

If she can't answer her mail or make her position on things clear she's not going to win many votes. A Dem drug warrior doesn't strike me as any more useful than a repub one, not to the people they want to imprison. She'd better start telling people where she stands on things.

Is to e-mail her campaign manager, Seth Davidson:

seth@radnofsky.com

Ask him about the on-line discussion group for Radnofsky's campaign, too - he'll probably be happy to send you an e-vite.

This goes for the rest of my fellow Texas DUers as well. Good luck!

Explained a little and dropped him a note with some info from www.prisonsucks.com to show an example of what I'm worried about and want fixed. We'll see what happens, and thanks for the tip.

And we should prepare to not only be disappointed, but highly pissed off.

we should be hitting the illegal wire-tapping, the outing of a CIA agent,and other illegal activities that these criminals are doing

If the tables were turned, and they were the minority party, we would be hearing about it everyday.

Most important, unless people turn out to vote, and the voting machines are fixed none of it matters

but to "prepare to be very disappointed in November", then why bother?

Try some optimism sunshine.

and work. I am doing everything I can and its like pulling teeth to get people to go out for a few hours on a weekend and work on a campaign. Posting on a messageboard is not activism.

And I'm not a pessimist, I just don't believe that doing nothing or next to nothing is going to change the political landscape of this country.

Such talk as what you are doing (in reality), urging folks to do more than post on DU and other such talk will get you some snide remarks. At least that has been my experience.

I'm with you though, we have much hard work to do between now and November. :toast:

Julie

the snide remarks.

It's the snide remarks YOU make first - particularly about one candidate in general - that causes the shitstorms.

Keep that in mind.

Show me. Show me snide remarks about a candidate. It's pointing out bad behavior by some DUers tha causes shitstorms. Oddly, just like right wingers, those particular DUers rarely comment on the content of those posts but they do whine a lot. Even in threads where they are NOT behaving badly and they are presumptuous enough to think I am referring to them.

In reality Spanky, I was referring to not so long ago when I was informed by another DUer (in more than one instance) that I was a mindless drone for working so hard in the real world for the Dem cause.

Not all activity takes place in the swarm.

Keep that in mind.

Julie

primaries here in California. A lot of activists may have felt like i did, like waiting until the real candidate is known after the primary election. In my district, Democrats are a sure thing. Some of my favorites did not win in the primaries, but I will back the Democratic candidate anyway.

I will become active later in the summer and fall.

I got sick of the many, many, many political calls I received, sometimes many a day. As big a supporter as I am of Democrats and Democratic causes, I am downright annoyed by the automatic calls. I like Gore, but I am not swayed by a recording of his voice on my phone.

Be patient. Don't turn people off. We Democrats should focus on getting our message together at this point. We have a long way to go on that and message boards play an important part in the process. People don't read newspapers anymore. They read posts on the internet. We can test the Democratic message on the internet. It's cheaper and less work than testing it over the phone.

It's a bit early to walk precincts or stand in front of supermarkets.

It may be true in your area that there is no good that can be done by connecting with your neighbors now . I don't know the details in your area. But organizing is a year round job. The GOP is working year round. The corporate media is out there 365 days a year giving your neighbors all the reasons they need to vote against you in November. Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly are teaching people to spread the corporate conservative gospel everyday.

As advertisers know, it takes something like 7 impressions of an idea or product before people start to recognize it. If walking your precinct the month before election has a significant effect on the voting results it will only be because your precenct has been walked 6 times in the months before.

Of course, I know many people, like myself, have limited time. Walking your precinct 7 times should not fall only on your shoulders. There certainly must be more progressives around your area than you. I don't know how you find them though.

Lastly.

"I am downright annoyed by the automatic calls. I like Gore, but I am not swayed by a recording of his voice on my phone. Be patient. Don't turn people off."

You may be annoyed, many people may be annoyed, but there is no study that I know of that say this kind of tactic has a net suppressing effect on voter turnout although I'm sure there are anecdotes to be found of people.

So, I'd say get annoyed and delete the messages but don't worry that it's driving voters away.

