One way to build enthusiasm would be for the Dems to actually present some legislation worth getting excited about.

I’m not holding my breath though because as you note, the House is cowering in fear while the Senate just seems to go along making Alfred E. Newman appear to be an intellectual giant

I genuinely hope the Democrats win the mid-terms, but the Democrat in chief has run a campaign to kill enthusiasm in the various bases of the Democratic party.

And this time around, we don’t have Howard Dean to help us.

But I’m torn between beliefs: that the Obama administration is arrogant in assuming that the base will be mollified by incrementalism, or that they really want the gridlock of a Republican Congress that would only give Obama the opportunity to vote on more corporate giveaways.

Keep in mind that he and Rahm are all too used to “working with” a Republican majority Senate, and perhaps that’s what they prefer.

Obama would prefer working with Republicans. He could have followed the lead of an FDR and instead found inspiration in Ronald Reagan. A pathetic fraud.

I have more hope when i spend two dollars on powerball. Much more.

That immigration reform put together by Reid, Schumer and Menendez would just about do the trick. Change we can BELIEVE in. Yeah, old joke but really with Ds proposing stuff like this who needs Rs to raise your ire?

The gap tends to looks like a chasm sometimes.

Why I’m anti Dem?

from today’s

http://roadblues-kitty.blogspot.com/

“Poor President Obama. I ‘d like to like the guy, he seems affable enough. Affable? Is that the best we can do? Where’d all that fire go? Where’s the leadership he pretended to? There’s something there I don’t trust. Never have. Agree with Ken Silverstein or whoever it was in Harper’s who said ages ago the guy was Clinton/DLC all over again, or some such. Changed his tune too often during the campaign, along the margins, then entire paragraphs, until he stuck that flag pin in his lapel and it was all over. Me, I voted for the one man who never, ever lied to me. Who for years honored me as a citizen by never assuming I’d prefer a fairy tale to the truth. Yes, I’ll admit it was tempting to vote for the first – half – black president, but I realized that was a kind of hubris in itself, wasn’t it? Thinking we could put the past behind us with one lousy vote after so much damage had been done, the ghettos worse than ever. And choosing Rahm.. well that’s just too big a disappointment to believe. Rahm and half of Wall Street running the show? The foxes aren’t just guarding the henhouse now. Like Hutus, they’ve hacked the hens to pieces and are feasting on barbeque of the remains.”

And then there’s the COURT thang:

“For pity’s sake, the Dems have enough votes to nominate another genuine liberal light to replace Stevens. The ONLY justice who saw clearly in 2000 and was brave enough to cry foul with a loud voice. I wanna know what Kagan’s view of Bush v Gore was. You think anyone will ask her that? Doubt it. Whether she has the legal mettle to impress progressives really hinges on her view of that one decision. Can she see the forest for the trees? THAT is the question. Bush v. Gore is NOT settled law, so it’s fair game for the Judiciary committee. The majority opinion themselves said that decision was NOT to be understood as setting any precedent. (‘Scuse me, folks, but isn’t that your JOB? Your stated Constitutional function?)

I don’t care if Kagan’s fun to play poker with. People voted for Bush cause they thought he’d be fun to drink with. Well, in a nation of people addicted to one thing or another, it’s a no brainer that half of them will vote for a fellow addict. And what will we get? A consensus builder? Please. This is a sellout; The Bland leading The Bland. Obama’s forte.”

