Am I the only one that feels bummed, burned out and turned off right now?

[inthebrain]

I keep looking at all that's gone on over the last six years and the state of things today. I am looking at CAFTA, NAFTA, WTO, Welfare Reform, Overtime restructuring, Bankruptsty reform, Campaign finance reform, Alito, Iraq War, Immigration Debate, Gay marriage Debate, Religion, Media and anything else you name.

I can go on for hours.

The more I look at this thing, the more I see that the uphill battle is ahead of us. We haven't even breached the borders of Mordor yet. Will we be able to sustain any ammounts of pressure on these issues when Bush is gone? For as much as he's an asshole he's one hell of a polarizing figure.

I worryed about what happens when the next comes along and claims he's a reformer. And let's us all down............AGAIN!!!!!

What really wories me the most is that people become content when Bush is long gone and out of power. The real work begins afterwards. These last two years were supposed to be the great last stand of the Democrats. They were all supposed to stand up collectivly and give the finger to Bush. It didn't pan out that way and it seems there were only a handfull of Dems that stood up.

Then there is mainstreaming of hate that has undone all the progress we've made. There's paranoia of gays, immigrants and the McCarthy stain of the Red Scare still alive and well.

I was reading somewhere today that stated the last poor peoples movement in this country was led by Martin Luther King. Has there ever been a period in America where we've had to go back that far to find a poor peoples movement?

I am given hope in the fact that people long thought dead and beaten always seem to come back and bite our leaders in the ass; The Espionage Act was used to discourage anti war activites, Native Americans were thought dead and gone until they popped up in the 70's yadd yadda yadda yadda. The list goes one.

I am not giving up hope. Although I am very skeptical of what happens should the Dems take back the House and senate in 06. Then perhaps the presidency in 08. I am worried about people falling asleep because those in charge have a D on their chest.

[Gloria]

1. What is putting me over the top tonight is the Schumer-Lieberman

game being played in CT.

[BrklynLiberal]

2. I sure hope a good progressive beats Schumer in the primary next time out.

I wouldn't vote for Schumer for dog-catcher.

[Totally Committed]

6. I have to say, I agree with this...

Since Katrina I've felt pretty beaten down, but this Lieberman thing is just TOO much, and Schumer's involvement is nearly the last straw. We need to find a way to take this Party back from these paternalistic power-mongers now, or it will never be a Party of/by/for the people again.

TC

[lindisfarne]

3. I'm starting to wonder what's the point if the Dems aren't concerned

about flagrant violations of voting machine security such aS WHAT HAPPENED in San Diego. We will never win if the machines are tampered with by the Republican faction.

[OzarkDem]

9. Where did you get that idea?

I haven't heard any such thing.

[lindisfarne]

10. You must know something I don't: I haven't read or heard anything in

the media of any Democratic candidate affected (=Davis, Filner, and many others in San Diego county) or any Democrat holding a seat (=Boxer, Feinstein) or any local, state, or national Democratic organization speaking out, or any of the Democrats in Congress saying anything about the lack of voting machine security in San Diego county.

I would LOVE to be proven wrong on this.

[robinlynne]

21. read on bradblog for a lot of news. and everywhere where people discuss

eleciton reform or election protection.

[Vidar]

4. You're not alone.

[sendero]

5. Every day in every way...

.. I'm losing hope. Sorry to be so negative, but after watching the Dem senate for 5 awful years I no longer expect jack from them. With a couple of exceptions, they are all playing the same game as the Republicans - it's all an orchestrated dance with the money men pulling the strings.

I've become, just in the last few months, an ANTI-INCUMBENT. It isn't just Republicans who are the problem - it's the entrenched politicians who depend on corporate cash to keep their cushy-ass perk-encrusted jobs, and who could care less about the people of America.

And make no mistake here, the Republicans have no corner on that market.

Oh and BTW, a couple months back, I was sure we could take back the house. Now, I'm not so sure. In fact, I think it is a major league uphill battle. The pukes will pull something out of their asses, and the Dems don't want it bad enough anyway.

Not that it really matters, IMHO we probably might as well go ahead and give the Republicans enough rope to hang themselves permanently - they are well on their way although you'd never know it listening to their pansy-assed competitors.

[Joe Bacon]

7. Millions of brainwashed fools await the rapture

No matter what the Republicans do, they get a pass. The Republicans have turned the press into stenographers who are addicted to kissing Bush's ass. TV Preachers brainwash millions of fools with Republican propaganda, they really believe Jesus is going to rapture them in a week or 2. DIebold has the machines in place.

Yeah, part of me says let them have it and then when China busts the debt bubble, America will fall apart faster than the USSR did.

:-(

[OzarkDem]

8. Horse Hockey

Dems are doing great. Here in Ohio, we're looking very strong to take back the Governor's seat, a senate seat and possibly a few new Congressional seats - all in a state where the GOP controls all 3 branches of government.

