My question for Senator Schumer is why there has been so much hostility against the netroot activists by the DSCC and DCCC except when they want our money and organizing/volunteer labor and what he plans to do to reach out to the core of the Democratic Party in the future?

hi firefox, nice um comment/question. you sound a bit hostile.

i was just going to say that i think Senator Schumer looks positively aglow with his book, of which he should be proud. i'll be sure to pick it up soon, Senator. you have my respect and appreciation for all your years of service to our party.

thank you and keep on keepin' on. maybe we can pick up a few more Democratic seats, so it will be a little easier for you. i certainly intend to try with all the power at these fingertips.

the NYTimes piece on your "deluxe" accommodations leads me to one final comment. please, for my senator from the great state of Illinois, make up your foldaway bed, please.

Thank you for all that you do--i love new yawk!

I was just poting about this book. Thanks for the post.

:)

Senator Durbin blogged at Kos last night, to the delight of those of us in the habit of the computer screen and keyboard as the preferred method of news gathering. The "netroots" have become a viable force in campaigning, and because the bloggers tend to be better informed than those digesting a diet restricted to the corporate news, the blogging community tends to be more muscular in terms of expectations and accountability.

How can we facilitate a better team, with the paradigm shift less of a "crash" and more of a steady, drumbeat? Is it possible for the DSSC and the bloggers to cooperate more? Can our candidates win without huge sums of corporate dollars? Since TV is the recipient of that cash, how do we design campaigns that rely less on that greedy enemy of the middle class?

Hi {{{FOS}}}

do you ever sleep?

fade2bluz,
Not hostile, just direct since he did mention the role of the grassroots in his book. Besides, it looks like you used my question to form your later one, lol. Good question BTW.

.

Sentator Schumer,

If the Senate cannot find a way to get past its "traditions" and vote on bills that must be passed for the good of the nation and its citizens, would you favor going to a parlimatary system?

How exactly do voters get a Constitutional Convention underway, if the Senate cannot perform its duties as the founding fathers designed it to do?

hi firefox,

bad pun, and a better choice of words would have been "direct". it was an excellent question, and it did inspire me.

did anyone comment on the fact that Webb supposedly tore up the "prepared" speech and wrote his own?

isn't that refreshing?

i wonder what the "leadership" had to say about it...you know that anal cyst Rush is going to shred whatever they say. why not be direct?

okay, i stand corrected. your question rocks...

Well, my question to Schumer would be very hostile, so I will not ask .

Schumer sided with Joe Lieberman and stood with him after he was clearly kicked out of the Primary as a Democrat. He helped reward him with his committee seats, and gave him a standing ovation when Lieberman slithered back into the Senate. I won't give to the DSCC any longer because of it.

{{{Sandy}}}

that vacation didn't slow you down a bit, gf. good questions!

{{{Pam}}}

Perfect timing! The crash! John Hall's victory was a "miracle" because that was one of those "impossible" seats. Ned Lamont's loss was due, in large part, to the division in the party.

This is what i mean by the crash. was it largely due to the low expectations of what the blogosphere could do? is it because they are old friends? are they afraid to oppose the war outright?

WHY is what i'm asking. When I see that disgusting traitor Lieberman referred to on the John McCain Show (Meet the Press) or the other Sunday talk shows, i want to scream! He is not a Democrat.

I can answer that

1)He represents himself. He doesn't care about loyalty, he is so out of touch with CT, only Republicans, independents caused him to win. Most of them sellouts in their own right (didn't even vote for the GOP candidate. Lieberman is a coward and represents everything that is wrong about the Democratic Party. See also Hillary.

California, Take it from someone who lives in CT, and have written and called Lieberman for 5 years, only to be told he was casting his Right wing votes 'because he was a man of principle", that there was a LOT more to the outing of Joe Lieberman than just the war. He was the ONLY New England Dem to vote for the Energy bill. He voted with the Repubs for cloture on Alito, allowing this guy to get in, he allowed Brown (remember, good job, Brownie), get in office in 45 minutes when he was the leader of that committee. I could go on and on! Joe was kicked out because he was more Republican than Democrat, NOT just because he is the worst HAWK there is.

