Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Tick tock motherfuckers!

Come on, media. you have one job. start doing it.

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

Conservatism: there are people the law protects but does not bind and others who the law binds but does not protect.

We will not go quietly into the night; we will not vanish without a fight.

There is no compromise when it comes to body autonomy. You either have it or you do not.

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

I’m starting to think Jesus may have made a mistake saving people with no questions asked.

Polls are now a reliable indicator of what corporate Republicans want us to think.

Fear or fury? The choice is ours.

Democracy cannot function without a free press.

An almost top 10,000 blog!

You cannot love your country only when you win.

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

The lights are all blinking red.

This country desperately needs a functioning fourth estate.

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

Jesus watching the most hateful people claiming to be his followers

I desperately hope that, yet again, i am wrong.

America is going up in flames. The NYTimes fawns over MAGA celebrities. No longer a real newspaper.

The desire to stay informed is directly at odds with the need to not be constantly enraged.

The fundamental promise of conservatism all over the world is a return to an idealized past that never existed.

Every decision we make has lots of baggage with it, known or unknown.

You are here: Home / Elections / Election 2010 / Why the Hell Are You Just Sitting There?

Reader Interactions

128Comments

  3. 3.

    KG

    just flipped over to MSNBC to see a bit of Paladino’s victory speech.

    um…

    wtf?

    How do you not have a victory speech written? And is using the phrase “people’s revolution” really a good idea?

  6. 6.

    morzer

    One bit of nice news:

    Ann McLane Kuster has beaten Joe Lieberman’s presidential campaign co-chair Katrina Swett in tonight’s New Hampshire congressional primary (NH-02).

    Sounds like a step in the right direction to me.

  8. 8.

    Amanda in the South Bay

    Yeah, I’m dirt poor and spend all my extra money helping friends who are even dirtier poorer than me, but I’m pretty excited for this fall; things just got better for the Dems tonight, and I’m willing to bet dollars to doughnuts that NH and Del will put some serious dents in whatthefuckever GOP momentum there was.

  9. 9.

    sfinny

    Last night I went to my local OFA meeting and volunteered for phone banking. Now I am not really a people person so this is a bit of a stretch for me, but I needed to do something more than yell at my computer and try and explain the filibuster to my cat. Will be signing up for canvassing and voter registration as well.

    Oh, and mention of Boehner got a big boo! at the meeting which was kinda funny. Met some nice people, also, too.

  11. 11.

    schooner

    OT

    Tom Levensen’s site has a great little precis of Q & A/speech by Andrew Bacevich. Well worth a look.

  12. 12.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    just kicked in $99, $11 per candidate.

    Tony Blair on TDS. He’s okay with the protesters pointing out his role in the deaths of hundreds of thousands and the destabilization of a volatile area, because the book is selling well. It was a joke.

    And now he’s essentially calling for invasion of Iran.

    I hate this animated garden gnome.

  14. 14.

    fasteddie9318

    @KG:

    And is using the phrase “people’s revolution” really a good idea?

    To be fair, his second choice was “who wants to see my collection of woman-on-horse porn?”

  15. 15.

    sfinny

    @Allison W.: I get that, but they are the ones organizing for my local house rep and Gillibrand, and their office is less than a mile from my home. That kind of convenience really gives me no excuse.

  18. 18.

    General Stuck

    @lol: Yup, the name of the game now is shaking dem voters off their couches to go vote. That is 90 percent or so of the game in mid terms. OFA is where my money will go, all the rest of the electioneering pales to GOTV, feets on the ground.

  19. 19.

    Emily L. Hauser/ellaesther

    Having just said in the other thread that I’m pretty dang sure that all this means is that the GOP will fail fairly spectacularly (or: fail enough) — I don’t think that means I need to get complacent. Aside from anything else, if I can help move that failure from the “enough” to the “spectacular” column, so much the better!

    Good on ya, John. I’ll chip in $50.

