Oh Man, FUCK the Democrats! This is all they've done this year:

[IronLionZion]

This is all they've done this year:

Democrats Passed First Minimum Wage Increase in a Decade.
Democrats Passed War Spending Bill that Included $6 Billion for Hurricane Relief.
Democrats Passed Wounded Warriors Bill to Upgrade Military Health Care and Provide a 3.5% Pay Raise for Our Troops.
Democrats Passed Legislation Out of Committee Providing the Largest Increase for Veterans Affairs Funding in History.
Iraq Supplemental Appropriations Bill Included Additional $1.8 Billion for Veterans’ Health Care.
Democrats Passed Bill to Implement 9/11 Commission Recommendations.
Democrats Passed Ethics and Lobbying Reform Bill.
Democrats Passed Bill to Cut Subsidies to Student Lenders and Provide $17 Billion in Grants and Other Student Aid.
Democrats Passed a Bill to Better Regulate the Student Loan Industry.
Democrats Passed a Fiscally Responsible Budget.
Democrats Passed Energy Bill That Increased Fuel-Efficiency Standards for First Time Since 1975.

Glorified laziness on weed. :sarcasm: And that's up through July. Who knows what they've been up to since then? I'm thinking sex, drugs, and rock and roll.


http://democrats.senate.gov/journal/entry.cfm?id=279873 Reid lists the things Repubs have obstructed as well.

http://apostille.us/news/democratic_accomplishments_in_the_110th_congress_leading_america_in_a_new_direction.shtml

http://forums.kootenaidemocrats.org/showthread.php?t=193 Here's a big list.

[ixion]

1. what is good about passing a bill to Implement 9/11 Commission Recommendations?

that's just more gestapo BS.

Look, I'm not saying they haven't done anything, but they haven't done the most important things, which is restore the Rule of Law, end the so-called (and totally bogus) War on Terror/Drugs, Repeal the unPATRIOTic Act and the Military Commissions Act, or end the illegal invasion and occupation or Iraq, and get the neocon cabal off to the Hague to be tried for war crimes. These are the things that MUST happen if we're ever to regain international standing as something more than a barbaric banana republic. They are not happening, hence, I'm disenchanted.

[IronLionZion]

3. Bush was against it

and I don't feel it is gestapo BS. I think it will actually help this country. These people have a lot on their plate.

Good luck sending th neocons off to the Hague. While I would wholeheartedly support that, it's just not in the cards now is it?

[ixion]

12. if it's not in the cards, then we are destined to remain a barbaric banana republic

no amount of diplomacy, domestic or otherwise, will change that.

Regarding the 9-11 commission: These huscksters didn't even bother to fully investigate, and yet they felt entitled to add more 'terror' laws to our already bloated legal system, these 'terror' laws that are being used against anti-war folks, environmentalists and the like. What's not gestapo about that?

I understand your point: it's a long shot on all accounts, but that doesn't mean I'm just going to forget about it. ;-)

[IronLionZion]

38. port security, rail and mass transit security, airline baggage scanning, air cargo security,

first responders, workers rights for security employees, declassifying the intelligence budget, promoting intelligence sharing and oversight, border security, protecting our civil liberties,

Come on, these are hardly bloated or used against us. This is good stuff. And I'm not making this up.

here's a fact sheet for you
http://democrats.senate.gov/dpc/dpc-new.cfm?doc_name=fs-110-1-42

[ixion]

69. protecting our civil liberties?

I'll believe that one when I see it. Right now, so-called 'security' measures seem more designed implement the police state than to prevent it. Border security? From who? Canadians? Mexicans? Border (in)security is merely a wedge issue. Oh, and I don't know if you've flown lately, but it sucks. It feels far more like Russia than a free country.

The truth, IMO, is that all the things you mentioned were secure before. DHS is a joke that is costing us billions and doing nothing to make the situation better. Civil liberties are falling by the wayside day by day, and with each fallen liberty this country more and more resembles China/Russia and the other totalitarian dictatorships.

Land of the Free and the Brave? Hardly. :eyes:

[ORDagnabbit]

2. um...yeah I voted for my dems to end the war and impeach the war criminals...

like they friggin promised!!!

