This put me finally over the edge.....I've had it! I need DU love....

[Gloria]

I feel totally weighed down by outright depression. The damn has burst.

I was well on my may because of the "gloves off" response from the Dems that never came.... Then, Blanco is on NATIONAL radio after Bush, thanking him, even as there is new reporting on how FEMA is still screwing up on the ground (story was posted last night).

Now, this is the woman I don't think the Dems have even clearly defended in terms of the timeline to prove she did exactly what she should have done. So, now, suddenly, she's on national radio....

In the middle of this Bill Clinton appears on Larry King and is scheduled for a not very balanced Meet the Press panel tomorrow AND on George Steph's ABC show. I tuned in late to LK, so I don't know if Clinton oozed about Bush; he stuck to his knitting about global issues for the 3/4 of the show I saw. But tomorrow on the talk fests, you know it will be about FEMA, taxes,etc, so it's another nailbiter as to how well-behaved he will be. However, the thing really sticking in my craw is why isn't there a more "current" Democratic face out there on these shows...why is it Clinton??

OK, I get past all that and tune in about 1AM ET to CSpan just before going to bed to see poor Dorgin with his little "investigation" panel, with charts of newspaper stories about Halliburton, trying to blow the whistle on their past history of corruption and explaining how whistleblowers in the Pentagon have been demoted to oblivion.

And the dam bursts. This is COORDINATION??? On the national address, why not go with the Dorgin angle, say OK, we need to work to get NOLA back in gear, but it has to be done the RIGHT WAY...and go into Halliburton, and the GOP overturning all sorts of regulations and pushing their bullshit agenda??? START THE DRUMBEAT about the crap Bush is trying to push. Instead, I get Blanco THANKING BUSH????

Pardon my despair. When the hell do the Democrats wake UP?????

[ananda]

1. a dose of reality..

The Dems are now in actuality just an arm of the GOP, Publite maybe.

If language were more honest, it would show that America is really a one-party state, the business party, the party of corporo-fascism.

Sue

[Bernardo de La Paz]

28. Your capitulationism is not DU love, ananda

You are wrong and you are also going to make Gloria more depressed. No thanks.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

2. When their fear for their own lives and careers is placed neatly

behind the responsibility they assumed for the people they represent and not until. Playing nice with these incompetent twits that this admin has installed just isn't going to cut it.

[mntleo2]

21. I Don't Get What They Are So Damned Afraid Of...

that they grew some balls and actually told the TRUTH???? OMG! How career damaging! Someone ought to ask Howard Dean this, or Paul Reiker, or....oh never mind...who has the patience to actually realize they are pioneers and it takes time for a movement to well, move???? Because the fawking DNC can't allow the status quo be blown or they would not get THEIRS? Not much longer, it is getting ugly out there. Especially for suits who don't get that even their supporters are getting MAD.

Remember what Gandhi said (with my comments):

First they ignore you <----they got the press to do that for the past 5 years and the DNC followed right behind with their noses up every media whore's butt, until some brave bloggers appeared...

Then they ridicule you <----Yeah right until the sleeping giant realized there were three fingers pointing back, and the DNC went along with it, but are now holding a big bag o'crap

Then they hurt you <---- tried to intimidate, called the enlightened ones unpatriotic for telling the truth, jailed and killed innocents in our name in Iraq and Afghanistan, the DNC pretended that black box voting was all just a conspiracy theory, they helped put put Conyers in the basement while he hammered the truth...Still there were Cindy Sheehans, John Conyers, and Cynthia Mckinneys, and Sheila Jackson-Browns who would not quit and kept speaking...

Then you win! <---if you stick with it and keep your tenacity and integrity in spite of all of the above, because since time immemorial it has been shown, the truth will never be held down. It takes YEARS sometimes for this last stage, but when it comes, oh man, WATCH OUT HELL'S A-POPPIN'!!!

Oh yeah!

Stoopid Dems! Soon we will have a "Chavez" and BOTH parties will be toast, if you don't grow some soon...

Cat In Seattle

[HysteryDiagnosis]

26. A critical mass of intelligent thinking... not reactionary thinking, not

fear driven responses, not short sighted agendas, not government corruption draped in the flag, not corporate rule nor constitution shredding..... but rather cognizant masses realizing just how badly they've been had. Yup... hell's surely going to be a poppin'!! Can't wait. Nice words, thank you... for being a thinker, and not a corporate stinker.... :)

[ElsewheresDaughter]

27. THE BUSH BODY COUNT, ANTHRAX, AND JUDGES FAMILES KILLED?

JUST MAYBE :SHRUG:

[Gloria]

3. And furthermore, last night on another CSpan around the same

time as Dorgin, I see a press conference with Landrieu, Frist, Reid and others. Reid looks decrepit as hell. Landrieu is blabbing about how if the problems of NOLA can be handled with "bipartisanship" and I nearly puke.

