any ideas? i am fresh out
August 15, 2007 by Betmo
i know that i have been remiss in posting. i have been taking a step back because of a variety of reasons- not the least being i hate summer 
but, as summer winds down- i guess i should get back into the fray. i don’t know what all of the answers are to the mess we are in. the blame has already been laid squarely on our own shoulders for being so hands off for so many years- relying on the people who we had elected and trusted to look out for our well being. yeah. see where that got us. so- here we are. what do we do now? damned if i know.
my friend and i were talking about the sad state of affairs- and activism. she is of the mind that it is essentially useless- folks spinning their wheels and being distracted while rome burns- so to speak. i agree to a certain extent. if all we do is foment, then yes, it is useless. but i think many of us agree on that point. the bigger point that we went on to talk about was the outmoded way we all think. we rely on what has worked in the past- not thinking of how to do things now. i think that we are at a point where we are realizing this- and want to move forward. perfect time for progressives to step forward and take the helm.
but- there’s that pesky thing called ‘the masses.’ the masses don’t move as quickly as a few. obviously. otherwise it wouldn’t have taken america as a whole 7 years and counting to be fed up with the boy wonder who has tried really hard to destroy an entire planet. so- onward and upward. i think that at the very least we have a sense of solidarity. now what are we going to do about it? how can we put it to the best use? if we don’t use the momentum, we’ll stall.
my thoughts are leading towards voting straight democratic in 2008. now, bz- don’t get your panties in a wad it is the best shot we have of saving the judicial branch- and consequently, our country. the right is talking about keeping the federal court system “conservative” for 2 generations. i want desperately to change our election system but we don’t have the time or the resources to do it this time around. i am less than impressed with the current crop of democrats- as a whole- but i am again looking at them as a braking system- not as a hope.
look at what 2 years will have bought us- baby steps for sure- but if we can lengthen our majority in congress and elect a democratic president- we will buy ourselves some time to do some much needed work overhauling our electoral system- and quite frankly- our infrastructure- not to mention renewing diplomatic ties. the economy is tanking folks. we can’t put our heads in the sand or rest on ideals- we have to be pragmatic and get ready to hunker down. we have a country that is in as bad a shape as the gulf coast region- and we need to put our gloves on and and get ready to get dirty. it isn’t going to be pretty- and we are going to have to sacrifice- but we have to do what we have to do. which is?
cross posted at life’s journey
tags:infrastructure, common sense, solidarity, progressive ideas
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I have been protesting and marching since shortly after the Iraq War started. I find it very exhilarating to be in a group of thousands who feel the same way I do about the state of our country.
The protests and marches are getting larger each time I go to one. People or the masses if you will, are getting to the breaking point with BushCo. This war is different than Vietnam in the fact that there isn’t a draft. The draft brought both young and old together in ‘those’ days.
As far as voting straight Democratic..I will not be joining you. I find the majority of the Dem’s are pandering fools who have no wish to make things better for the average Joe and Jill Public. I view them as bascially Republican-light and I can not in good conscience vote for someone in that mold. The DLC and the Blue Dogs are who I put firmly in the Repub-lite group. Then we have powermongers like Pelosi and Reid. I have never liked Reid or his politics..good thing I don’t live in NV
I will vote green or for one of my cats instead of voting for someone I think panders to us the people and really could give two shits about us. I am tired of the status quo and frankly see very little difference between the two parties and the people that run them. I say its time to vote all the bastids out who voted for the last bill prior to their recess. The Protect America Bill or whatever the hell they called it.
i know dusty- but i am more concerned about the supreme court and the federal judiciary right now. if we let rethugs take any seats or the presidency because we split votes- what’s the point of all of the protesting? the only person of integrity running for president is kucinich. i have regard for leahy, feingold, and waxman- but we have to give them something to work with. the masses will not think things out. they are going to vote with their anger- and vote dem.
I will be voting with anger, frustation,sweat, and tears, and angst and pain. In California I went to vote in 2004 and I found out that my Vote in 2000 was NEVER counted- it vanished- not just my vote- MY WHOLE street where I had lived in Washington State- except for my husband…his was the only GORE vote found.And that there were 1000’s more being tracked….as missing. I am writing a post about it ( spurred on by 2 posts this week about WHY Vote- and why gays vote- I am inspired and pissed enough to finally tell this tale-look for it tomorrow- here). I will vote DEM for the same reasons you sited above Betmo….and not because I love them anymore- or even really trust them. Please do go to TPM Muckraker today- there is a very interesting letter that MrLeahy sent Bush….today.That letter gave me some hope….
It isn’t a coincidence that the Dem’s rating is lower than The Shrubs at this point in time. The Dem’s have done nothing they said they would..and did plenty we never dreamed they would.
I can not vote for anyone but those I trust or believe in now. I refuse to go along and vote the straight Dem tix for that reason. I will vote for Dennis Kucinich most likely. I trust him and Feingold as true progressives..the rest..not so much.
I fear that the Dem’s little plan will backfire on their asses come election time. The avg voter will remember how he or she voted for change in Nov 06 and got the same shit just a different party.
I look forward to your post tomorrow E4E
well sadly I sat here nodding away at what you wrote Dusty…sad that Everything you said is soooooo true…
Its all up in the air at this point..but the Demo’s aint smelling like a bunch of roses at this point.
The oldest members of SCOTUS are the moderate and liberals. They want to retire but they won’t if the Repubes keep the white house.
Bush has already stacked most of the federal judgeships..we can only do so much..and speaking of judges..DiFi voted yes for a real bigot and woman hating judge from the south..I despise that Senator for many reasons..sorry but I do.
you don’t have to apologize Dusty- the ones that should be apologizing are the DEMS….to ALL of US…
I want to vote green ~ for the first time in my life, except i fear exactly what Bemo describes. I am leaning straight demo..even the H. , because of the repub’s justice right leaning two generation scheme.
All I am saying Sagefever is that we as progressives, could all vote Dem, and the assholes could still lose..because the rest of the U.S. is pissed that they did NOTHING they said they would w/regard to the war in Iraq or wiretapping Americans.