[onehandle]

5. When did they promise to impeach anyone? nt

[ORDagnabbit]

11. heres some reading for you

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/07/24/2719/

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/26299


http://www.democrats.com/2006-resolution

[ORDagnabbit]

13. just in case you dont want to read the links....heres one promise

......at a fundraiser in Los Angeles for the Democratic Party when one of the featured guests was Rep. John Conyers. The issue of impeachment came up and the crowed roared in approval when Conyers said that if the Democrats took control of Congress, he would become head of the powerful House Judiciary Committee and would initiate impeachment proceedings. That, he said, was one of the reasons why it was so important to go all out to get Democrats elected.

[onehandle]

14. One Representative is not the Party.

Neither is one hundred.

Governor Dean and the party never promised anything like that.

[fascisthunter]

4. While Our Country Turns to Shit

way to lower the bar.

"Don't be so negative... the Dems did something, see?!"

[Snotcicles]

79. Considering all the obstruction and filibustering the Republicans have done

to make sure nothing gets passed. I think they have done a hell of a lot compared to those asshole America haters.

[polichick]

6. Sorry, I can't give the Dumbocrats a pass...

The American people deserve way better than these folks served up.

[Occam Bandage]

32. DUMBOCRATS! HURRRRR!

GET IT?! IT IS BECASE THEY R DUMB!

Megadittos, good buddy!

[IronLionZion]

37. Do the American people deserve a Dem president and bigger majority?

You're absolutely right the people deserve better. Let's make it happen in 2008.

[enough already]

59. Not if we're going to be complicit when Bush is committing war crimes

When Nancy Pelosi et al know that we are torturing people and they do NOTHING, when they actually SUPPORT it, why the fuck would anyone want to vote for us?

[tom_paine]

54. Yeah, what's up with the Limbacontin Lingo?

You are not going to get much sympathy or respect using RW memes.

Just some friendly advice. :hi:

[polichick]

73. Actually I've never heard a Republican say such a thing...

Just honestly think these Congressional Dems are acting like major dumbasses.

I don't watch or listen to RW folks ~ and can't imagine why anyone would. imo some posters here worry way too much about reacting to Republicans and not nearly enough about the tragic loss of our party. No Democrat should be giving Pelosi, Reid and others a pass for not doing their jobs when so many lives are at stake.

[skipos]

7. Didn't some of these pass the house but not the senate? nt

[IronLionZion]

16. The ones I listed passed the Senate nt

[IronLionZion]

22. Here's a list of what's signed into law, what's passed the Senate, passed the house, on Bush's desk,

http://altmire.house.gov/110th-accomplishments.shtml

[skipos]

34. Thanks. nt

[skipos]

35. .

.

[tom_paine]

57. This is a good list. Handy. I bookmarked it. Some of it is spinning a bit, though.

The benchmarks are bullshit. Bushies blew right through them, nothing changed, they're about to get their money again.

Don't get me wrong, this is, though a bit self-serving and spun, a worthwhile list, that's why I intend to continue to refer to it.

But you don't play politics with felonies and endangering the Constitution by shredding it. And you most certainly don't let Alberto Gonzales walk away after he perjures himself a dozen times on videotape and is contradicted by everyone else's testimony, including the Director of the FBI!

My God, they impeached Clinton over a miniscule perjury told hundreds of times a day and exposed almost as often, never resulting in charges, in divorce courts every day.

And Gonzales breezes through, lets off a dozen perjury felonies, and strolls out, never to be heard from again?

These are things which are beyond politics. If a Democratic AG did anything like this, I would expect and hope to see them also prosecuted.

Anyway, good list, but my mind is unchanged.

[cboy4]

8. You're easily impressed. n/t

[IronLionZion]

19. You're easily disappointed. I refuse to wallow in negativity and defeatism.

and I support the actions of our Democratic congress.

[cboy4]

23. You must have a high dry cleaning bill every month.

You know, from allowing the Democrats to walk all over your back.

Your OP is the reason politicians feel they don't have to work and fight as hard as they should.

Because there are ass-kissers who are more than happy to whisper sweet nothings in their ears about how they're doing a heckuva job Brownie.

[IronLionZion]

27. I don't waste money on dry cleaning, I wash my washable clothes

and persistent negativity is a big reason to not work or fight as hard as they should, because they feel no one appreciates what they do. If they get only negativity from the people, and money from the corporations, then who are they going to listen to?