I've never seen so many people energized, interested and engaged. There is real hope for the future and its apparent everywhere.

Democrats will also do as they always have - when leading the country they will restore it to economic prosperity, balance the budget, secure our future and disengage us from the War in Iraq.

Keep in mind, when Bush became President, the country that Dems had been running for 2 terms was in the best shape it had been in decades. It will again.

Sorry to hear you have such a pessimistic view. Maybe politics isn't for you. Politics requires you to have vision, passion and commitment and not back down when the going gets rough.

[endarkenment]

11. One Demogrunt right here.

And I am very demogruntled.

[ChipsAhoy]

12. No, you are not alone!

If we can get it back - we can turn things around. It's just a matter of getting there.

[madmusic]

13. That's exactly how Karl Rove wants you to feel.

The fact is, voters still want change.

[blue cat]

14. I've feel dogged out

Even the dems that I know seem to be turning away from the party d/t immigration. Not much hope.

[w8liftinglady]

15. when i feel that way,I write letters.My paper publishes them...65% repub

hopefully,someone will change because of my writing.I have to believe there are people out there,lost,looking for answers like I was when i found DU.

[w8liftinglady]

19. my latest letter-printed today

In response to Mr. King’s latest attack, I’m going to use his words and keep it simple. Mr. King stated, Let’s start with such a simple thing as “drawing a breath, taking a drink of clean water, eating a good meal. Let us be thankful for what we have.” You owe these things to Liberals like myself, Mr. King. “Drawing a breath,” without choking on smog and coal deposits. “Taking a drink of clean water,” without parasites and PCB’s “eating a good meal” not laced with mercury or other harmful chemicals.

You do have a lot to be thankful for, and so do I, Mr.King ... thanks to liberals. We need to work together to keep our planet clean and free of harmful chemicals, not nitpick. I’m not the enemy, Mr. King, as much as you’d like me to be.
http://thedailylight.com/articles/2006/06/15/dailylight/opinion/letters_to_the_editor/03%20letters.txt
and links to all my letters,if you're bored...
http://thedailylight.com/articles/2006/06/07/midlothianmirror/opinion/letters_to_the_editor/02%20let%200607%20dawson%20war.txt
http://thedailylight.com/articles/2006/05/07/dailylight/opinion/letters_to_the_editor/04%20letters.txt
http://thedailylight.com/articles/2006/04/20/dailylight/opinion/letters_to_the_editor/03%20letters.txt
http://thedailylight.com/articles/2006/03/25/dailylight/opinion/letters_to_the_editor/01%20letters.txt
http://thedailylight.com/articles/2006/04/14/dailylight/opinion/letters_to_the_editor/02%20letters.txt
http://thedailylight.com/articles/2006/03/09/midlothianmirror/opinion/letters_to_the_editor/17%20let%20dawson%20por.txt
http://thedailylight.com/articles/2006/01/19/dailylight/opinion/letters_to_the_editor/01-01_17-letters.txt
http://thedailylight.com/articles/2005/09/16/dailylight/opinion/letters_to_the_editor/02%20letters.txt
http://thedailylight.com/articles/2006/01/12/dailylight/opinion/letters_to_the_editor/01-01_12-letters.txt
http://thedailylight.com/articles/2006/01/03/dailylight/opinion/letters_to_the_editor/02%20letters.txt
http://thedailylight.com/articles/2005/11/21/dailylight/opinion/letters_to_the_editor/01-11_21-letters.txt
http://thedailylight.com/articles/2005/11/11/dailylight/opinion/letters_to_the_editor/03%20letters.txt
http://thedailylight.com/articles/2005/10/27/dailylight/opinion/letters_to_the_editor/03%20letters.txt
http://thedailylight.com/articles/2005/10/13/dailylight/opinion/letters_to_the_editor/01%20letters.txt
http://www.dallasnews.com/s/dws/dn/opinion/letters/stories/DN-3piraq_0326edi.ART.State.Edition1.3e50ba1.html
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/opinion/local2/14131007.htm
See,I DO feel better.

[closeupready]

16. I don't want to be negative, but

yes, I also don't get the feeling that dems can pull it off in November, despite the momentum they should be able to capitalize on.

[ChipsAhoy]

20. You're being honest

There is room for your opinion, even though some here have slammed me for mine. There are many days that I share your view. But, still, a part of me thinks that we CAN overcome. I'm just tired of the big mistakes. I mean real tired.

[femrap]

17. I made the mistake of getting complacent when

Clinton was Prez.....I will not do that again. And I think many others learned the same lesson. We are well aware of the DLC Branch of the Dem Party...the ones who love contribute to Corporate Welfare.

