Two Babes and a Brain

The Problem With Outsiders

My liberal buds here at TwoBabes and those liberals who exist in my real life are always on my ass to deal with the DLC vs. the "Netroots Progressives." The argument they make is that the DLC has lost and lost and lost and the "Netroots" is the new way. I always say no and then they yell at me. :o)

I promised HC that I would post on it--deal with it directly--take the bull by the horns--or whatever. I asked for some time because I am on deadline for work--but, procrastination being the better part of valor, made today seem an appropriate time to at least begin the discussion.

So, here we go...

Here's your sticker...

Eschaton has a hard on for Joe Biden--and not in a good way. Three posts in three days--here, here and here.

Apparently, their major problem with Biden is that he believes the Democratic Party has to be tough on National Security and must stop being condescending to people of faith in order to win in 2008.

They don't like being criticized and say that Democrats won't vote for anyone who has told them "they suck."

First off, this kind of complaint smacks of someone who was educated by the public school system in the last 20 years. No constructive criticism allowed because it might make their self-esteem suffer. Sounds just like my 9 year old who gave me crap the other day for getting angry with him because he didn't finish his homework.

He told me that it was my job to make him feel good about himself...he is very sorry he said that. He had to sit through my lecture about how it was my job to raise a good, responsible and productive member of society and that my job was NOT to make him feel good about himself. My job was, in fact, on occasion, to make him feel bad about himself so that he would have an incentive to not act in a manner that was contrary to his best interests.

I told him, that at school he might get a sticker just for showing up but not here in Mommy's world and definitely not in the real world...

Biden is right. Dems need to be tough on National Security. Hey, newsflash people--everyone needs to be tough on National Security. You do remember that bad people flew planes into buildings right here in our country not that long ago, right? You have heard the news about Iran and the whole enriching uranium thing, right? Anyone see the news about North Korea?

A strong National Defense doesn't mean we need to follow failed policies but it does mean we need a strong military. We need the best equipment. We need the best training. We need real homeland security--not this ridiculous department that can't find it's ass with both hands. We need to spend real money securing our railways and bridges and infrastructure. We need to secure our borders so we know who is coming here and what they are doing once they come. We need to give first responders the ability to talk to one another in a crisis. We need to know what the hell is coming here in all those port containers and what is flying beneath you in the cargo hold of the airplanes we fly in.

Whether or not it hurts the self-esteem of the Dems, all of this stuff matters. As for Iraq, bad intel or lies or however you view why we went to Iraq, only matters if we are actually going to hold those people accountable. Since we gave all of the guys involved in that Medals of Freedom, I don't think we are going to have a big public lynching any time soon. What matters now is the right policy in Iraq. Anyone who thinks we can pack it in and run home now is mired in a public school mentality where what they feel and what they want counts.

We need to hold the people in charge of things over there accountable. We need to have benchmarks and timetables so that we can see if they are performing. We need to know when companies we paid billions of dollars to aren't getting things done, we need to know when the people in charge of ordering stuff like bullets and helmet pads aren't doing their jobs and we need to know that when mistakes are made, people are asking the right questions so we don't repeat those mistakes. (see Michelle Malkin for the "we're just incompetent" cheer)

I'm sorry if Eschaton doesn't like it, but that's life. Sometimes reality doesn't make you feel good.

As for the Dems being condescending to people of faith, you need look no further than the comment section on Eschaton to see that it's true:

If Joe Biden is referring to fundies as people of faith, he might want to up his habit of crack to ease the pain of his learning that I shall fart in his general direction.
Snow, Stupid Grammar Nazi

It'd be nice if someone asked Biden's office if the Senator really has to spend every fucking Sunday morning on one of the gabfests? Yeah, he's a Papist, so he can go to Mass on Saturday night and he's no obliged to be a miserable bored fucker on Sundays. But every week? For fuck's sake, even the pastor of Praise The Lord And Pass The Salad Baptist Church has a week off.
pseudonymous in nc

People of Faith vs. People of No Faith. Let's see, which are the good guys?
.
Agent Orange

People of Faith?
is that people who purchased the george michael album?
olexicon,Sir Humpty

So basically, Eschaton's problem with Biden is that he is right. He is right for the Democratic Party and right for the American people, he's just not right for the far left. Again, so what? The Kos guy admited they can't deliver an election and at last count, only three out of the 25 candidates they backed made it through the primary. Maybe if Biden sends them some stickers they will stop whining...