Of course we should hold them accountable, and we do. On every important vote there are phone threads asking us to call our elected representatives and tell them what we want. But only once in a while is there any positive reinforcement after they do something right, like sending flowers to Boxer when she challenged the vote in the presidential election. Democrats have accomplished a lot, and its huge a disservice to our elected officials, our party, and to us, if we ignore that and pretend it never happened. Nothing good can come of it.

[RiverStone]

49. I'd give them a letter grade of a C-

They certainly did not surprise us.

They certainly did disappoint us on NOT standing up to BushCo on the most compelling issue that voters had on their minds last November (the war).

They deserve credit per the legislation you cited.

They sure as hell better do better in 08!

Though I'll give them credit where due, some good things - but performed way under potential.

Therefore, a C-

[Cha]

56. How about reality?

I thought that's where I'm "wallowing".

[fed-up]

9. BFD, meanwhile they continue funding this illegal, immoral war...nt

[Perry Logan]

10. A pro-Democratric thread? You'll never make it to "The Greatest" this way.

"President Bush's success rating in the Democratic-controlled House has fallen this year to a half-century low, and he prevailed on only 14 percent of the 76 roll call votes on which he took a clear position.

"So far this year, Democrats have backed the majority position of their caucus 91 percent of the time on average on such votes. That marks the highest Democratic unity score in 51 years."
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=1728952&mesg_id=1728952
http://public.cq.com/docs/cqt/news110-000002576765.html

Don't let the media rhetoric fool you. The Democrats have acquitted themselves quite well--especially given their bare majority in both houses, and a relentlessly obstructionist Republican minority.

this 110th Congress has had more roll call votes this year than any
other Congress in history, almost doubling the number under the previous Congress overseen by Boehner
and House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL):
The House last week held its 943rd roll call vote of the year, breaking the previous
record of 942 votes, a mark set in 1978. The vote was on a procedural motion related to a
mortgage foreclosure bill. When the House adjourned on Oct. 4 for the long weekend, the
chamber had reached 948 roll call votes, putting Democrats on pace to easily eclipse 1,000
votes on the House floor in 2007.
Last year, the Republican controlled House held 543 votes, and for historical comparison,
the last time there was a shift in power in Congress, Republicans held 885 roll call votes in
1995. The Senate, which has held 363 votes this year, isn’t on pace to break any
records, but has already surpassed the 2006 Senate mark of 279 votes.
Much of the lack of progress can be traced back to obstructionism by conservatives. Approximately “1 in
6 roll-call votes in the Senate this year have been cloture votes,” noted a JulyMcClatchy report. “If this
pace of blocking legislation continues, this 110th Congress will be on track to roughly triple the previous
record number of cloture votes.”
It’s interesting that Boehner is criticizing the 110th Congress as doing nothing. After all, the House, under
his leadership, met for just 101 days during the second session of the 109th Congress, setting the record
“for the fewest days in session in one year since the end ofWorld War II.”

There are countless investigations going on. Healthcare is on the table. The internet is safe for now. Our wounded vets are no longer lying around in their own urine. The Senate Ethics Committee is back in action. Many 9/11 Commission recommendations are being passed. A bill to increase financial aid for colleges has passed--the single largest increase in college aid since the GI bill. The President's signing statements are being investigated. Legislation to restore habeus corpus has been approved. The Senate Armed Services Committee has passed legislation "that would grant new rights to terror suspects held at Guantanamo Bay. The unions have a voice in the government now—as do gays, women, and minorities. The environment has a fighting chance. The House passed the Taxpayer Protection Act, to protect taxpayers against "identity theft, deceptive Web sites and loan sharks." It also makes it "easier for taxpayers to retrieve property lost as a result of a wrongful Internal Revenue Service levy and directs the IRS to notify lower-income people that they qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit." The House approved a bill spending $1.7 billion over five years for cleaner water. There's a new House committee devoted solely to addressing the issue of global warming. And so on.

[oasis]

21. Kick and recommend Perry Logan's post along with this informative thread.

:kick:

[tom_paine]

72. You know, Perry, it is just like the Bushies to impugn the motives of those who you disagree with

Can you really think that that the myriad of anger and outrage is simply juvenile ego desirous of making the Greatest Page?

Can you not know that many if not most of the people who are criticizing the Democratic Leadership now, are the very ones who busted our asses and donated them off in 2006 to give the Democratic Party it's majorities?