  21. 21.

    williamc

    Been moving recently and doing some campaign coordination off-site, but I have been dreading the mid-terms for no real reason; most of the potential voters that I talk with on any given day aren’t sure about voting for Republicans, even here in GA, and the ones that would even think about it are lost causes (I always know they are lost because they usually include some version of the phrase “if only we could lock the far right and the far left up somewhere…”, which is where I attack with the “how many far left proposals from an actual sitting lawmaker have you heard about recently that were being seriously argued as a matter of public policy?” Its usually a head-scratcher, and then I ask “how about the far right now?” followed by silence, and then I say, “you don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about, so why did you say anything to start with? you want to vote for the Republicans for some reason, its plain to see, so just do it and leave the bullshit to the bullshitters”).

    The bullshitters have won tonight, and now its time to get into gear, start pointing out how fucking nuts all these loons are, and stop whining about how we’re going to loose because our guys are pussies. I’ll take a weenie over a crazy any day, and our country can’t survive another weenie roast, death-by-a-thousand-investigations Republican Congress.

  23. 23.

    Cain

    @Allison W.:

    unfortunately, some people don’t want to associate with OFA. I’m not one of them, just sayin’

    How come? I don’t really read their stuff. But I’m ready to hook up and help. I actually need to start working on the local politics.

    We seem to have a serious challenger in Dud(ley) here in Oregon. He doesn’t have much experience, and he’s kind of dull but I think Republicans could go for him. We will need to seriously help Kitzhaber out in the race for Governor.

    Everybody else is pretty safe. We have some awesome people working for us at the national level. I’m really pleased with how I’m being represented.

    cain

  24. 24.

    denverjeninpdx

    Well, John, I am an unemployed, recent college graduate. There are a lot of us right now. But I contributed what I could. Glad to do it through the BJ community. You all keep me sane through a lot of really trying times. Thank you. And thank you teabaggers! If there is one way us dems can hold onto congress it is through the dedication of you demented twits. Keep it up! On my way to OFA tomorrow.

  26. 26.

    Martin

    @Oscar Leroy:

    Which is it: do people like me matter, or don’t we?

    I don’t know. Are you helping or complaining? The only way to get people like Warren is to elect politicians who will confirm them. Stamping your foot because she’s not already in the office isn’t going to help get her in the office.

  27. 27.

    lol

    @Allison W.:

    It’s called professional jealousy.

    Obama built a movement; the Professional Left built an ATM. And then they complain that they get treated like one.

    Notice how over at the GOS, it’s all about fundraising for a millionaire self-funder with little accomplishments to his name beyond some YouTube videos while they’ve rediculed OFA’s work at actual field work?

    When was the last time they implored people to knock doors or make phone calls? I guess they’re too busy promoting Markos’ new book to bother.

  28. 28.

    jhh

    Another good thing about crazy ass wingers winning GOP primaries is that it helps build Dem contributions almost as much as Sarah Palin. And John–pls add Paul Hodes, the serving NH Congressman running for Senate against LaMontagne. BTW, one nice thing about this race is that both Hodes and LaMontagne (and I think their families) are bilingual English-French. Like my wife, kids, and me.

  29. 29.

    Martin

    FWIW, knocking on doors and phonebanking is going to help Dems a LOT more than paying for ads. If you don’t have the funds, don’t stretch it – donate your time instead. People at the door is what drives turnout, not ads.

  32. 32.

    Martin

    @lol: All the organizers left. Elise was the queen of phonebanking and she checked out when half the place went insane. Not sure where they all went, but the GOS folks did a LOT of work for Obama and other candidates during the campaign. No more. No real effort to organize any longer. My hope is that they’re still out there working, they’re just not visible on the blogs.

  36. 36.

    CaseyL

    OK, I kicked in some cash.

    I have a lifelong habit of stressing out what seem to be even slam dunk elections, and am not about to do a happy dance over the teabagger primary victories. All I can think of right now is that they might actually win in November. If that happens, all the laughs will definitely be funereal.

  37. 37.

    Allison W.

    @lol:

    It’s called professional jealousy.

    Obama built a movement; the Professional Left built an ATM. And then they complain that they get treated like one.

    Notice how over at the GOS, it’s all about fundraising for a millionaire self-funder with little accomplishments to his name beyond some YouTube videos while they’ve rediculed OFA’s work at actual field work?

    When was the last time they implored people to knock doors or make phone calls? I guess they’re too busy promoting Markos’ new book to bother.

    Everything you just wrote ran through my mind tonight. Everything.

  38. 38.

    Martin

    Lamontagne has been steadily losing ground. Only up by 2 points now. We might have to settle for a half-crazy evening.

