Time to start counting the people who don`t count.

[democrank]

It`s awful to not matter, to be so low on the grid that you and thousands like you could fall off and no lines would change.

The other night when the heat got to me, I opened the porch door to get a sudden swoosh of fresh air. The stars were out, the cool grass was just a few feet away but I started thinking about some of the people who might be living on the other side of the mountains. Did they have something for supper? Was their vehicle fixed? Did they figure out a soft and gentle way to tell their children there was no money for new sneakers? Did they even have screens?

Remember how outraged Americans got when Janet Jackson had the "wardrobe malfunction" that nearly ruined all the children? I always think of that hubbub when I see a photo of a Sudanese mother clutching her children and staring into what used to be. I thought about it when I saw that elderly gentleman in New Orleans trying to propel his wheelchair through two feet of water and again after viewing pictures of maimed Iraqi children lined up on war cots. A recent grocery store visit offered a tired looking mother with three young ones. She kept saying "not today" adding up her purchases as she went along. A piece of curled-up duct tape was where her purse zipper used to be. "Not today" and maybe not ever. I tried to smile toward this little family, but the mother`s eyes looked downward, level with her self esteem. Not today.

Isn`t some type of correction past due? Couldn`t the breathless reports about the day`s top celebrity take a back seat for awhile so we could concentrate on offering a hand and lifting a few people up? The Democratic Party used to be really good at this. It was a big chunk of who we were.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

1. America, self absorbed, shallow, with a hint of consumerism

at her core. We worry about whether or not the 10 commandments are here or there, when the only place they need to be is in your heart, we worry where the DOW is, when in fact it will be up, down, up, down, up, down, pretty much be the same amount day after day after day... we worry if men like men and if women like women, we worry about our retirements, our cars, our boats, our beer, nascar and second home in Fl. We truly worry about things better left not worried about, but then, we are here, and the people who don't count are way over there, so let's worry about the things that are tangible yet fleeting, materialistic and imprisoning, while ignoring the things we know better not to ignore.

[acmejack]

2. That party has been gone for a long time.

I can't really remember when I last got the impression that the Party cared, really cared about those people. It's trying to come back, if Rahm Emmanuel will let it back into the room. Speaking of which, I watched Christine Cegalis on TV yesterday and realized what we were rooked out of. It was easy to see how she was able to see how she was able to do what she did while being out spent eight to one, and doing it not one race but two. It was just a shame her own Party did her in the second time.

[OhioBlue]

3. I agree democrank

we as a party need to focus on the things that do make a difference in people's lives. A flag burning amendment or a gay marriage amendment do nothing to help that family in the super market, the iraqi children or the sudanese mother. We need real leaders on these issues. We do not need to be reactionary to the latest Republican wedge issue ploy.

[democrank]

4. A wedge issue ploy indeed, OhioBlue.

It`s mind-numbing, isn`t it? Apparently this is goal numero uno....win the next election, critical issues be damned. So, it`s on to flag burning, then maybe gun control, Gays threatening marriages and presto! The base is back in line.

This pattern of putting party before country is detestable. Republicans can yak about moral authority all they want, but their actions speak louder than their words. While these bloated pimps enjoy first-rate everything, thousands of our children sleep in homeless shelters and drug-addicted teenagers look at a two-year intervention waiting list and just give up. It`s a disgrace.

[OhioBlue]

5. it is mind numbing

The Republicans have made their bed. The are more interested in dividing the country over wedge issues than doing the real work to make the lives of Americans better. Democrats need to exploit this. I've seen other posts where we need to play dirty too, we need a Karl Rove, etc. we don't need to lower ourselves to that, we need to out flank them, call them for what they are and LEAD on real issues. We need an anti-Rove, someone smarter than Rove that will turn the tables and show real Democratic leadership on issues that make a difference in lives - expose the Repubs for the comic strip that they are.