PS. I actually also voted in CT during the primaries. I am speaking from first-hand accounts from personal experience.

This is what i mean by the crash. was it largely due to the low expectations of what the blogosphere could do? is it because they are old friends? are they afraid to oppose the war outright?
WHY is what i'm asking.

{{{fade}}}

There were a couple reasons why guys like Schumer stuck with Joe. #1- they were afraid that he WOULD win, and if they had not shown him they were with him, he would do worse than what he is currently doing - i.e. yanking them by the short hairs, #2- Schumer is a DLC Dem, like Joe and they WANT the party moved to the center, #3, Lamont was an unknown, was a Progressive liberal, was backed by the Grassroots, just the kind of candidate that the DSCC and the DCCC was trying to keep out.

Wasn't just Schumer. Bill Clinton lives about 70 miles away, would not come. Obama was on his book tour in PA and NY and would not come. Biden, Boxer, Landrieu all snuck into the state to campaign with Joe.

I was ready to ditch the entire Dem party after what they did to Lamont.

Going back to when the Iraq war first started I remember President Bush saying something like the oil revenues were going to pay for this war. If that's the case then why is it that 4 years later has the United States spent nearly 500 billion dollars on this Iraq war. Shouldn't the President be held accountable for this? Also, the President said if the Iraqi people didn't want us there anymore that we would leave yet I remember hearing something in a poll that most Iraqis don't want us there anymore. Why are we still there?

Thanks, Pam.

I appreciate your efforts at peaceful revolution in the Lamont campaign. Every time I hear a Poodle-Pundit call Joe a Dem, they get a nastygram.

He is NOT a Democrat.

Thank you for your thoughtful response and for all that you do!

New posts at May 8th

Hillary Throws In the Towel: No Stopping Escalation

Buried in the NY Times article "General Says New Strategy in Iraq Can Work Over Time," is a rare moment of candor from Hillary Clinton, which shows that by default, she is already firmly in the camp for the escalation: “We know the troops are moving. We know that we’re not likely to stop this escalation." The full passage from the Times:

“We know this policy is going forward,” said Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Democrat of New York. “We know the troops are moving. We know that we’re not likely to stop this escalation. But we are going to do everything we can to send a message to our government and the Iraqi government that they had better change, because the enemy we are confronting is adaptable.” (yesterday, NY Times, "General Says New Strategy in Iraq Can Work Over Time")

Anyone still for Hillary in 2008? That's right Al-Maliki! You'd better change or else! The enemy we're confronting is (substitute your word-of-the-week: adaptable,determined, ruthless, cunning.) Politicians like her are why people hate politicians. She is the Repulicans' dream opponent, so they can make her the next "voted against the war before I voted for it" punching bag.

Middle East torture-regime allies "moderate?": "Our enemies are quite explicit about their intentions.  They want to overthrow moderate governments..." (George Bush, State of the Union address)

Toll-free numbers for congressmen, connecting all offices:
(800) 862-5530 or
(800) 833-6354
May 8th http://ralphlopezworld.com

What is Charles going to do to bring magnet light rail to the U.S.?

Posted by DocTwain on January 24, 2007 at 11:48 PM I never would have come here at all if it wasn't for that speech by Webb. Christ! it made you want to yell and get things off your chest.

Webb's the guy that used to be a Republican, right?

The guy that grassroots Democrats gave time and money to, to help get him to Washington.

And his rebuttal to the president's state of the union speech somehow managed to excite Democratic activists more than some long time elected Democrats do.

The same activists who say some long time Democrats sound too much like Republicans.

Seems to me that this is just the sort of puzzling phenomenon that highly paid consultants to the Democratic Party should be able to shed some light on if they are worth the price they are paid.

Is this the thread?

PATHETIC!
.
.
.
YOU KNOW YOU'RE A FORMIDABLE CANDIDATE WHEN YOU ARE TARGETTED BY FOX NOT NEWS.

CHECK IT OUT!

Do what NEEDS to be done, and be populists? Unite the middle class? Talk like Webb, and roll like Roosevelt?