Given the privatization and lack of accountability in our elections, by just how many votes DID we ACTUALLY have to win to get the 54-46% result inthe "counted" votes? Given that is a statistical impossibility that every election "error" goes in favor of the Bushies (ever try flipping a coin and having heads come up five thousand times in a row? Yeah, me neither), do you realize what all of us had to do, from guys like you in Upper Management to guys like me driving cars, making calls and hanging those wonerful doorknob-hangers (in a previous post I call them door-knockers, then referred to my eelection day partner as a "doorknocker", which she was while I for the most part drove...this was an error...the young-lady was a doorknocker, what we hung on the doors were doorknob-hangers).

I have said this before to you Perry and I will keep saying, whether you are doing it inadvertantly or not, PLEASE STOP USING BUSHIE VERBAL TACTICS TO SMEAR YOUR FOES.

I know it's easy and fun. If successful, you can completely eradicate someone's integrity in the eyes of a disinterested observer forever with one fell swoop.

Oh, sure, everyone here, all they are trying to do is get on the Greatest Page, therefore, nothing they say means anything. Plays right into Bushie hands by reinforcing a meme that they will use against us after you have helped grease it's well-worn path in people's minds a little more.

Because we Democrats did not resist or even understand what was going on as the Bushies assembled the greatest, most sophistaicated propaganda machine in all of human history in the 80s and 90s, all of their lies are now Conventional Wisdom fully embedded in people's subconscious-es like the McDonald's Jingle.

Want to knwo what the one "Bushie Conventional Wisdom" you are mimicking here?

This one: All those who oppose us do so for vile, ulterior motives. ALL. All who support us do so for the purest and direct motives...ALWAYS.

I understand why you would use it. It is a ready made club of brutal power, especially considering it is now a part of every American's subconscious (like all good advertising)...yes even you and me because that is what makes subconsciously-directed advertising so pernicious. It is targeted at the subconscious and therefore cannot so easily be dislodged.

But when you swing this Bushie Club because it hits so hard and often leaves opponents dazed and ready to take another smashing, you help THEM.

And I will surely cry a river for you, if Sen. Clinton gets the nomination and the Bushies do to you what you are trying to do to others here at DU. Of course, it is really all of us they will be whaling on with this one club in a vast array of subconciously implanted Bushie Memes.

But the more I see you in action, Perry, with your insinuation, insults, and cut-n-pastes, the less sympathy I will have when others to to you what you have done to others.

I'll say it again. PLEASE STOP USING BUSHIE VERBAL TACTICS TO SMEAR YOUR FOES.

Take a lesson from IronLionZion if you are truly interested in convincing people of the correctness of your position.

[flamin lib]

15. Say it long and say it loud. I get so damn tired of hearing that

there is no difference between the parties I just want to puke.

That was all I heard here in Texas during the 2000 election--there's not a dime's worth of difference, Bush is a moderate, they're all the same and so on.

Well, how did things work out? Was Bush a moderate? Was there a dime's worth of difference?

Am I a moderate democrat? Fuck no, I'm a pissed of Dem because I haven't gotten all I wanted but I'll be damned if I don't get pissed off at all the whining about what we DIDN'T get.

[IronLionZion]

18. THANK YOU!!!

:hi:

[spoony]

67. Your sig says it best!

If more people thought like that when evaluating the Dem performance the bandwidth for this site would drop by half from the lack of all the over the top comments.

[mzmolly]

17. I think that's a great list, and it does demonstrate important differences.

However, the Democratic Leadership must take up the issues of the utmost importance in the eyes of America. Justice and an end to the war. We must at the very least ATTEMPT one or the other in a tangible manner. We must unmistakably confront George Bush. Note the word "must?" ;)

[Occam Bandage]

20. That would be a fantastic array of accomplishments any year. When you have a filibuster-happy

Senate and a Veto-happy President, it's an amazing list.

K&R for the Democrats.

[gateley]

24. Ditto - K&R for the Dems! Thanks for the positive post. I have a suspicion that

if they DID end the war and begin impeachment hearings, there would still be complaints about what they hadn't done.

Although I AM pissed that the war effort seems to have actually dropped off the radar, and that impeachment hasn't been pursued, I'll give them credit for their accomplishments. Better than what would have been achieved had we NOT had the majority...

[Thothmes]

78. How many

pieces of legislation did Bush veto? How many pieces of legislation was blocked by filibuster?