[alvarezadams]

18. I disagree

" Will we be able to sustain any ammounts of pressure on these issues when Bush is gone? For as much as he's an asshole he's one hell of a polarizing figure. "

I think of him more as an agent provocateur, a figurehead that the GOP strategists are allowing to rot on the vine in order to deflect blame away from misguided policies and towards the puppet.

I believe that it is a mistake to concentrate on Dubya. We should be attacking the POLICIES and the thinktank/corporate cabal so that when Dubya's gone they can't shrug and say that he was just a bad apple.

"Although I am very skeptical of what happens should the Dems take back the House and senate in 06. Then perhaps the presidency in 08. I am worried about people falling asleep because those in charge have a D on their chest."

Ditto. Especially if the "D" is qualified by "DLC" - and as long as the DNC shrugs off progressive ideals.

I firmly believe that we need to reframe an ideology in order to overcome the $1 billion/year indoctrination campaign. I don't see the current party leadership even interested in the concept.

[Xipe Totec]

26. Ay, the funding. There's the rub

We have lost control of the political process because we have allowed it to be controlled by strong financial interests.

If the Dems and the Repugs are sounding alike, it is because they have to eat from the same trough.

So long as both parties have to go to the princes of industry, hat in hand, to get the funding needed to win election, both parties will be keenly interested in keeping that constituency happy. The rest of us, they only have to make happy with bread and circus for five months every other year (that's the attention span of the American public).

Having gained control of the the congress and the Senate, their next step was to use that power to "liberate" the media from the hands of "liberals", through relaxation of antitrust laws. Once the organs of communication were in their control, the next step was to use the power of propaganda to attack public education and emasculate it to the point that the majority of Americans do not have enough education to realize what is happening to them.

Winning the presidency after that was a slam-dunk.

Next came the Judicial....

[AzDar]

22. I'm with ya... my big beef in 2000 was that (a) Bush was not legitimately

elected, and (b), I thought he was going to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Looking back, that seems sooo naive.
I wonder how we'll EVER recover from these criminals?

[longship]

23. This is a result on which the Repugs are banking.

They play their cards. We play ours.

The solution in this is the same as it would be on a poker table. You've lost a hand, or even a few hands. But you pick up the next hand and play it like you've got Aces-full-of-Kings.

Let's not start steaming here. Keep our poker faces on and move on to the next hand.

Dems can't be folding their hands just because they got a bad beat.

[Beacho]

24. Turn off the computer

step away from the keyboard, go take a walk, get an ice cream cone, read a book.

There will always be those times. I've been involved in politics since I was eight and got hip to the fact that you always reach a curve and there's nothing for it but to take some time off.


You'll be ready to get back in the trenches before you know it.

[troubleinwinter]

25. Pick a battle & give it all ya got. Carve out your own small spot,

and "never give a inch".

[lindisfarne]

30. It's pointless if the voting machines are tampered with by the Repubs.

and if the Dems aren't interested in making an issue of it when security violations occur which enable the Republicans to do this.

[millsaps28]

27. I know exactly how you feel

With all that has transpired over the last 6 years I am just num right now. At this moment I can see the begining of Bush turning the tide to where the Repubs hold on to Congress and he gets to serve out his term in blissful neglect.
All this while the Dems are simply trying to stop Bush instead of pushing a Liberal\progressive agenda. I long for the day when the Chris MAthews says, "Tonight we will discuss the big vote tommorow in the senate on Kennedy's Universal Medicare/healthcare plan" or "our panel tonight will discuss the monumental vote by the Democratic congress to add Sexual Orientation as a protected class in the reauthorization of the 1964 Civil Rights Act." I am so tired of the narrow right wing debate of today. I will be taking a 2 wk break from politics and participate in my comunity -ATL- on local projects.

[inthebrain]

28. I dont think the Dems as a party

has put up much of an effort. It's been only a handfull of Dems that's stepped up to the plate.

I think many of us as Liberals and Progressives just need to go back to our fundamentals. It's really simple.

Liberals care about human beings.

Conservatives care about property.

THere have been plenty of opportunities for Democrats to get to the basics on many of these issues. The immigration debate is a great example of these. I have yet to see illegals portrayed as anything else but Human Contraband. That's just disheartening.

Terri Schaivo was a great opportunity for the to speak out about healthcare.

Isnt it also shocking that the last poor people movement came with MLK? I doubt we've ever gone this long without them mobilizing!!!!!!

[YvonneCa]

31. Check out...

...the Take Back America Conference in D.C. this past week. Watch John Kerry's speech from Tuesday. Listen to the audience, as well as the words. You'll feel better. :)


http://www.politicstv.com/blog/

:patriot:

[radfringe]

29. yep

we all seem to go through that cycle from time to time.

it's called disappointment and frustration.

MSM is touting this week as bush*'s "best" - but how "best" is it really when the polls are only showing a 1-3 point rise in approval?

meanwhle - re-line the hat with new tinfoil, it helps :)