  40. 40.

    Gina

    I can’t wait til Paladino elaborates on his work camp proposal for anyone receiving welfare or unemployment payments. Wonder if he’ll include WIC and food stamp recipients in that. Dignity Corps!

  42. 42.

    DougJ

    @Martin:

    Nate Silver says that’s because her hometown just came in — Nashua. The big OL lead was because of Manchester, where has the edge.

  43. 43.

    John Cole

    Which is it: do people like me matter, or don’t we?

    https://balloon-juice.com/2010/09/14/warren-in/

    Good god, you insufferable firebaggers never stop, do you? You’re trying to push me into putting a straw into a Laphroiag bottle, aren’t you?

    IT ISN’T ABOUT YOU. IT ISN’T ABOUT YOUR FEELINGS. It isn’t about your pet issues. The grand total of the membership for people who care about all your specific pet issues is one. It’s you.

    This is about the direction of the country. Every single one of us can list multiple ways in which Obama, the Democrats, and the media have let us down, but still, until you progressives with all the answers start changing the minds of the electorate at large and Dennis Kucinich wins precisely ONE goddamned primary, you are stuck with what you have with the Democrats.

    Speaking as someone who, believe it or not, is now, other than the Department of Peace, is probably to the left of Kucinich on some issues (abortion for sure) or right there with him, it sucks. But until you all can field candidates we can rally behind, and trust me, we would, shut the fuck up about your god damned feelings and whether you count. We’re at a crossroads. I’d personally light a paperbag of dogshit on my own candidates (Mike Oliverio) porch every single night if I could, I think he is that bad, but I am going to suck it up and vote for him because Republican control is worse.

    If you think it couldn’t get worse and we should just wait for the revolution of the proletariat, fine. Whatever. Just shut the fuck up and find another blog. Otherwise, do what you can to elect the less bad option in a two party system.

    And if you really need self-fucking-validation all day long, get a god damned dog. I have two of them, and not a minute of my day goes by without me being reminded how awesome I am and how it would be great if we went for a walk and sniffed and pottied and played with a ball.

    Dean scream imminent.

  45. 45.

    Mike in NC

    So maybe the GOP tsunami the media have been crowing about for months will shape up to be more of a wet fart? Let’s first ask very serious people like Chris Matthews what they think…

  47. 47.

    mr. whipple

    @lol:

    Obama built a movement; the Professional Left built an ATM. And then they complain that they get treated like one.

    The funny thing is that just a few years ago they were pimping for more Democrats, evidently thinking that the blue dogs they were raising money for wouldn’t be so blue once they got elected.

    Now we are supposed to believe they are shocked, shocked I say, that they are as blue doggy as could be expected. Either they are fools or incredibly naive.

  49. 49.

    CaseyL

    This is one night I’m kinda interested in seeing Matthews tonight. His take will be the one the Villagers use to frame the election.

    So far he’s blathering about anti-incumbency anger. Not a word about about extremism. It’s all Establishment v. anti-Establishment. That means the MSM will be discussing November’s elections in terms of fresh, angry upstarts taking on sclerotic dinosaurs, with little notice of how completely insane the “fresh angry upstarts” are.

  51. 51.

    Mark S.

    I’m not sure we can hold the House, but we sure as hell are gonna hold the fucking House of Lords now!

    And it might not be the end of the world if we lost the House. I’m think maximum exposure of Boner, Cantor, and the rest of those idiots will help us in 2012.

  52. 52.

    Violet

    I just got home from a dinner out with some friends to find this hilarious collections of posts. So the teabaggers take the night? Crazy.

    I’m not donating tonight because I’m tired and need to look at my finances before I do so. But will donate to the Act Blue page tomorrow.

  55. 55.

    transneptunian object

    The thing to remember about GOS and activism is that Markos is first a businessman, not an activist. And I don’t say that as an insult, I actually admire the way he has built his business while funding some activism. He has truly made something of himself and I would congratulate him if we bumped into each other (we live in the same town, so it’s not out of the question).

    I just fear that the way to keep the business going and those sweet full-browser ads coming is to ratchet up the poutrage factor. Keep those eyeballs coming back to the site.

    While I’m in a +4 predicting mood, I’ll say unto you that you’ll see diminishing hit counts on GOS this election season.