[DutchLiberal]

25. Did they impeach?

[Perry Logan]

26. Read the thread. They were obviously too busy.

[DutchLiberal]

29. Oh yeah, they were too busy to defend and uphold the Constitution...

Stupid me...

[Occam Bandage]

33. Had they impeached, they wouldn't have accomplished any of that. And Bush would still be

President.

[DutchLiberal]

41. It's the opposite: they can't accomplish anything really important

untill Bsh and Cheney are impeached. Like ending the war.

It's a bullshit argument that they cant do anything while impeaching.

[Occam Bandage]

50. And why would impeaching him allow them to accomplish anything?

[DutchLiberal]

81. Maybe you didn't notice how Bush practically vetoes everything and cites 'executive privilige'

about everything?? How will Congress end the war and investigate the crimes of this administration if Bush can continue to do this?

[IronLionZion]

30. Did they say they would? nt

[DutchLiberal]

31. That question is irrelevant.

[Truth2Tell]

28. Look at these beautiful deck chairs

so nicely re-arranged!



But wait.... what's this?

[skipos]

36. Not bad for a 1 seat senate majority that includes Lieberman

There is a lot more that needs to be done, and it could be done with a Dem president and a bigger Dem majority in the house and senate.

[IronLionZion]

39. Here's the Dem Senate Agenda if you want to read it.

http://democrats.senate.gov/agenda/

This is important stuff that we desperately needed. Republicans were not allowing this before but now we have it thanks to our slim majority that includes two independents.

[IronLionZion]

40. If you lefties are wondering what our one socialist senator has been up to,

http://sanders.senate.gov/issues/

Am I the only one who thinks it's wonderful and historic that we even have a socialist US senator?

[progressoid]

42. No Shit. I wish the Republicans were back in charge.

We'd all be a lot better off with two more years of them running the show.

[jgraz]

43. We all agree that most Dems are somewhat better than most Rethugs

Now, how does that excuse their failure to uphold the Constitution?

[progressoid]

45. Actually, I don't think we can even agree on that.

I've seen posters on DU that span the gamut from party apologists to those that believe we are a one-party nation.

Was there something in my previous post that made an excuse for "their failure to uphold the Constitution"?

[jgraz]

46. If not an excuse, what was the point of the "we'd be much better off" sarcasm

The implication is that those of us who are railing against the current Dem leadership want the Repugs back in charge.

[jgraz]

44. Seriously, dude, WTF is your point?

"Dissent is bad"?
"La la la the Dems are wonderful"?
"Mininum wage hikes make up for betraying the Constitution"?
"I work for the DCCC"?
"Lame-ass motivational posters give me a semi-hard"?

:shrug:

[IronLionZion]

47. No, but I often wonder how many DUers work for Republican Party

There is a powerful undercurrent of anti-Democratic hatred running through DU that stems from defeatism and other counter-productive negative thinking.

What sort of liberal thinks minimum wage hikes, funding for education and healthcare, and real homeland security is somehow not important or just plain didn't happen?

What sort of Democrat thinks it won't be a good idea to increase our majority enough to make Lieberman (independent, NOT a Democrat) irrelevant and put a Dem in the white house?



let me put on my W hat for a minute:
jgraz, are you with us or with the Republicans? Do you want to win the war against neoconservatism?

I'll take that hat off now:
What do you want and what have you done to make it happen? What are you prepared to do, jgraz? Those are the defining questions we face in this difficult time.

[jgraz]

48. Ok, let's try to get that train of thought back on the tracks

"There is a powerful undercurrent of anti-Democratic hatred running through DU that stems from defeatism and other counter-productive negative thinking. "

You're Tony Robbins, aren't you?

Seriously, this pop-psycho-babble B.S. doesn't hold a single drop of water. There's nothing defeatist about dissent. There's nothing defeatist about outrage. But, if you want to descend into the Dr. Phil Zone, what you're advocating sounds an awful lot like co-dependency.


"What sort of liberal thinks minimum wage hikes, funding for education and healthcare, and real homeland security is somehow not important or just plain didn't happen?"

It's called prioritization. No liberal thinks a minimum wage hike is unimportant, we just think it's less important than the death of democracy in this country.


"What sort of Democrat thinks it won't be a good idea to increase our majority enough to make Lieberman (independent, NOT a Democrat) irrelevant and put a Dem in the white house?"

