This is not a FISA diary, it is a common sense diary. This week has seen some disturbing things happening in our government and in our country overall. The attack on our constitution and on our way of life continues, and the person who is our hope for the future seemed to jump on that bandwagon. I question the logic of the decisions made by those congresspersons who voted for the new FISA bill, but I know that I do not have all of the pertinent information to make an educated judgment of the true reasons for their votes.
The pundits are quick to assault both Senator Obama and his supporters from all directions (as usual), and some Daily Kos members have contributed to the fray. There are those who stand proud and pure, boasting of asking for a refund of their donation to the Obama campaign. This allows the pundits to say that "the Left" is abandoning Sen. Obama because of his FISA vote. There are other members that are condemning Obama critics, saying that any negative momentum toward the Obama camp is aiding the McCain effort. This allows the pundits to say that "the Kool-Aid drinkers" are demanding unquestioned loyalty, placing Obama in the same category as George Bush.
I have an alternative to these ridiculous arguments that hurt our candidate from both directions and feed the idiocy of the MSM "journalists". I actually learned this from the relationship between my father and my step-mother.
My father is a very intelligent man, but sometimes he tends to open his mouth or take actions when that is not the best thing to do at the time. My step-mom, rather than correct him in public and make him look foolish, restrains her comments and criticism until they are alone. She then proceeds to tell him the error of his ways (reads him the Riot Act) and offers her input to remedy the situation (tells him how to fix himself, and demands that he do it).
This process ensures that my father appears to everyone as someone who thinks through his actions and fixes his mistakes, based on his own deliberation. Granted, he does do this most of the time, but my step-mom, being his support system, fills in the blanks.
This is how I think we should handle our criticism of Sen. Obama. When you are here on Daily Kos, let people know how you feel as far as whether or not you agree with Sen. Obama’s decisions or opinions, but be respectful. Calling him a liar or saying that will hold your nose and vote for him is not acceptable. Call his campaign or write a letter and cuss him and call him anything you want. That is private correspondence. In this public forum, we need to try to limit the amount of ammunition that we give to people who will do anything to keep Sen. Obama from becoming the next President.
I am not advocating censorship or even trying to suppress your criticism on Daily Kos. I just think it is a great idea to show respect and try to keep things as positive as we can so that we can win this election and start the cleansing process that is necessary to remove this Bush/Cheney filth from our society.