  56. 56.

    Martin

    @CaseyL: But I think he’s mostly right on that point. Let’s face it, you don’t get many rational non-establishment candidates going up against the party-backed folks. Only the really bonkers folks are willing to stick it out.

    But I think that the GOP worked double-time for this outcome expecting they could play the role of anti-establishment, but the voters hate them even more than the Dems. If you think the Senate is truly fucked by design, it’s not irrational to toss a bunch of folks in the mix that will force the old-timers to suck it up and fix the place. They don’t expect O’Connell to accomplish anything, they expect her to scare the the other 99 senators back to actual governance. It’s stupid, but not crazy.

    It sure as fuck is no way to build long-term support for a party, however. If the Dems had half a brain, TONIGHT they’d be securing 50 votes to return the filibuster to a rare and hard earned tactic. If they can do that and thereby retain an effective majority (50 votes) they could get something real done for 2012.

  59. 59.

    maryQ

    A commenter on neoneocon (I know, I just can’t help myself) says:

    “Do we really need the same old tired professional politicians?

    I don’t know if O’Donnell can win, but I’m not from Delaware; let them decide if she is the candidate they feel can best represent them.

    Who knows, maybe we’ll get a few independently-minded legislators who are beholding to the people and to no one else. Perhaps the Delaware Republicans feel they have that in O’Donnell.

    We don’t need a GOP landslide, all we need is a few good Republicans and a House capable of issuing subpoenas.

    I’m pretty sure we’ll get that.”

    Vote, y’all. Tell your friends.

  64. 64.

    beltane

    @lamh32: Meh. Halperin admires the “patriotism and activism” of the teabaggers while chastising Republican insiders for being afraid to criticize them. If he is so concerned, why doesn’t he set an example by criticizing them himself?

    I think the Villagers are a little afraid at this point. Mike Castle was their type of Republican.

  65. 65.

    sfinny

    @Allison W.: Guess that whole coup thing didn’t work out to well. Good riddance indeed.

    I only had three votes this morning (new optical scanning machine worked well, although privacy was dearly lacking) but so far I’m two out of three. Still waiting for the AG results as I’ve seen contradictory reporting.

  67. 67.

    Comrade Luke

    @lamh32:

    The activism and patriotism of the Tea Partiers are admirable,

    No, I don’t agree with this at all.

    ETA: I also don’t agree with the premise that the Republicans will be regretting the decision to back (or at least not push back against) the tea party. Anything that puts Republicans in power is fine by them, by whatever means necessary.

  70. 70.

    Little Boots

    The firebaggers are annoying. But right now it’s the whole damn party that refuses to get a clue. Smack em with teh clue by four, John.

  72. 72.

    ronathan richardson

    Yep I’m in. There’s a way that the dems keep their seats this fall, and it’s by letting the “National” vs “Grassroots” GOP rift tear them in half. It’s a story the media loves and people identify with. The problem is that the hatred of national politicians right now is so high, we might just get an entire teabagger takeover.

  73. 73.

    Martin

    @Comrade Luke: Yeah, the ‘patriotism’ line just shows that Halperin is too afraid to call out the tea party as well. The Tea Party is nationalistic, not patriotic. I refuse to accept that he’s too stupid to recognize that distinction.

  74. 74.

    Bob Loblaw

    @John Cole:

    Here’s the central problem, though, as I see it.

    “Give me the next ten words.”

    I was just watching some of the better West Wing episodes on megavideo the last few days. And that sentence struck me.

    I don’t know what the Democratic agenda is anymore. I don’t know what it is they intend to do in 2011 and 2012. I know what they’ve done. And even that was like pulling teeth.

    This whole election has been centered on the past, and not the future. When Obama compares his body of work to getting a car out a ditch, he’s mostly accurate (excluding his military and security policies). But the car isn’t running. Nor do we have any idea on which direction down the road the leadership intends to drive.

    Unemployment is ridiculously high, and hysteresis will set in shortly, permanently destroying the opportunities of advancement for entire generations of Americans. This country can still grow without improving the viability and health of the middle class, and at the moment it’s barely even growing to begin with. The two remain untracked. Our planet is not-so-slowly boiling all around us, and fifty one senators may be ready to obliterate the last pathetic environmental enforcement mechanism this country has to offer. Every international body of note remains completely dysfunctional, and American standing remains at a low water mark thanks to our role in the financial crisis and Iraq. More Americans have died in Afghanistan since Obama’s escalations than they did in the entire seven years of conflict under Bush, and security has never been worse nationwide (keyword nationwide, by extent of the Taliban’s presence).

    And none of that’s talked about. By anyone. Instead we talk about tax cuts. Endless tax cuts. The prescription for every ailment. How to name them, how to vote for them, when to vote for them. That isn’t good enough. This country still has a list of problems running from here to Timbuktu, and all we hear from Democrats is a plan to cut their electoral losses, lick their wounds, and wait for 2012, when they’ll have their new message for America’s future. Give me the next ten words, now, not two years from now.

    It’s hard to run against a broken process when your solution is Ben Nelson.

  75. 75.

    Hal

    I caught a piece of Paladino’s victory speech. For a second when he started I thought we were in for another Jan Brewer.

    What I thought was odd, was that the biggest applause was his promise to cut 20 billion from medicaid. Um, isn’t that going to impact the ability of the poor to receive healthcare, or maybe that’s why it was so popular?

    He also says he wants to stop all that darn regulation on business and cut business taxes, both of which will miraculously create jobs.

    Great job NY. A multi-millionaire who spent 10 million of his own money, who his NYS biggest Government landlord, is going to speak for the little people.

  76. 76.

    uila

    Ironically, Original Teabagger (OT) Doug Hoffman lost his primary bid in NY-23 tonight. So back to the Constitution Party I presume? I’ll chalk that one up as a Dem hold.

  77. 77.

    Martin

    Oh God, this is going to be like Hanukkah. TPM is now rolling out videos of O’Donnell on Politically Correct.

  80. 80.

    hamletta

    I’m broke too, but I’m dying to get out and canvass, if only because I’ve gained a few pounds, and walkin’ the precincts is good for one’s girlish figure. (When I say I worked my ass off for that schmuck Harold Ford, I am speaking literally.)

    But I’d like to have a partner this time. I’ve always been the cheese stands alone.

    Tennessee is doomed this cycle, I think. I feel I could be more useful in Kentucky, working for Jack Conway.

    Anyway, canvassing is fun! You collect tons of stories!

  81. 81.

    lamh32

    @beltane: @Comrade Luke:

    I don’t agree with halperin’s admiration of the tea party at all, but I agree with the gist of what he seems IMHO to be saying that the GOP Establishment had any number of chances to at least try to get some type of control the Tea party phenom. They went all in with their obstruction strategy for the short term gain, but didn’t realize or more than likely didn’t care, that they were boxing themselves in a corner in the long-term. And they used the anger and extreme motivation the the bagger had to get where they are now.

    How on one hand do you say that Obama is evil, working with Dem are evil, and working with Obama was bad for the country, and not expect that teabaggers might take that to mean, that any gop who even remotely seems to be working with admin are also bad for the country and will vote accordingly.

    the tiger is out of the bag at this point, and there is no putting him back in for GOP

  83. 83.

    Martin

    @Bob Loblaw: You answer your question in the last sentence, yet fail to acknowledge it. Your problem isn’t the Dems. The Senate proves the statement that a chain is only as strong as the weakest link, and Nelson is that link. He’s the 59th (and unfortunately necessary) vote. Dems still need to add one of the Maine GOPers, or Brown, or Voinovich, etc to pass anything.

    Your issue isn’t with the Dems. It’s not with Obama. It’s with the necessity of having to deal with the filibuster. You seem to think that the Dems can shame the GOP, or lead a popular uprising against them, or bypass the rules or something. They can’t. We’re talking about tax cuts because tax cuts will get a GOP defector. It’ll cause *something* useful to get passed, and having the Dems as the promoters of fair taxation isn’t an unfavorable long-term (or even short term) tactic.

    You blame the Dems that passed the public option in the House. That passed a climate bill in June 2009. They passed strong financial reform. If they were responsible for confirming candidates, Warren would have been heading the agency months ago. It’s not Dems at large – sure Nelson has held things up, but even he’s not killing most legislation. There’s 50 votes in the Senate for every single thing the House has passed. The problem is 100% the GOP and their use of the filibuster.

  84. 84.

    lamh32

    @Martin:

    I think Halperin does recognize the distinction, but he love his “role” on MSNBC as some big MSM meme machine, so he won’t say that the baggers are bat-shit crazy.

  85. 85.

    That's Master of Accountancy to You, Pal (JMN)

    @Martin:

    FWIW, knocking on doors and phonebanking is going to help Dems a LOT more than paying for ads. If you don’t have the funds, don’t stretch it – donate your time instead. People at the door is what drives turnout, not ads.

    I’d like to help, but I simply can’t phone bank. I have a fear of the telephone (even calling my parents can be hard to do sometimes), and cold calling strangers is the worst. I can’t do it. Going and knocking on people’s doors is worse.

    I try to volunteer every two years for political campaigns. I tell them up front what I can’t do. They all say that they’re happy to have me, and they’ll find a way to put me to work. And then they never call me back. Never.

    If they won’t use me, I can’t help.

  87. 87.

    beltane

    @lamh32: The country is in desperate need of “centrist” media people like Halperin to come out and call the teabaggers batshit crazy. The media’s complicity in this respect is a big part of the problem.

  88. 88.

    asiangrrlMN

    @John Cole: You are on fire, Cole. This is spot-on. I have come to realize that I am ideologically to the left of many, but that I want something rather than nothing (while holding out for everything). Yes, it feels good to be pure and bitch all the time about what should be done, but shit needs to get done now.

    Me, I’m going to sign up for Dayton’s campaign. His opponent, Emmer, is a bigger fuckhead and idiot than is Pawlenty. I would vote for Pawlenty in a heartbeat over Emmer–and that’s saying a lot because I think Pawlenty is evil. Thanks for the kick in the pants, Cole.

  89. 89.

    slag

    @denverjeninpdx: Kick. Ass. We need more just like you!

    @John Cole: You too.

    Also: I’m in. Throwing money at the DCCC and local elections isn’t enough. I’ll also be out there making an idiot of myself trying to get ballots to the box. But I’m always looking for a better way to get involved, so suggestions most welcome!

  90. 90.

    That's Master of Accountancy to You, Pal (JMN)

    Wow. Ayotte/Lamontagne is going down to the wire. 64% of the precincts are in, and they’re separated by about 470 votes. They’re both at 38%.

  91. 91.

    El Cid

    @Hal: Note that the millionaire Paladino literally spoke of how ‘the ruling class’ was being confronted by a ‘revolution’.

    It’s pure, unfettered Marxism, of the sort which would get any Democrat thrown out of the Party, except with the position of who’s good and who’s bad reversed.

    In TeaTard Marxism, the capitalists must rise up in revolt against the oppressive proletariat.

  93. 93.

    suzanne

    I’m not sure if I can donate any money, but I’ll be spending a few more hours pounding the phones for Harry Mitchell next week. I’m really hoping he hangs on to his seat. My two Senators are such anal fissures, and I’ve been so pleased to have a Democrat for a congresscritter for the last four years. He could use some money, too…he’s being slammed by a lot of Republican money in the state.

    All in all, a good night.

  94. 94.

    Bob Loblaw

    @Martin:

    And just what is the Democratic Party’s position on filibuster reform, at the moment? You know what the answer is, don’t you? You just don’t want to say it.

    That’s the problem right there.

  96. 96.

    Martin

    @That’s Master of Accountancy to You, Pal (JMN): One job that they regularly need done is to check precinct rolls. On election day, they have a list of expected Dem voters and they need someone to go to the polling place and check their list against who has been checked off by the poll workers. That list goes back to the party office so they can call the people that haven’t yet voted.

    You don’t need to talk to anyone but the folks in the office and possibly the poll workers.

    But prior to election day, I’ve never been to a party office that didn’t need help organizing canvassing materials. In 2008, I spent a good 50 hours attaching campaign materials to saplings that were being handed out as part of a campaign reminding voters of a campaign pledge accomplished. I didn’t even leave my house for that.

    If you are comfortable talking to the folks in the office, go down and pester them a bit. They often don’t have something the moment I show up because they’re waiting on something or someone to arrive, but if I return the next day, they usually do.

  98. 98.

    That's Master of Accountancy to You, Pal (JMN)

    @Bob Loblaw: I’ll phrase it a bit differently than Martin. It isn’t just Ben Nelson and the GOP that you should target with your wrath. However, do find the individuals. Don’t ask what the Democratic position on filibuster reform is; ask what the position of individual senators is. Find out which ones are standing in the way of majority rules.

    Here’s one hint: egomaniac and progressive hero Russ Feingold has publicly stated that he will vote to keep the filibuster.

  99. 99.

    Mark S.

    @El Cid:

    In TeaTard Marxism, the capitalists must rise up in revolt against the oppressive proletariat.

    And then a stateless society run by happy and productive capitalists.

  100. 100.

    Hal

    @El Cid

    That’s right. I was shaking my head as he was speaking. Deregulation and lower business taxes makes Carl Paladino richer. But, hey; he wants to cut 20% of Government evert year, so he must be brilliant!

  102. 102.

    JasonF

    TPM has unearthed clips of Christine O’Donnell on Bill Maher’s old Politically Incorrect show, and it’s funny to laugh at O’Donnell with her 90s hair chatting it up with the likes of Jasmine Guy and Eddie Izzard … except the show got onto the topic of lying and O’Donnell’s position was that it is never, ever, ever OK to lie. She was even given the hypothetical of “What if it’s World War II and you’ve got Jews hidden in your attic and Hitler asks you about it” and she said “Even then, you don’t lie” (she was literally counting on a miracle to save those Jews from Hitler).

    Now, contrast that position with the fact that O’Donnell has been caught lying about her education. Hmmmm….

  103. 103.

    That's Master of Accountancy to You, Pal (JMN)

    @Martin: I’m fine going in and talking to them, but I don’t do “pester” very well. I tend to take the lack of a promised call to be a rejection, and then don’t want to bother them.

    It’s not rational.

  104. 104.

    Redshift

    @That’s Master of Accountancy to You, Pal (JMN): If I only worked when they called me back, I wouldn’t have worked on half as many campaigns as I have, and I’m happy to do canvassing. Unfortunately, political campaigns are short-term organizations staffed mainly by volunteers, and a call back about anything remotely difficult (and plenty of things that aren’t difficult at all) will likely get dropped.

    Ms. Redshift is physically incapable of doing phonebanking or walking a canvassing route. She goes into campaign offices and tells them she wants to do office work, data entry, assembling packets and stuff. Sometimes she ends up sitting around waiting while a harried volunteer coordinator periodically passes by and says “oh, yeah, I was going to figure out what you should be doing”; sometimes she gets to go straight to work. Luck of the draw, but either way she knows she gave it her best shot.

    Anyway, based on my experience, the way to get involved, whatever your limitations, is never call, never wait for a call, just go. It can work, really.

  106. 106.

    Martin

    @Bob Loblaw: The proposal is a reduction to 55 votes or to keep it at 60 but make it an active procedure. While the Dems were worried they might lose the Senate, many of them have been wary of supporting it (and some never will). If their prospects in the fall firm up, they might find the votes.

  108. 108.

    That's Master of Accountancy to You, Pal (JMN)

    Though, the only moderately close race I get to vote in this year is MN Governor. None of you have seen an uninspiring candidate until you’ve seen Mark Dayton. I’ll suck it up and vote for him, and even try to work for him, because the idea of Tom Emmer as governor is so hideous. But it will be like the entire world turning a dull shade of gray.

  109. 109.

    That's Master of Accountancy to You, Pal (JMN)

    70% of the precincts in, and Ayotte’s lead is up to about 800 votes. C’mon, Lamontagne. I want to see if god loves me enough to provide a month long recount fight, even though I don’t think I believe in him.

  110. 110.

    Bob Loblaw

    @That’s Master of Accountancy to You, Pal (JMN):

    And the snake eats its own tail.

    If Feingold is a problem, then the solution is to get rid of/really pressure Feingold. Except we can’t pressure Feingold, or else we let the Republican/Tea Party alternative win. And we can’t ever let that happen. We have to crawl through broken glass to save every last damn seat. We must not just win the war, we have to win every battle. Or else. So we keep Feingold around. Except now he’s safe for six more years. So we have no leverage. So he’ll never change. So we leave Feingold alone, and try to just add more Democrats somewhere else. More and better Democrats. But because the party is so large as to stand for nothing anymore, we never know what we’re gonna get. We accept the low-bottomest motherfuckers who can win, and call it a victory. And when they vote the “right” way 85% of the time, we feel like geniuses. And then the other 15% rolls around. And then we’re fucked. Because we can’t get rid of them, we can’t ever let the Republicans win that seat back. And around and around and around it goes.

    We’re trying to fight the calcified ills of society with the most bloated, feckless, incoherent, directionless hump of a political party money can buy. The reason this Congress was the most progressive in two generations wasn’t because of some great, momentous change in spirit and political focus. It’s because things are so shitty the party ran out of excuses for inaction. But it’s found its new ones. This isn’t the top of the mountain, and yet, to a man, the party’s stated platform is to take a breather. Enjoy the view a little. It was such a hell of a climb, you see? We can keep climbing some other day…

  114. 114.

    Bob Loblaw

    @Martin:

    No, it isn’t. The Lautenberg plan (which is the only one to have leadership backing) is to remove the 36 hour ripening period after cloture unless actively and continuously maintained by the opposition.

    It will still take 60 votes to establish cloture, they’ll just be able to proceed to a floor vote faster afterwards.

    At best, like 20-30 Senators have even sniffed the idea of getting rid of the 60-vote cloture rule, let alone 51. There is greater chance of rule changes on hold procedures, however. Which I suppose is a start, albeit completely insufficient.

  115. 115.

    Martin

    @Bob Loblaw: Why didn’t you work to primary him 6 months ago? If you had a problem with Feingold, you had an opportunity to replace him, to influence his positions, to have your voice heard in a way that might have pulled him more to your position. If you find enough others that agree with you, you’ll win.

    You blew that opportunity and now your choice is Feingold or Johnson. That’s it. Who will better represent you? There is no choice #3. Nobody else is going to occupy that seat next year. You can whine about your choices, but it’s not like you didn’t have an opportunity to affect that choice.

  116. 116.

    MikeJ

    @Martin: Bobl makes the same argument the repubes make. If they don’t win, they’re being ignored and everything is undemocratic like.

  117. 117.

    Bob Loblaw

    @MikeJ:

    I’m not sure what’s sillier: the fact that you think the government is particularly democratically responsive or that you use the phrase “repubes” seriously.

  118. 118.

    RalfW

    I just gave another $25 to Tarryl Clark in MN 6th, to celebrate Teahad, and because Michele Bachmann is like O’Donnell, only she’s actually in the damn House already.

  120. 120.

    JWL

    I will not support a party whose leader counsels that GW Bush is a patriot.

    Because he’s not.

    Arnold was a dangerous scoundrel.

    Davis an upright traitor.

    But GW Bush committed outright treason in front of my eyes.

    I will never turn that page…

  122. 122.

    chaseyourtail

    I will definitely be helping the Democrats via OFA over the next several weeks. I was a “precinct captain” in ’08 and helped GOTV in my neighborhood for Obama. OFA’s network is still in place and so it’s easy to get back into it . I’m looking forward to doing my part to kick some Repig ass in November. If the losers at Daily Kos want to mock OFA, I couldn’t care less. OFA is an organized grassroots machine that’s up and ready to go…and they will have a big impact on the November elections.

    Go Democrats!

  123. 123.

    debbie

    As a long-term unemployed, I too would like to know of other usefeul ways to help. When you come up with these other ways, can you post them on the front page? Wading through these very long threads is a PITA.

  124. 124.

    debbie

    And since I can only afford dial-up, it’d be great if we could get more than 4 minutes to edit for spelling. Useful.

  125. 125.

    TR

    Money is good, but volunteer time is better.

    Wherever you live, there’s a House Democratic candidate who could use your help, even if it’s just an hour or two. Go!

  126. 126.

    TR

    @JWL:

    I will not support a party whose leader counsels that GW Bush is a patriot.

    President Palin thanks you for your support.

  128. 128.

    nevsky42

    @John Cole:

    Awesome.

    I’ll be canvassing for Tom Perriello (VA-5) despite my public speaking fears because that’s how he squeaked out his win last year…

    Meanwhile, his opponent had George “Macaca” Allen stumping for him yesterday. I thought we pulled Virginia from the brink of idiocy and now teabaggers are going to dive right back in…

Comments are closed.