So the time to walk precincts and stand in front of stores collecting signatures is upon me.

Everywhere I look I see people celebrating gains that haven't come yet

that says just sit back and wait (keeping their power dry? :wtf:). This is a horrible strategy, and it's one that dems have been following from DAY ONE of the 2000 coup.

An opposition party leads the charge of dissent and opposing viewpoints. Sitting back and spouting platitudes like a bunch of prima donnas isn't going to get them anywhere, IMO.

best to leave off the garlands. :evilgrin:

I refuse to feel paranoid unless there's a solid reason to be.

If you don't see a reason to be paranoid, good for you. I envy you, but I'm not optimistic.

which has been getting progressively worse - then imagine it continues to get worse.

election integrity program. We need to start talking about preventing election theft now. Shining the light or working the refs (chose your metaphor) may prevent enough election hijinks to make a difference. Let's face it, they've gotten away with this before so they're going to try it again. Had enough?

Gore was a robot; Kerry was utterly pathetic - especially in the debates, what a friggin' embarrassment.

It seems nobody wants Dean ranting... he may be genuine, but the masses wanted somebody level in appearance.

But surely there's a person out there who will be accused of something, who can not only respond with veracity but also throw the same question back at *, in a cool-headed manner?! (talk about a landslide victory, it'd be too easy.) Kerry had dozens of opportunities here and never once followed through - especially when there's no way in hell Bush could have responded to the same questions he was accusing Kerry of!!!

But look at the past and change for the future, otherwise we may as well vote Republican ourselves. You can't keep doing the same thing and expecting improvement. Much like spending while cutting taxes. It didn't work before, so it's not going to work again. Yet they still do it anyway. Even *'s core is starting to become concerned (I saw the tagline on google news yesterday, too late to post).

Politics is simple: Use one's ideology against them. That's what Rove has been doing; we can all agree. That's how Reagan could get elected in 1980 yet not Mondale in 2004.

So why aren't we bringing in folks who use the same tactics? It's politics. Yakkety-yak. Talk.

electronic machines + no exit polls = more stolen elections!

we get rid of those stupid machines, or go out in record numbers and vote our butts off.

If the vote can be stolen no amount of money, effort, or faith will help us.

I'm not ready to jump off a bridge, but I do see some things in our own tent that case a lot of alarm. Democrats expecting to win by default or too busy fighting among themselves than to pool resources and use our tremendous resources to make big and long lasting changes.

So far the "netroots" is "oh-fer"...every major election, the blogoshpere has not taken down a Repugnican and the in fighting and bad blood between the various factions are doing more to hurt those chances this fall. I know this is pissing in the punchbowl, but I've seen this scenario play out several times now...from Hackett to Cuellar to Cegalis and now Busbee. Even worse is that instead of trying to build on turning a defeat into a future win...it's on to the next "big thing". That's why I've held off on throwing money around at these campaigns until I can see that there's really going to be something positive, not just short term, but overall.

Many Democrats I talk to are frustrated already...each one feels their specific issue is being neglected and blaming other Democratic factions as being the cause.

Thank you for your post. You're not going to be popular with this, but the truth needs to be spoken.

Cheers...

if people don't take the time to get out and vote nothing matters

Frankly, I am very skeptical, and do not hold out much hope. I have not seen anything that our democratic leaders have done about the voting machines, and that is critical to winning

I suspect that things are going to get a lot worse before they get better. People are obviously take their liberties for granted

Just look at the last six years, and ask what our representatives in Congress have done to protect our rights...

The IWR
The Patriot Act
illegal wire taps without a court order
Voting machines accuracy
essentially rubber stamping supreme court justices nomination
etc. etc. etc

... not just because of the CA race, but because the Democratic party is offering nothing to the voters.

I'm becoming philosophical about the future of this country. It *is* up to us, but it is also not our decision. When rank and file Americans continue to vote based on phony trumped up issues, on "moral values" that are anything but, against their own self interest, what can be done? Americans have gotten the government they deserve, and will continue to get it until they get it.