The F*CKING GOP has torpedoed a real investigation; they've got their vouchers, and no lawsuits, waived EPA rules, etc. etc. already in place and you're talking about BIPARTISANSHIP????????????????????

JEEBUS!!!!!!!!!!! I was ready to throw up....

[bluedawg12]

4. We need fresh leadership from the ranks of non-professional pols

These guys are carrying their own baggage and not ours.

Think about it and perk up--there is great power and voice here in the inter net.

We can do a lot just by talking and exchanging ideas. We do have power.

[KoKo]

22. Get Rid of those DAMNED Think Tanks! They, along with the Corporations

Lobbyists have America away from WE, THE PEOPLE...The "stupid Masses to be manipulated" in their Opinions.

Get them out. If ever there was a movement for the "Peasants with Pitchforks" it's to storm the Imperial THINK TANKS. The Lobbyists will follow if we Clean Out the Think Tanks! A bunch of air-headed sychophants who long ago learned who to "suck up to."

Surely there could be a movement to clean drain those aquariums of falty, misguided ideology that are promoting endless war and this "globilization" that's killing us.

A View of World Order is Utopian...and when I was in my Teens I dreamed of that, too...but ENOUGH OF THIS. They need to grow up and see the DEATH AND DESTRUCTION they've caused!

[Crunchy Frog]

5. I'm sorry Gloria.

I passed despair a long time ago and have now settled into a place of detached numbness.

I sadly do not see our party having the capacity, the vision, or the unity to sieze the initiative or even act in any sort of coordinated fashion. I fear that we're seeing the death knell for our party as a relevant political force as well as the death of anything we can recognize as our country.

I don't know if there's anything I could say to make you feel better. After going through a two year long depressive episode following the Iraq invasion, I finally had to learn to simply let go. Unfortunately, I only see more of that to come down the road.

We DUers still have each other, at least when we're not ripping each other to shreds.:hug:

[bananas]

13. The protests helped a lot

With so much pro-war propaganda on TV,
I thought there would be about 5 other people at the protest.
I dragged myself there out of a sense of duty,
dreading the disappointment of a small turnout.
Instead there were thousands.
Just being around all those people helped immensely.

[AspenRose]

6. I hear you

Eat some green chile and you'll (temporarily) feel better.....the roasters are out and the scent is heavenly.

24-48 hour news vacations help, too. Take care of yourself and you'll be better prepared to fight the good fight.

I think everyone's suffering fatigue from Katrina, psychic and otherwise.

BUMPER STICKER: BIPARTISANSHIP....I'll hug your elephant if you kiss my a**

[Gloria]

7. DR, I'm trying to learn tarot, not getting far....I need a place to

let my mind go, to get to my spirit and I can't really handle the detail of astrological charts very well anymore...

I've really turned off the TV news...I just about swallowed 2000 and Iraq, but this...this...is just so damned PITIFUL!!

I feel like I'm going out of my skull....Plus, I live with a freeptard mother who is 83 and whining about her ailments, but boy, is she a SLEDGEHAMMER when it comes to protecting Bush. Has more devotion to him than anyone else. I feel like I'm living with the enemy...and now, it seems, Democrats are added to the list of "enemies".

The friggin woman was SNUBBED by Bush, then bullied and we THANK HIM???

They all know what Roberts is and they are all "weighing" whether to vote for him??

You know, if you show opposition, the very act of doing that raises people's radar, it almost invites them to be educated! If you do NOTHING but sit there, why should they even acknowledge you? What, they're supposed to be INSPIRED by Democrats every 2 or 4 years, after seeing NOTHING from them in the "spirited engagement" sphere???

Doesn't this party see the psychological advantage gained from standing up on all fours once in awhile????

[AspenRose]

8. Go to Ojo Caliente or Ghost Ranch for a spell

Can you find a caretaker for your mom?

I feel betrayed by this party....hence my sig line....but the psychic fatigue will pull you down if you (indeed, WE) don't take the time to regroup.

[loudsue]

9. I can't offer much comfort....I'm in the same boat as you.

And, frankly, I don't see any way to get rid of our government (Dems & repukes alike) without a revolution.