gotta say yeah…

I find it hugely entertaining to hear the Democratic operatives explain why they are having such a difficult time scaring up any enthusiasm from their base. Van Hollen thinks its complacency. Others just scold us and tell us how things could be much worse and just what a bunch of babies we are for abandoning ship just because we don’t get EVERYTHING we want. They just cannot understand what a tremendous pile of crap they have laid before us in the past two years and how the accumulated BS has not made us complacent but ANGRY. Let us review. We got a credit card reform without usury limits on interest. We got student loan reform without a reduction in interest rates for students and parents even though the government is taking over the management of the loans. We got a black box instead of transparency at the FED. The War in Afghanistan is escalating out of control and we are not leaving Iraq anytime soon. We have increased military spending. Obama is pushing for a reduction in SSN and Medicare benefits because there is only one alternative to reducing the budget and that would be Defense spending, which is sacrosanct. Obama has opened up offshore drilling across the Gulf and Atlantic oceans, something even Bush dared not do. Obama’s energy strategy appears to be to advance the most toxic sources (coal, oil and nuclear) at the expense of alternative, benign production methods (wind, solar, etc.). Obama has continued the sham of our compromised Justice system where the whistleblowers get prosecuted and the culprits get a bonus. LGBT community gets put off and immigration reform is deep-sixed. And, of course, the banksters just keep diddling around with our retirement accounts and investments without any hint at regulation. I’m going to have to stop, I realized I could go on for perhaps years. Yeah, why can’t you libs just suck it up and shut up and go vote and give the Democrats money. After all, what did you expect, Real Change! What a bunch of morons we libs have become. And what a bunch of morons we would really be to vote for Democrats again. I am angry, not crazy.

Here, Here, love. I’m with you!

My Democratic National Committee survey letter is claiming that President Obama has accomplished a great deal during his first year in office: health care reform bill, saving the economy from ‘collapse’, regulating finance and markets, relief for unemployed, downsizing forces in Iraq, shifting to Afghanistan, and improving U.S.’s “stature” in the world community. Please forgive me for repeating their self-delusions on this thread.

This is like a corporation, which has had a horrible track record and has witnessed recent critical setbacks, touting its corporate mission’s goals in repeatable bites, while denying that the havoc it has wreaked, all in the course of doing regular business, is preventing any progress in this corporation’s field of endeavor. And, because this ‘corporation’ is holding the leading position in its field, it is also preventing any other competitor from changing things for the better.

We can’t go forward because the forward goers positions are all held by corporate hacks who are determined to stay put. Those in a position to end the wars let themselves be corralled and silenced. Those in a position to create HCR let themselves be forced into a corporate health insurance/health industry fluffing bill. Those in a position to restore civil liberties and rule of law have chosen to go along with Obama’s choice to keep Bush unlawful procedures as ‘the new code’. Those in a position to adopt diplomatic alternatives to Bomb, Iran, have chosen aggressive, threatening posturing over positive and peaceful means. The Democratic Party have thoroughly discredited themselves by head-faking on diplomacy, on healthcare reform, on ending wars and on regulating Wall Street and the banks. Our economy has not been saved, our suffering people have not been given jobs and housing help with bad mortgages, our stature to the outside world is the same as it was under Bush, the war mongerer; our civil liberties are still threatened by a security/police state, our country continues to violate international law regarding human rights and the treatment of detainees.

My daughter, a seasoned political organizer, is working on the campaign of an Independent in the Northeast. She won’t do Dems no moe. Find an independent who’s worth their salt (and you know this my querying them fully as well as their record if they have one), and work your heart out to get them elected.

dat’s it in a nutshell.

third party.

phoque dees guys

You left out my big two: Guantanamo (and now we’re finding out about Bagram) and two disappointing SC appointments.

true enough.

but the worsst thing we can do is believe we can’t do anything about it.

think outside the box time, folks

It is unfortunate that the Democrats’ loss will be a Republican gain but at present voting for Democrats amounts to rewarding bad behavior. The tricky part is making them understand WHY they lost. I’m afraid as always they will conclude the problem was simply that they did not spin hard enough.

The Dems are failing, but the Republicans are failing too.

Gallup reports the enthusiasm gap between Republicans and Democrats looking forward to November has shrunk to around ten points. The Republicans were ahead 19 points a month ago.

The “Party of NO” thing doesn’t seem to be working.

Like I said, if ever there was a year for a half decent Independent to win a seat, this is it.

so…. why not find out who the independents are who are running in 08 and throw some support behind them? Has someone done this already? I’ve been napping….

I am angry, not crazy.

Nor lazy. “Enthusiasm gap” gives the impression of boredom. I’m not bored, I’m livid.