The country is on the precipice of some serious economic, military and other challenges. Frankly, I'd almost just as soon a Republican president take the hit, because they are largely responsible anyway.

Basically, America is going to have to hit rock bottom before Americans get past the demonization of "liberals" and the basic inaction of our party leaders. We're almost there, but we may not make it by 2008.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060607/ap_on_el_ge/primaries_rdp

(snip)
A former Republican congressman narrowly beat his Democratic rival early Wednesday to fill the House seat once held by jailed Randy "Duke" Cunningham, one of several contests in eight states closely watched as a possible early barometer of next fall's vote.

How did this happen?

If we don't act now and save the November Elections, it will not matter who you like or dislike in 2008.
All these speculations about who is running in 2008 are just pulling the focus away from 2006.
You don't see any speculation on what republicans are running 2008 only Democrats, WHY?

Every time you see this talk of Is Hillary running in 08 or will Al Gore run, diverts some attention from the current race.

Meanwhile the repukes are busy hyping fear and nationalism issues. They are pandering to the religious radicals who are afraid they are going to be consumed by gay monsters.


We can effect the November elections, IF WE FOCUS!

They must stand for something.

irrelevant. As long as people are voting on vote stealing machines, we will NEVER take back our country.

That's just the way it is. As long as the Democrats ignore the evoting issue, repukes will rule the land. The U.S. is finished.

I know there is corruption of the voting system in some places, but I do not believe it is everywhere. We have to get people out for state and local elections. WI Dems have a great chance of taking over the State Assembly, and I do not believe we have a problem with machines in Wisconsin. We have to do the best we can within the system as we are trying to fix it, broken though it may be.

:kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick:

... was very poorly attended. I think progressives are again misreading the signs and feeling assured that, this time, there's NO WAY people will vote for Republicans.

Some progressives are working very hard, but it's the same ones who have been working hard since 2004. This election year I haven't seen an influx of new blood. And this is in northeast Ohio, the bluest part of one of the most easy to swing states in the nation. It wouldn't take that many people to flip it blue again. But I think it will take more than we've got.

And I know plenty of progressives that are unhappy. But they trumpet every poll showing Bushes approval numbers falling (though they're rising now) and celebrate every near miss (Busby and Hackett) while waiting for things to change around them.

So I have plenty of sympathetic company at parties, at bars or online forums, but when it comes time to grab some petitions or literature and go out to talk to people, suddenly I'm alone.

Less than 10 people at the Cuyahoga DFA meeting last night.

I HATE to say this, but the Pibs really do have the right idea. They use wedge issues to get their people off their a**es and to the polls!

I HATE that idea, but you have to admit, it works!

What the Dems need is something to pi** off their voters enough to get them OUT THEIR DOOR and to the polls!!!!

the Democratic Party leadership had any concept of the concerns of regular Deomocrats it might help? Assuming Bush's bad popularity polls is going to help Democratics when it comes to voting is a huge mistake. Don't take it for granted.

I'm starting to think only option twowill bring about any real change.

Take that comment any way you want to -- personally, I told a local group of Dems that they should expect another miraculous surge of invisible Republican voters (like appeared in 2004), until they get so sick of it, they start screwing around with the votes themselves. Well, it worked in Washington, so maybe its time to get started on it, hmmm?

He asked his audience who had voted. Only a handful of people responded. It is shameful how many will laugh at Jay's jokes about how terrible this administration is, yet do not vote unless it's November.

I don't know if that's the best sample. I do agree with your basic point, however.

Remember last summer? What major event triggered Bush's big drop in the polls?

Answer: Hurricane Katrina

When is the peak season for hurricanes?

Answer: August, September & October

Another Hurricane response like last year's and I don't think even rigged voting machines will save the GOP.

In the meantime the war grinds on. It's only a matter of time.

I'd like to stay and chat, but I'm on my way out the door. I'm going to work at Casey campaign headquarters this afternoon.

:dem:

you would see that what I have said is not contradictory at all.

going to just happen. I think most of us understand that.

:hi: The time between now and November is going to FLY.

i'm just hoping that i live to see it happen.

:popcorn: