You know what? I'm astounded at the amount of cannibalizing going on right now. I understand that we can't all march in lock-step 100% of the time... why, then we would be Republicans.
Democrats, progressives, all, we are intellectually honest. So - disregarding the Republican trolls on the site causing trouble - why are we fighting over small things. So what if Keith Obermann didn't like President Obama's BP Oil speech - he's one of the best national commentators on the left today. And the right has triple the people with that sort of national platform. So what if we don't get everything we want all the time on every piece of legislation - government works because of some compromise. The Republicans don't compromise - ever - and that brings me to my point.
The President doesn't need a lesson because he wasn't "left" enough. Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi don't deserve to lose control of the Congress because we don't like 100% of their decisions. If the Republicans win the Congress, we are absolutely, completely screwed. And they are so rediculous, they shouldn't even be in a position to win. Really. Read on...
Democrats are demoralized. They aren't motivated to vote. The President is not inspiring the troops. Oh, please. You all are certainly "permitted," and should debate policy on this site. But you have let the nuances of legislative priority turn into a distraction from the most important thing.
The GOP can't win. It's not just a bad idea - it's outright dangerous. Especially now. Especially in this midterm election.
And the killer is that we should be ahead, and if we unify around the idea of beating them - we just might win (or at least stave off the losses).
Why aren't we discussing strategy? I know there are professional strategists who read this site and post to it. So do candidates. And you all - you all complain about Keith Obermann's opinions? He's part of the only hope we have for countering an amazingly effective and strong GOP propaganda machine! What on earth are you all doing.
Here's my suggestion:
We need a unified message on about the GOP that we take virally out on the web. We ALL need to be out there over the next 6 months repeating this. Sure, let's discuss issues - but let's not turn into the same dogmatic brown-shirts the Republicans are.
What's the message? A nationalized one:
The Republicans are...
Idiots who don't know how to govern. Remember 2008?
Liars who will do anything to win, and frequently do.
Crazies who see conspiracies in every corner.
Racists who don't like people who don't look like them (including our President).
Stooges who are owned by the oil companies and other big corporations.
This isn't just powerful messaging. It's all true - and so obvious that the majority of the American public knows it. They just need to be motivated to out-vote the GOP faithful. And the idea that we cannot let 19% of the voters be the ones who determine the majority of the next Congress should be enough to motivate all of us - all of you - to get over your ideology issues, and to be unified enough to beat the GOP in November.
This will require a bit of naturally un-Democratic behavior - easy unity. That's tough to do - but necessary. Because if the Republicans take control of the Congress, the President's agenda will evaporate and we will be in serious trouble (while, I might add, staring the real possibility of a President Romney or President - gulp - Palin square in the face).
As a group, a party, or a movement (you pick) we are in the middle of making a huge mistake, but it's not too late. Politics is not about how righteous you feel - it's about the need to move forward, about good governance, and above all about the rights and needs of ALL of the American people. I implore you all to fix this right now, and not in October when it will be far too late. And thanks for listening.