Trust me, there is no gap in my enthusiasm, I am actively encouraging everyone I know to get out and vote against the incumbents, whether in primaries or the general, I don’t care. I want them all out.

If they’re not already on the ballot the deadline has probably passed to register in most states.

Right, but my question is “Who are the independents running this year? Where? Who are they? What are they a bout? Should We the Pissed OFf be organizing around them?

info please?? where can I get a list of alll the independents running in the country this early?

After the Supreme Court gave Geo W. Bush the Presidency, we watched for 8 years Bush/Cheney get everything they wanted WITH the help of Dems including Obama. Any Left demonstrations were totally ignored by the media. Now Dem’s are in charge and are still giving the Republican’s what they want while they feign party of NO. The uber right neo nut teabaggers get tons and tons of media attention. The media frames everything as “centrist” while the left leaning media staves off any demonstrations from the left to come out and show their anger. Thus again, being ignored. As Rahm says….we must really be the **tards.

You want their attention? Ignore all of them and get in the streets bigger and stronger than any corporate faux teabag gathering. The Left media wants to tell the left that is upset with Obama, that he held to his pledge by escalating the Afghanistan war. We are the problem for voting for him if we didn’t like that. The other choice was McCain and we know we would be at war with Iran if we chose him. There are no longer any good choices. This is nothing but one party that knows how to manipulate the American people with the help of the left and the right media. They just come at it by different angles.

So, the constant carping and stream of criticism from the left, richly illustrated by the above comments, have nothing to do with the lack of enthusiasm? I am a liberal, I have my disappointments in Obama, but on the whole, given the plate he was handed and the utter intransigency of the Republicans, I think he has done a pretty good job. Bob Cesca did a pretty good job of listing the accomplishments.

Yeah, I hear you. That’s my main concern too.

I’ve been advocating, and still do advocate, that the Dems be held responsible for their actions. But that doesn’t mean that they will take away the correct message. I’ve been trying to help that along by telling my critters staff everytime I call WHY I’m not voting Dem this year. But, one phone call amongst thousands…..

Plain truth is, if we are successful in holding them accountable and sending them a message of “Don’t betray your base anymore” and they choose to learn the wrong lesson, then it’s on us again to decide what’s next.

At that point it seems only a third party would help. I so wish though that we could claim our party back. An awful lot of infrastructure and personnel would already be in place, so it would be so much easier than the third party route.

But I can’t take these Democrats anymore. I’ve come to turning BHO OFF when I hear is voice, exactly like I did with W. NEVER thought I’d say that about a D Prz. Never. But then again, IMO this isn’t a D prez. He’s a true blue Republican from before Republicans turned batshit crazy.

Most of the lists of independents that show up on teh Google are conservative candidates supported by teabaggers.

Here is a link to a Seminal diary that was posted on April 1st. I only skimmed it but it appears there are also links to resources in the comments.

Amen, brother. I’ve been at that point for several months. Can’t bear to look at or listen to our Liar In Chief anymore.

EXACTLY!

Obama would rather run against a do-nothing Congress in 2012. If that Congress is controlled — or constrained — by GOPs, so much the better.

As long as he can escape their promised impeachment (because you know their base will insist on it) Obama would do better in 2012 running against a crazy tea-party driven Congress.

In many states filing deadline for Independent candidates is August 2010, write-ins October (as in Calif,)

I joined the DFA when Howard Dean was there. He worked his butt off and Rahm took all the credit. Howard got kicked in the teeth. I will most probably vote Dem one more time, but after that, if I see any progress for the labor movement, or the actual people with will become an Independent. Have been a Democrat all of my life.

The other choice was McCain and we know we would be at war with Iran if we chose him. There are no longer any good choices???

uh, no, I voted for Ralph, like I have for years. In the words of John Quincy Adams:

“Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost.”

If more people on the left had voted their real conscience, we wouldn’t be in this mess.

Excellent point, he got where he is running against an unpopular Republican president who had Republican majorities for most of his tenure. Odds are his bid would have been unsuccessful had it followed another Dem admin with Dem majorities.

Sorry I meant don’t see any progress, I will switch to Independent.

I don’t doubt for a second that you are right Teddy, but that is probably the most depressing thing I’ve read in awhile.

Who cares about policy? Who cares about the public good? Nope, it’s all about manipulative electioneering to hold onto power for one’s own benefit. Makes me sick. No wonder these chowderheads want to privatize everything in sight. Not one of them believes in public service. Not one. They are all just looking out for how they can enrich themselves. Pathetic.

Ralph supported George W Bush and said as much. What a creep.

I want to see how many republics the tea party crazies take out in the primary season.

I am very motivated; to vote against Barack W.

Thx for nailing it on the head so completely. It is to bad that someone like yourself will never get a chance to speak to the public on national tv. Instead we get the Donna Brazil’s and Lanny Davis’s who are so deep into the democratic party that they cant recognize the truth much less tell it. As much as I wanted to vote for Jennifer Brunner during our primary I have made up my mind that I am not voting for any dems in 2010 and 2012. I cant think of anything the dems cld do that wld fire me up enough to go out and support them. I am a progressive scorned who cant wait to see Obama’s concession speech in 2012.

yayz, you are right about O. These Dems (with a very very sparsely few exception like Dennis) have sold out, not to be rebought my our disapproval. They don’t CARE. Sentimentalism, wishing it weren’t so, waste of time.

Find an independent, work for her or him, get them elected, door to door. WORK. That’s how you giterdone when they have all the money. Just like the Repugs did in the 70s.

This is completely inexplicable to me. I thought their slogan “Almost but not quite as awful as Republicans” would really catch on. It was much better than their “We did nothing with the largest Congressional majorities in decades.” Maybe they can energize voters by reminding them how much they sold out to corporations or made Bush’s wars their own.

That’s why they are the way they are, cause everyone keeps saying “just one more time”. Like dope, just one more, then I’m done.

Coffee time!

Are you insane? That’s out of the realm of human comprehension.

Ralph has always told the truth and was a virulent opponent of Bush’s policies.

First you have to know whether or not the “Independent” is worth supporting. If they are a teabagger or a libertarian wacko vote Green, Socialist, etc..

Didn’t you receive the memo? Dems delivered the biggest improvement in health care delivery since Jesus healed the sick.

Voting AGAINST is not good enough. YOu must, we must, have something to vote FOR. The end of the Republic is when people decide it isn’t worth it any more to work to find better candidates and see that they are elected, despite moneyed interests. It’s not impossible, but takes a lot of hard work.

For those seeking hope in the mutual weakness of both GOP and Democrats in the recent months, remember the Dems are stuck squarely in *the center*, while the GOP is off pandering to its base for the primaries.

Once the primary season is over, all GOP candidates will tack to the center, or at least de-emphasize those issues which have no wider currency in the electorate.

Therefore, the enthusiasm of their right wing base will be decisive: they are willing to overlook the *centrism* of the general election season and still vote, leftists are not.

Again, the two-party hustle is how the Masters of the Universe control we peons, but we knew that, didnt we?

Ergo we used the last few years of Obama to rally for the Constitutional change which is the sine qua non of real change, didnt we?

Well, some did. like J. Hamsher, and Firedoglake, but as long as the main body of the *left* is represented by places such as DailyKos and other Obama worshiping configurations, we all will have to suffer until the system simply collapses.

Then, at the point of collapse, we will only have a chance for reform, the more likely scenario is a millenia of darkness.

Hi, Hugh. Long time no see. Been in hibernation and traveling around the country talkin to folks and blogging. Always nice to hear your ‘voice’.

Ralph remains a very popular scapegoat, despite the fact that Gore actually won in 2000. Doncha know, it was Nader’s one to three percent of the vote that ruined the country, NOT Gore or Kerry’s fecklessness.

Yes, I believe I said that you have to check out WHO they are and WHAT they stand for. Is there really anyone on this page for whom doing that kind of homework in every election isn’t second nature? I would never dream of voting for someone because of their party alone. Never. Learned that lesson the hard way long time ago.

Impeachment would be earned, he loves rendition, murder (drones) and a little torture himself.

He passed on his chance to right the wrongs now it wouldn’t be wrong to take joy in his removal.

smaht cookie heah

YEAH or Bush v Gore for pete’s sake!!

I also attribute Bush v Gore to fecklessness. Gore got out lawyered, SCOTUS should never have been handed the ball and allowed to run out the clock.

And the Roberts court is more conservative than the Rehnquist court. Think about THAT… and it will become increasingly conservative as liberal justices retire and are replaced by “centrist” Obama nominees.

Thanks, the feeling is mutual.

List of Independent candidates running so far in 2010. You have to weed through and find the trueprogressives.

http://www.votesmart.org/election_congress_search.php?type=party&criteria=Other&go322.x=12&go322.y=11

Democrats can expect a lot more Scott Browns and it is by their own doing. When I originally heard the Republicans plan to be the Party of No, I thought they were headed for electoral disaster, but then the Democrats didn’t put forth legislation worth supporting. Obama is probably happy regardless of how the election turns out – he’d probably love it if the Republicans took over Congress so that he can continue to follow the corporatist model while having the Congressional Republicans take the flak, which he’d know all about that game plan from Rahm.

“Impeachment would be earned, he loves rendition, murder (drones) and a little torture himself.”

I think whatever Bush did that he could have been impeached for that Obama has done the same thing. I think Obama knows that and that is why he is all about the “look forward not backward” when it comes to the potential criminal activities of Presidential administrations. It would probably sink our country if it turned out a sitting President actively criminally prosecuted the prior Presidential administration for doing the same things that the sitting President is doing – it would make Watergate look like a minor offense…and it probably would come out as there are inevitable leaks.

Elections between Democrats and Republicans are meaningless. The corporate agenda will advance regardless of the outcome. Red State/Blue State is a game for suckers. It gives the serfs a false sense of participation while keeping them distracted and divided.

You people make me wish McCain would have won.

afterthought: If you want to see the entire system crash it already did.
Let them back in power again and I’m sure they will finish the job the next time.

If you truly believe that it needs to be totally destroyed why don’t you all go and vote for the GOP. The end justifies the mean.

Have at it.

Good analysis Paddy. It’s ironic isn’t it that one of the effects of the MSM ignoring our endless marches on DC these last 10 yrs. is that they won and now all the so called media on the left has accepted defeat and refuses to encourage marchs anymore. This is a defeatist strategy and attitude being put out here by the veal pen. It goes like this Marches are ignored they get us nowhere. Really? Then I guess marches are about getting media attention and not people’s attention? Marches are about solidarity not media hype. If that’s all these people think they’re about it’s obvious they missed the 60′s. Back then the MSM also ignored 90% of the marches, sit ins , take overs u name it but it didn’t stop us and we didn’t have the Internet and cell phones and Facebook, twitter etc. so this whole line of reasoning is bogus and we shouldn’t be accepting it.

The term Centrist and Moderate is code for Corporatist and 90% of Congress fits this description, so yes change is impossible.

Nobody forced him to murder anyone, he’s THE PRESIDENT in charge.

If we follow the present course the country is already sunk.

If I, in my business made promises I didn’t keep I would be charged with theft by deception.

The enthusiasm gap is pretty meaningless. Does anyone really think that Dems wouldn’t rally this fall if all the Republicans running are as crazy as the ones winning primaries?

With Republicans it’s not just about talking tough. They have a deep-seated need to grind their politics into our faces. There is ZERO chance of a low turnout this fall.

Wrong. I’ve been a Dem. for 40 yrs. I’ve worked, given and voted Dem., not this yr. or next or ever again. I hate what the party has become. Wait, you’ll see I’m not alone. The lesser of two evils is not a good sales pitch in this election season.

As far as I’m concerned, these midterm elections are an excellent time to send a strong message to ObamaRahmbo – screw your base and you lose power.

The argument that losing seats in Congress will just allow ObamaRahmbo to move further right on policy misses the point – no matter how far to the right Obama moves, the GOP will simply move even further right. So Obama has little to gain and much to lose by attempting to capture the middle while losing his base ahead of the 2012 elections. By staying home and allowing conservaDems and Blue Dogs to lose their seats, progressives will be sending a very strong message – you have lost your base by pandering to corporate interests, Mr. President; and if you don’t straighten up and fly right, the base will abandon you again in 2012.

And please give to Bill Halter if you can. If that election goes to a runoff, he’s going to need a lot more $$$. Defeating Blanche Lincoln as an object lesson to all the corporate whores in the Senate will also send a strong message to ObamaRahmbo.

Congratulations Blutodog. You are no longer part of the problem. Not an easy decision for a (ex) partisan.

It’s not an enthusiasm gap. It’s the real grassroots base of the Democratic Party giving up on the professional Democratic Party and LEAVING it. Not just for one election. But indefinitely unless it changes.

What’s frustrating for me in Washington State is that our current election system has destroyed grassroots party building and destroyed third party choice. We have this open top two primary now. Everyone gets to vote for anyone in the primary and the top two go on to the general election. Each candidate gets to determine his or her party identification. There are no official party nominees in the primary. The top two vote getters go on to the general election, even if they’re from the same party. No one else gets to be in the general election.

This means that the grassroots just doesn’t have the power in a party election to defeat the incumbent or the party machine choice when there is no party incumbent. A real viable race in this kind of primary between several people threatens to so divide the party vote that the GOP could end up taking the top two. So the party machinery basically picks the candidate before the primary and, more than ever, party members feel they have to fall in line and support the establishment choice. The apolitical folk in the state who don’t care enough to identify with a party or a political ideology got their demand that they get to vote in the primary for whomever they want. Of course they always tend to vote for the one with the best marketing, which is usually limited to one of the two major party machines’ choices. So basically our grassroots work to own and shape our own party is dead.

Then come the general election I will have no freedom to vote for a Green, or a Socialist or an Independent Progressive. They won’t be on the ballot. Only Democrats and Republicans will be on the ballot.

So very well said.

Me, a die-hard Dem for all of my life, registered Dem since the day I turned 21 in 1967, will be campaigning for only one Dem this year: Marcy Winograd in the primary against Jane Harman.

But regardless of which one wins the primary, I’m then voting straight GOP — local, state, national — in the general. At least with the GOP, they stab you from the front. More than I can say about the Dems.

“At least with the GOP, they stab you from the front.”

Exactly.

I am an issues voter, not a party loyalist. I am not impressed with the “we’re not quite as bad as the other guy’ strategy. When you advocate for and pass legislation that advances issues I believe in, you earn my vote. The democrats not only have failed to advance the issues I believe in, they have actively moved in the opposite direction on some issues.

I will not vote against my interests nor will I vote for deceivers who pledge one thing and do another.

Prefer? I doubt it.

He just believes the Right can be shamed into doing the right thing “eventually”. When you think about it, if his plan of “chess” works, maybe, just maybe after another “defeat” as I fully expect in 2010 despite John’s blog post; the GOP might finally be too small to matter at all or be willing to support his agenda.

I think its a complete waste of time, but as you see with the national polls on Arizona’s crazy racial profiling law, this country is largely stupid and racist, so you can’t just beat them over the head with the liberal stick as much as we like him to do so.

That’s why I said in a conversation with I had with my friend is that the United States will get crushed under the weight of its own hypocrisy.

I think turnout will be high for a non-Presidential vote as well.

There is desire for a 3rd party on the Left, not just the Right, but there wasn’t enough time to put something together in time for 2010. But we got the rest of this year and 2011 to put something together.

In the meantime the answer is not to allow the GOP any traction, they won’t get it anyway, the numbers just don’t jive. You can attack Nate Silver on his ideology at times, but his number crunching skills are second to none.

The GOP MIGHT pick up a few seats in the House but we’ll still have controlling interest by a wide margin and we might even kick out a Blue Dog or two despite them rallying around Financial Reform…