I'm fried too. The whole lot of us (American citizens) have been turned against ONE ANOTHER, so the government could turn into a corporation.

It just plain sucks.

:hug: But, Gloria...you've got DU love! :hug: I think you're wonderful, and I hope we can all get past this nightmare so we can go back to some form of sanity.

:kick:

[bananas]

10. Hugs

I did a lot of grieving around selection 2000 and 2004.
Now I try to watch events like an historian,
it's like being present during the rise or fall of the Roman Empire.
I'm just not sure if this is the rise or fall.

[Totally Committed]

11. I'm so sorry, Gloria...

I've been where you have just gotten to a long time now. :hug:

Here's one for you, too, crunchy -- :hug:

Beyond despair, beyond dismay, so horribly, horribly disappointed, and SO ANGRY! :mad:

We need to brainstorm this right away. We can't allow this to continue unchecked or we will end up with a Republican President in '08... even if it does end up being Hillary.

This is a Primal Scream, I dedicate it to everyone here, who like Gloria, crunchy and I have just about had E N O U G H ! ! ! :

Aaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!

TC

[applegrove]

12. A stage. You will come out at the end - stronger & angrier & more

passionate & focussed on 2006. You will find it easier to dig deep when you need to. And you will know the way. So you can lead others.

It will pass.

[Gloria]

14. I feel I did that 2 times already..,.but now, the inept and stupid

Democrats seem to have vaporized....hence, there is no ground under my feet anymore.

It's like being HOMELESS........in my own country, politically.

30-35 years ago I was at the start...now it seems like it's the end...that's my historical framework...and it HURTS LIKE HELL!!!

[applegrove]

17. The Dems have just lost power. They need people to go out and

vote for them on election day. Not stay home and not vote at a rate of 35%.

We will live to see another day.

Apathy is a tool that the RW try hard to teach us. We must take the time to heal and find happiness in a garden, a pet, a mentor-ship. Then we will be ready and strong for the battle of 2006.

Remember it was apathy that let Saddam Hussein rule for so long in Iraq. And it is the same with all nefarious rulers. So don't fall for it.

Dems did a good job of standing down and letting Cindy speak to her truth & then the rescuers & first responders & victims speak to the federal response of Katrina. And because the Dems finally get how to fight Rove & the GOP - we should be seeing our message out once again. We are seeing Americans in numbers as high as 60% reject parts if not most of what Bush & the Neocons stand for.

The Democratic leadership has gotten wise to not letting themselves be painted as the scapegoats. Bush & his team require an enemy to get their message of hate out. Dems have figured out that if they step out of the picture - the hatred is hard for the Repukes to whip up. Then we witness the fruitless and pathetic search of the Bush WH for a scapegoat for their actions.

We all learnt something from this. I learnt that to get the message out - perhaps only the real people can deliver it. Cindy, Katrina victims.. those should be the Democrats doing the speaking for the next while.

The man on the ground.

Perhaps I am overly optimistic. But I really feel we have turned a corner and that Dems are finally getting wise. And because they are very sober & wise - they keep their mouths shut and let the truth speak for itself. Otherwise - if Dems speak out on the truth - the WH can destroy that truth and replace it with its own. So it is up to Democrats & Americans on the ground to speak the truth and define what that truth is. Dems should speak to policy that backs up & values those truths & values.

[welshTerrier2]

15. ask Democrats questions like this ...

I would be very interested to hear your comments about American imperialism, big oil, windfall profits taxes, the corrupting of our government by powerful corporate lobbyists, and the whole discussion about who really is being served by our policy in Iraq.

and if they refuse to answer or perhaps don't agree with the premise of the question, we have to let them know we will not support them ... we're not "against them"; we're hoping to convince them to join us ...

either Democrats identify the corporate infestation of our government against the bests interests of the American people and our democratic institutions or they don't ... if we continue to support those who refuse to take on the challenge, it is no surprise that things only get worse and worse ... the self-serving corporate beast will do anything to protect its greedy interests ...