Doc,

Well put. Too many of our leadership are so hung up on getting elected that they have forgottten why people vote for Democrats in the first place.

The nation is hungry for a change from the Republican hypocricy, but our leadership seems afraid to cease the moment. There is a populist feeling growing. A nationalist feeling growing. A reform movement growing.

I've said it before. I don't think any of the frontrunners are going to get the nomination unless they embrace change. What happened in Connecticut to Lieberman can happen nationally. We don't have to back the failed past.

Moving back to the center now represents the status quo. American's don't like it.

They want opportunity. They want the American Dream. Sitting on the fence in the middle watching and waiting for the right segway is cowardness. We owe it to our children and grandchild to get off that fence and forge forward even if it means we sacrificing our retirement to do it.

Americans have always prided themselves with offering the next generation a better life than the one their parents gave to them.....the clock is ticking for the baby boomers. We are not living up to our responsibility.

If there are none among our current leadership who will admit it and move forward to correct it, then it's time we found others who will. Let more Webbs step up and speak what they feel and not be afraid or being rebuked.

Posted by dorsano on January 25, 2007 at 12:08 AM

Tony,

I may be wronhg but I think a lot of the Dixiecrats want to come back to the Democratic fold.

They have tired of the Republicans' incompetence, waste, and unquenchable thrist for power. However, it must be made clear that they are not welcome to return unless they drop the racism and sexism that lured them away in the first place.

I think a lot of the younger Dixiecrats (I'm pretty certain most of the younger generation have no ideas what this term means nor are they the racists their parents were) are ready to do just that. They long for a place where reality is faced and problems are solved. They want their opportunity to move up the economic ladder.

They don't like the way things are heading...especially how the GOP is so intent on destroying our American way of life and replacing it with a multinational order ruled by those outside our country.

Without the weight of age old predjudices holding them down, these younger folks could help forge a new alliance with the Democratic party in the New South and make us stronger nationally. The 50 state strategy is in place to welcome them back and use their energies.

What we need now are leaders who speak with a Populist fever...or just plain common sense would do at this point. No wonder Webb's speech hit a cord with many of us....and them.

But unless the DLC is willing to take a few chances in the Senate and push for adopting some of the measures passed in the House, we are not going to be seen as a viable alternative to the Republicans. We need to get more people out to vote...for something. What are we offering in 2008?

If all we offer is just more fence sitting and empty rheteric, the voters will stay home. That would be such a tragedy when there is a movement about that indicates that they want to vote.

'Shocking' video: Shi'a Iraqi soldiers beat Sunnis as US trainers watch

1) Why are these stories not covered in our "press"?

2) Are you aware of how badly things are going?

3) Will you PLEASE stop it?

Bring our troops home. Get out of Iraq!

Sandy and Tony

You've both voted for republicans in the past. I lived in the south for over 20 years. You are wrong. It's still Dixie. There are exceptions, of course. But it is still Dixie.

Leave them alone. You can't fix stupid.

Fade and Sandy, I think we're all saying the same thing actually. But it's too complex to hash out in a little blog comment box.

I think we should meet in Rio for a week or so and discuss it. And then come back and deliver a report.

My question is this: What are politicians doing to completely remove corporate influence over our democracy? This has been going on for too long and needs to stop. People will say to do so is a violation of corporation's free speech. That's just a cover for lacking the political will to actually address the biggest problem our country faces. My suggestion is this, tax the hell out of money given to campaigns either directly or indirectly from corporations. If they're going to have a greater say over their representation than the everyday citizen then they should be paying more for it. That will disenfranchize them from donating and sabotaging our democracy. Rather than a violation of free speech it is a form of censorship which we do in this country all the time.

Cheers,
Randy

I think we should meet in Rio for a week or so and discuss it. And then come back and deliver a report.

Posted by dorsano on January 25, 2007 at 09:40

Splendid idea, dorsano! Sandy just returned from a little junket and i've noticed a remarkable clarity of thought that is the result of beach and ocean breeze ambiance. Is Jack still writing checks for this sort of thing?