But I really don't know how...
I think some of my problem stems from the fact that I got a masters in public policy recently. As a result of that, I tend to think of public policy and politics in a lot more concrete terms.
Dollars, tons of CO2 removed from the atmosphere, marginal costs, costs of service, cost benefit analysis...all of these things have helped to turn my outrage into understanding of lots of different issues.
I'm not not outraged anymore, but I think the whole experience has helped me to realize just how broken our system is.
We have two parties dependent upon their most partisan members for any kind of legitimacy. The broad mass of Americans is disgusted, as they should be.
There's a lot to be disgusted about with Obama, with Bush, with anyone with recent influence, in terms of how impotent they are in the face of special interests and the status quo.
However, I think DailyKos and the rest of the netroots is part of the problem to. In its own perverse way, it is part of the status quo as much as AARP, the AMA or the API is. It's reactions are just as predictable at least.
Part of my problem, however, is that I do want to stay part of the grassroots. However, I really think the grassroots needs to understand how public policy really works to be effective.
I agree that we should no longer tolerate the existing DC Democrats and their half-assed approach to policymaking and governance.
But for dKos to matter, it needs to actually propose an alternative that actually makes sense. We can't just put solar on everything and solve the climate crisis. We can't just mandate single payer for everyone. We can't just end all wars and cut the defense budget in half. Those are all worthy goals, but we need to understand the interdependence of government and society more effectively.
And anger is not the answer. I see so much anger here when what we really need is purpose, practicality and determination.
I wish I could TTFN or even GBCW but it's really hard for me. Maybe I will be able to soon.
But until then, I want to send the message of what I think the netroots and the "liberal base" can do better.