Democrats like to talk about being tough on defense but they are afraid of the political fallout from taking on the corruption of our government head-on ... and some are so entangled and beholding to the corporate ownership of America it would be foolish of us to expect them to change ...

the battle for the soul of the Democratic Party, in my opinion, is where the REAL FRONT should be ... some will go on about circular firing squads; i think it's the most critical battle we can have ... the battle may cost us dearly for years to come but i see no other choice ... if we don't rid our Party of the "tokenists", i.e. those Democrats who believe we can fight for progress on an issue by issue basis without confronting the truth that if we don't have REAL POWER, every gain we make is nothing more than appeasement to quiet the masses ... and lately they've even dropped the idea of appeasement ... their power is almost absolute ... they barely need to even pretend they care anymore ...

so, job one is to convince other Democrats that they have to join us in our intra-Party battle ... we are not evil; we don't "want Democrats to lose"; we are not "circular firing squads" ... we have a vision that by refusing to unite around a theme, a theme we see as the truth, we will never succeed in becoming a majority party again ... it's way past time to stop "attacking the attackers" and join the movement to gain control of our own party ...

this isn't meant to cheer anyone up; it's meant to point the way ...

comments??

[MissMarple]

16. We are the dems. Those other guys are mostly just politicians.

They do what they can. But, I think the burden is on us. I hate to tell ya. :hug:

[sundancekid]

18. thanks for venting what many of us are feeling ... bask in DU love

and, MORE IMPORTANTLY, the DU wisdom that your thread has inspired!

Martin Luther King Jr. used to inspire us marchers with comments that can be summarized by: if not now, when? if not me, who? Even in those darkest of times, we banded together - sometimes barely hanging on - and moved OUR cause forward by ourselves because the silence from the power brokers in Washington at the time was deafening ...

"Brick by brick, my citizens" -- Adrian's words when rebuilding Rome (it's also quoted in the movie Seabiscuit)

More DU love here for you
:grouphug:

[TheStates]

19. Turn Clinton off. Don't watch that.

Turn to "The View" or several other shows and you can see Howard Dean on recently.

He has been pounding the pavement this week and gave Hannity an earshot. Pelosi has been on alot of shows too and Conyers also! Turn the channel, the democrats are speaking up. Clinton is just trying to take away airtime but its not working....

I see alot more democrats on TV now than usual.

[KoKo]

20. Gloria...understand...And..

I'm NOT WATCHING ANY OF IT TOMORROW MORNING!

Tune it out..It's hard for me, too and I know you report for BuzzFlash..so understand what a Media Maven you must be. After CNN's Globilization Conference with Clinton and Wolfowitz tonight that I had to "turn off" in disgust...I understand what you are saying.

I don't know...the world had gone mad...and our Democrats are part of it...:hug: :grouphug:

Good Grief...I think I posted this same thing to you awhile back somewhere. Are we living in some damned time warp...? Like some of us are going backwards and forwards and then backwards again given the manipulation and enormity of what's being thrown at us? :eyes:

Whatever...chin up...you have lots of company...with this crashing and disappointment. :-(

[Gloria]

23. Thanks, KoKo01--I don't plan to watch it tomorrow either....in

fact, I've been skipping most news now for many, many months. I rely on my good buddy (posted a few posts back) to fill me in! She still has her sanity and objectivity.

You know, I used to watch all these talk shows and do a column with attempts at humor and outrage for Buzzflash until 911. Once that happened, they became nauseating. Remember, before 911, the media was all over BUSH!! Yup, they were! Post-911, they went soft. And so have the Democrats.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

24. In a word: POLITICS

[BeFree]

25. We are the Democrats

We are awake. We just ain't focused. We ain't focused for good reasons, but we need to get back to a focus.

A personal history as an activist for many years now: I have worked on numerous issues. Some congruent, some individually along with many other activists. A lesson that keeps coming home is that in order to be successful a certain focus must be found.

Case in point.... The BBV issue. In my state a keen focus was placed on getting rid of BBV. Many activists, without the support of our 'Leaders' fought to get a Voter Verified Paper Ballot. We've got it. It was a focus of mine and many others in this state, and we succeeded. My Senator told me maybe, maybe not, I told him that it had better be done if we are to save democracy; he voted for the new law. I've talked with several of my county commissioners and the election board and I've told them all we shall have our votes counted as cast, and they will be. The stolen elections are our number one problem, and with the focus of myself and many others we are well on the way to getting our vote back.

The idea is to pick an issue, stick with it, and work it hard. There are many issues that can be worked on a local level and with fellow Dem's we can turn this thing around.

Actually, one thing that keeps me centered all through this mess is that I just laugh at it all on occasion. I just make the stupidest jokes about it and ROFLMAO. When I'm done laughing, I get back on my feet an go at it, working the issue with newfound gusto.

Oh, I've been down, way down, but I get high with a little help from my friends, my friends here on DU.

We are the DEM'S, we will take our country back.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

29. If New Orleans can rise, and it will, so can you, Gloria, and you will.

Be strong. Better days ahead. Love.