Chris

Pat, one of my favorite Republicans, over at ABP, is having a Biden nickname contest. Thought I'd fill you in just to show you that I am a good sport...

The Right Democratic Candidate...

There was a piece in the Washington Post today that asked the question, "What is wrong with the Democrats?" It's here and worth a read if for no other reason than to reaffirm that Shrum and his purple scarf belong to the trash heap of history.

The piece lays out all of the different advice the Democratic party is receiving and all of the reasons underlying that advice. It's interesting but it is also disappointing--at least for me--because it fails in its conclusion. The piece doesn't take the obvious leap and tell you--that at some level all of this advice is worth while and most of it accurate. It doesn't tell you that all of the reasons the advice is being given are valid. And most importantly, it doesn't tell you that these things aren't contradictory.

So, I'm going to take that step...and show you how all of this can be used by the right Democratic candidate to win the Presidential election.

Democrats Eat Their Own

There was this piece in the Washington Post yesterday by Markos Moulitsas--the Daily Kos guy.

It is basically his take on Hillary Clinton and why she might not win.

I'm all for dispelling the myth and mystique of Hillary and her "apparent front runner" status. I don't think she is the front runner. I think dubbing her the front runner is wrong. I have already said that I won't vote for her...so I'm with Marcus on that one point.

In his piece, he describe the campaign of Howard Dean and how the "progressives" and "net roots" communities were so successful. He then says this:

Had Kerry not lent himself millions to reach the Iowa caucuses, and had Dean not been so green a candidate, Dean probably would have been the nominee.

He slaps Hillary for not recognizing the importance and power of the "progressives" and "net roots" communities. He beats up on Bill Clinton for:

kill(ing)the Jesse Jackson wing of the Democratic Party.

He plays up Hillary's "Washington Insider" status and says that the "progressives" and "net roots" communities have had candidates imposed on them by "Washington Insiders" for a long time. No more, he cries.

It is a well written piece, in which, Kos gets almost everything wrong--with the exception that Hillary shouldn't win; proving my husbands favorite saying, "Even a blind hog finds an acorn every now and then."

Howard Dean didn't lose because he was inexperienced. He lost because he was an idiot. He imploded. He self-destructed. (And I'm not talking about the Scream. He shot himself in the ass, long before that.)

Dean was a creation of the media. The media wanted to cheer an underdog so they made one. Trouble is, except in the movies, underdogs usually lose.

Howard Dean was bound to lose, before he ever ran. He is from Vermont for God's Sake!

As for the self-proclaimed power of the "progressives" and "net roots" communities...show me one race where these guys have raised money, recruited workers and did their Internet thing where the candidate has actually won. In the "progressive" world, coming close and giving a good fight counts. Nice...except my mother always told me that "close only counts in horseshoes and hand-grenades," and I believe her.

The conservatives organized so well, at this level, because they decided to back people who agreed with them on some things--not all--and they stuck to it. It is the reason that the "progressives" will never be the same type of powerhouse. While the conservatives spouted talking points and destroyed Democrats the "progressives" did nothing. They said things like, "I only want a Democrat to win if it is going to mean something." Apparently, not realizing that allowing really bad guys on the other side to be elected wasn't really in their best interests.

Like whiny, petulant children the "progressives" wanted it all and anyone who didn't get ENTIRELY on board got the finger. Not the way to win friends...not when we know we can't count on you and we don't really need you to win this time around.

