Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Fight or Perish

To continue.... Progressives best get mad as hell and not take it anymore. Otherwise 'leaning conservative' will be the new 'very liberal' (actually, it already is. See 'President', 'Health Insurance Bill', 'Everything that's happened since 2008', etc).

Death by a thousand pragmatic and long-view cuts of our own making.

Daley is a reflection, not a cause - Glenn Greenwald - Salon.com:
"Why, angry progressives seem to be asking, would Obama ignore the views of his so-called 'progressive base' while seeking to please those who are his political adversaries?

But it's perfectly rational for Obama to do exactly that. There's a fundamental distinction between progressives and groups that wield actual power in Washington: namely, the latter are willing (by definition) to use their resources and energies to punish politicians who do not accommodate their views, while the former unconditionally support the Democratic Party and their leaders no matter what they do. The groups which Obama cares about pleasing -- Wall Street, corporate interests, conservative Democrats, the establishment media, independent voters -- all have one thing in common: they will support only those politicians who advance their agenda, but will vigorously oppose those who do not. Similarly, the GOP began caring about the Tea Party only once that movement proved it will bring down GOP incumbents even if it means losing a few elections to Democrats."

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That is exactly what progressives will never do. They do the opposite; they proudly announce: we'll probably be angry a lot, and we'll be over here doing a lot complaining, but don't worry: no matter what, when you need us to stay in power (or to acquire it), we're going to be there to give you our full and cheering support. That is the message conveyed over and over again by progressives, no more so than when much of the House Progressive Caucus vowed that they would never, ever support a health care bill that had no robust public option, only to turn around at the end and abandon that vow by dutifully voting for Obama's public-option-free health care bill. That's just a microcosm of what happens in the more general sense: progressives constantly object when their values and priorities are trampled upon, only to make clear that they will not only vote for, but work hard on behalf of and give their money to, the Democratic Party when election time comes around.
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Not funny but sadly true.

A Cartoon—By Mr. Fish (Harper's Magazine)

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Yup.

Exclusive: DoJ veteran sees ‘dangerous precedent’ in letting Bush officials walk | Raw Story:
"Hebert said he believed that in wanting to appear nonpartisan, they instead weakened the Justice Department, sending a consequential message to the American people.

“It’s one thing to want to appear like you’re above the political fray and your cases aren’t motivated by politics,” Hebert pointed out. “But it’s another to not hold people accountable and to not bring justice.”"

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"Hebert said he believed that in wanting to appear nonpartisan, they instead weakened the Justice Department, sending a consequential message to the American people.

“It’s one thing to want to appear like you’re above the political fray and your cases aren’t motivated by politics,” Hebert pointed out. “But it’s another to not hold people accountable and to not bring justice.”"
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What Atrios says:

Eschaton:
"LEAVE RICH CRIMINALS ALOOOOONE

I'm sure the Very Serious People response to anti-rich people leaks to wikileaks will be the same as their response to leaks embarrassing powerful people in governments. It's just wrong to hold powerful people accountable for anything.

Look forward people!"
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Let the teabaggers deal with it so we can watch their heads explode trying to figure out which one is baby jeebus:

Earth must prepare for close encounter with aliens, say scientists | Science | guardian.co.uk

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2 comments:

davyproctorboy said...

Hebert absolutely....

AAW said...

absolutely, davy. Abso-damn-lutely.