Our elected Democrats should beware: The netroots are angry, our mood is ugly, and tensions are very high.
We recognize that you have made a number of meaningful gains this year in advancing a good domestic agenda. Considering the difficulty of overriding the filibuster in the Senate and the veto at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, we might charitably say that you have shown signs of promise this year.
Good, but not nearly good enough. There are two requirements we have of you that trump all others:
You are to end this war, and you are to hold the Bush administration accountable for its abuses of power.
You have done neither. You have not even tried.
We hired you to represent us, and you have failed in the most important way. We expect you to rectify this, now.
We are not in the mood for excuses. You mustn’t assume we are idly bluffing when we speak about turning our energies away from defeating Republicans and toward defeating Democrats. If we are frustrated in our progressive and liberal politics by our own elected officials, then we will move against them.
I do not know why you have failed so heartily at representing the most pressing concerns of those who elected you.
You may be thinking that the Republicans were thrown out of power because they reached too far to the right in hopes of appeasing their base. That would explain your reluctance to uphold the wishes of your own base.
Or perhaps you are still terrified of being labeled "weak on terror," and, therefore, want nothing to do with stopping the war despite our insistence that you make it your top priority.
Neither idea is likely anytime soon. The American people support the Democratic platform. So act on it, and be embraced.
If you need help, you have good people in the House and Senate to look to for inspiration, from Russ Feingold to Brad Miller. Look to them, and ask for counsel. You need it, because you are in more trouble than you realize.
I am a Democrat, as is almost every person here. I will continue to vote Democratic for the foreseeable future, as will most of the people here.
But I am through voting for you.
Consider that, and be dismayed, for your world is my whim. Please be aware.