Kos says the "progressives" crashed the gate in the last election. (Also the title of his book) When I read the line, I got the visual of peasants wearing rags rushing the castle door with one of those tree-like thinggys. (I'm sure it has a name, but I can't remember it, thus, the term tree-like thinggy.) Trouble is, when the peasants hit the door, it was the tree-like thinggy that broke.

The progressives can't deliver. We've seen that across the board in the local elections where they have dumped their resources. But they don't get it. They think they will hold the Party hostage until they get their way. They aren't going to have the will of the "Washington insiders" imposed on them this time. Trouble is, it isn't the "progressives" who are disenfranchised. It is the 52% of the American people who don't vote, who no one pays attention to, who are disenfranchised.

People from that 52% of non-voters are going to vote this time and there are a lot of Republicans and Independents looking for a place to go to undo the damage that has been done over the last six years. They are all looking for a government that, at the very least, will be competent. They aren't going to find that in the Republican Party this time.

Kos and his minions aren't a revolution; they are barely a disturbance. They aren't even worth waking the Campus Police.

Chris

P.S. If Bill Clinton is truly responsible for killing the Jesse Jackson wing of the Democratic Party, shouldn't we send him flowers or chocolates as a thank-you?

Read this: it is too much fun!

Hillary Is Not Our A Game

(Chris Sears--you are soooo gonna owe me lunch!)

This Sunday, in the New York Times, there was a piece titled The Fallback. It showcases Mark Warner, former Governor of Virginia, as the other option for the Democratic presidential nominee in 2008. Plan A, of course, is Hillary--at least according to the New York Times and the party elite.

It is a very long piece and if you ask me it is totally wrong. It is part of the self-fulfilling prophecy the piece so aptly highlights. The thing about self-fulfilling prophecies is that everyone has to believe and act accordingly for them to work.

A Plan...

There are many of you here who claim that democrats don't have plans. Common refrains:

We know what the Democrats are against but what are they for?

Most recently we were treated to:

"Hindsight is not wisdom. Second guessing is not a plan." (Still an excellent line...speech writer awesome...)

Well, I'm a Democrat and I have a plan--almost. OK... I have the beginnings of a plan.

One More Time...

Time for yet another Memo to the Democratic Party. I am not sure why I write these because telling the Democratic Party what they are doing wrong is like telling my kids to pick their dirty clothes up off the floor--a waste of time and energy.

OK--here we go...

This is exactly why we suck...

I have signed up for every political newsletter I can find. Partially, to be better informed but, if we are being honest, mostly just 'cuz I am a political junkie. Last night, I received an email alert from Democracy for America.

Apparently, the Democratic Party believes that it is more appropriate to spend time and resources attacking members of it's own party rather than focusing on the Republicans who--in case you forgot--are in charge of the White House, the Senate and the House. (We'll have to wait and see about the Court.)

I swear, this is part of why we suck!

Where is my party?

Yesterday, I got mad over the Miers nomination. Nope. You’re wrong. I got mad at the Democrats.

Where is my party?

President Bush’s administration fed information to a political hack about a Supreme Court nominee while refusing to turn over documents to the Senate that would allow insight into that same nominee; my party said nothing.

President Bush said he used Ms. Miers religion as one of the reasons he chose her for the Court and my party said nothing.

My party is saying nothing a lot lately and I am fed up with it.

My party is so afraid of looking anti-Christian that they are running scared. My party has backed away from every important issue out there because people like Ann Coulter, Bill O’Reilly and Dobson, the schmuck, say that we are anti-Christian. They say that we are the antithesis to American Values. They are so wrong.

The Angry Democrats...

This was over at MSNBC. It's called the Democrats' Dilemma, it's by Howard Fineman and it is worth reading.

Basically it says that there is no ideological difference between the two factions of the Democratic Party that it is a matter of style. Boy, is that not true...