Thursday: Sit it out or mess with the DNC’s head?

I know what I choose.

Let me just say that to me, the path forward is clear: support true, progressive downticket Democrats.  You really can’t go wrong if you do that.  No matter who ends up in power, both the idiots in charge (Pelosi, Reid)) and the White House would have to deal with a more liberal, more partisan Congress.  If you think McCain/Palin are going to strip you of your right to choose, having more Linda Stenders in Congress would be a very good thing for you.  If you are onboard for universal heathcare, you will like Ed O’Reilly in the Senate.

Does it ultimately matter who is at the top of the ticket?  Well, I’m not going to go as far as Anglachel and tell you that the Republicans this year are evil incarnate.  No matter what you think of Republicans, this crop of them are not like the Bushies.  I don’t care what Anglachel says, McCain isn’t *that* bad.  Yes, we disagree on a lot of things and John McCain is not a moderate.  But he will bring some unexpected changes to the executive branch, of that I have no doubt.   That’s not an endorsement. But if we let it happen on purpose, we’re not all going to die, die, die!  I have no doubt that McCain can handle a crisis, calmly, cooly.

We knew that the Democrats screwed up again and Sarah Palin made us realize just how much material the Republicans have to work with.  The sarcasm and ridicule directed last night at our side was well deserved.  The progressive blogosphere 1.0 (PB 1.0) has lost all perspective.  Jeralyn Merrit at talkleft is spinning furiously to make Palin look bad.  Josh Marshall is Palin 24/7.  Kos is allowing the lunatics to run the asylum.  To them, there is nothing worse than a Republican.  (Or is that, nothing worse than a woman vying getting in the way of some man’s ambition?  Faux-feminism raises its ugly head)  PB1.0 is attempting to dehumanize these people just as the Republicans made an artform of dehumanizing them.  But who is the audience for these attacks?  Other Obamaphiles?  Such efforts would be wasted on them.  They’re already onboard.  So, one can only assume they are intended for us.  But we’ve been watching the generation of propaganda and oppo research from the other side for years now.  The reason we held out for Hillary for so long is because we are rather impervious to perception managment and manipulation.  What makes PB 1.0 think we’re going to suddenly check our brains at the door and fall for this stuff now?

I know!  How about treating us like sentient beings instead of brainless harpies with vaginas.  What a novel concept.  That way, PB 1.0 could stop writing ridiculous diatribes about Palin that only serve to discredit themselves in our eyes.  Instead, they could start writing the post-election circular firing squad diaries they’re all famous for whenever the Democrats lose.  No time like the present.

McCain gives his speech tonight and throughout this convention, we have seen a slow build up to winning us over.  The memes are clear: Palin is a “breath of fresh air”; McCain is a maverick who goes his own way.  We have a glimpse of how they are going to pull us to them in Fred Thompson’s speech.  He praised John McCain for his rebelliousness, independence.  He’s a regular James Dean.  That was aimed at US, guys.  Republicans in general don’t like rebels.  That’s why we call them conservatives and why McCain had such a devil of a time winning them over.  The only reason they’re pushing the rebellion theme is to snag us away from the Dems.

Expect to hear more mockery tonight, maybe even from McCain himself, though he will probably take more of a high road than Palin did.  Will the issue of the delegate count come up?  How Hillary was screwed by her own party?  Hypocrisy from the hypocrits?  Be on your guard because it will look very convincing and Republicans are masters at playing on your emotions.  But like I said, the Democrats have given them plenty of material to work with.

Don’t make up your mind yet.  There’s a lot of sucking up both parties have to do between now and November 4.  You’ve got a lot of power.  Put it to good use, give the Democrats fits.  Work for Ed O’Reilly and put Kerry out of our misery.  It’s a great short term goal that will have the DNC scared silly.  Bwahahahahahahahhhhhh!

Strike a blow against the DNC: Support Ed O’Reilly in MA

Robert B asked me in the last thread what we should be doing as Democrats this fall.  There are two things to think about here.  1.) How do we let the DNC know that we mean business and 2.) How do we make sure that progressives maintain power and influence?

Here’s my answer:The parties have put us between a rock and a hard place. It is my personal opinion that John McCain is going to win. He sewed it up when he picked Palin and solidified his evangelical base. I don’t consider myself to be any authority figure but here’s my best shot at delivering guidance: Support downticket Democrats, except for the high profile idiots who sold us out. That is, find a downticket Dem who would be a new face in Congress and work your ass off for that person. Support all of the Dems in fact except for people like John Kerry. For the September 16 primary in Massachusetts, pull out all of the stops for Ed O’Reilly. Even if Ed doesn’t win, we want a showing that will give Kerry the willies. If you protect your numbers in Congress, and they will need extra help now that the evangelical base is mobilized, you will increase the number of progressives to the point where McCain/Palin will have to negotiate and can’t ram anything through.
Then, when you are confident that you’ve done everything you can to promote a solidly blue Congress, vote your conscience for the top of the ticket. If you don’t like the concept of two Republican parties in the country, make sure that one party incarnation doesn’t survive election day. (and by that I mean the party, not individuals)
Savvy?

If you haven’t had a chance, read this post by Anglachel that lays out the repercussions of a Palin VP nomination.  Whoever selected her did it with pinpoint accuracy.  Now, not only is the top of the ticket in flux, there are dozens of downticket Dems who may become collateral damage.  Man-o-man, the Dean Democrats really screwed the pooch when they staked everything on Obama.  They shouldn’t be allowed to practice politics without a license.

So, if you want to send a message to the DNC, a taste of things to come in November, send money and support to Ed O’Reilly in Massachusetts who is hoping to upset John Kerry in the primary coming up on Sept.16.  Think of him as the Ned Lamont of 2008.  Lamont’s primary run changed the narrative on the Iraq War and helped us take control of congress in 2008.  We *can* do this.  I wouldn’t be surprised if the voters of Massachusetts are ready to start yet another revolution.  Let’s give them a hand.

Update:  If you are interested in helping other Democratic candidates, here are some who need it:

Red to Blue Congressional races.

Actblue Page for Current Members of Congress who are on the frontlines.

Here is the congressional races map:

In the Senate:

Check out the map of the races here.