I'm guessing you're the "sort of Democrat" who would have supported Lieberman and all his bullshit right up to the point where he declared as an independent.

I'm the "sort of Democrat" who can see that Lieberman was not unique in our party, and that until people like Feinstein, Hillary Clinton, Rahm Emanuel, The Nelson twins, Evan Bayh, etc, etc, etc are sent packing, we will never have true progressive reform in this country.

"let me put on my W hat for a minute:"

My guess is you wear that hat a lot.


"jgraz, are you with us or with the Republicans? Do you want to win the war against neoconservatism?"

My thinking tends to be less jingoistic and simple-minded. If this is your idea of political discourse, I think there's another party you'd be more comfortable with.


"I'll take that hat off now:
What do you want and what have you done to make it happen? What are you prepared to do, jgraz? Those are the defining questions we face in this difficult time."

Much of what I do and am prepared to do cannot be discussed on this board. What I did in 2006 was phone bank, register voters, walk precincts, protest against the Rethug regime and donate til it hurt. And look where that got us.

One of the things I will NOT do is stick my fingers in my ears, hum the Star-Spangled Banner and pretend that everything is just fine with our party.

[tom_paine]

51. Not that it will help, but by God, was that a well-written, well-said post, jpgraz!

I, too busted my ass and donated my ass off to the Dems not just in 2006, but 2004 and 2002, as well.

While working a full-time job.

Not that it makes me special. There are people who have done more, much more, but the vast vast majority of Americans and even DUers, I would speculate, did nothing.

I have taken Election Day off for three even years running, driving people to the polls, running errands, and in 2006, making canvassing rounds with those great doorknockers.

I was driver (I am getting older; I can stil pound the pavement if I have to, I have done so in all three past "elections", but at this point I prefer doing that less frequently) and a young African-American woman, who was the door-knocker.

Within 20 minutes of starting, she got called a n*gger. Great young lady, she had no reason to, but she picked herself up and metaphorically dusted herself off, then kept onward.

I canvassed for a good half-hour or more while she collecetd herself, then we continued for 6 more hours, breaking only for lunch.

I was enthusiastic to do all of this and more. I considered sacrificing a day off for my country to be small sacrifice indeed.

naaah, you and me and that African-American woman (I wish I could remember her name, but I do not) we are just a bunch of bellyaching do-nothings.

I couldn't have put it better than you just did, sir. Not a bit.

[IronLionZion]

52. You want to know where it got us?

I already told you what it got us. Those life-saving liberal initiatives could not have been possible without Dem majorities. And thank you for your efforts in the election.

As for the death of democracy, we still have elections and we still elect representatives who we trust to pass these laws. If you don't like the job they are doing (I do), you still have the right to elect someone else next time. And I do hope to not only increase our majorities, but increase our number of progressive and libertarian Dems and put a Dem(no matter who it is) in the white house. To adapt a phrase that Bill Clinton used, there's nothing wrong with our party that can't be fixed by what is right with our party. Do not forget that our current majority is due largely to the efforts of our DNC chairman to reach out to more conservative areas of the country and therefore elect more conservative Dems. Maybe we can leverage this towards electing more liberals down the road.

Optimism, positive thinking, and giving credit where it is due is most definitely NOT sticking my fingers in my ears or ignoring anything.

[tom_paine]

53. Even though I disagree with you, I do respect you and what you do.

No political party or any organization for that matter could survive without, for lack of a better word, gung-ho folks like yourself.

So keep doing what you're doing. Don't let anyone drag you down or stop your spirit (that is probably not possible, based on the tone and tenor of your posts). Though I strongly disagree with you, I respect your service to the Democratic Party, and I suspect you have been at it for awhile (either that or you are a monumental liar, which I do NOT believe to be the case).

You'll get no disagreement from me about Howard Dean. I would have gladly voted for him in 2004 and it is a pity that he got, really it was a form of Swiftboating, crushed by the MSM.

I also agree with his 50-state strategy and think he has been fantastic as a DNC Chairman.

But where is his spine, his zeal for telling it like it is, when we look to the Democratic Leadership? Do you think if HE were Speaker of the House, impeachment would be off the table, especially if so much felony evidence had been so swiftly uncovered?

Anyway, my point is the world needs all kinds to make it go, and the Democratic Party would probably be dead in the water without diehards like you to soldier on in times like these.

But man, like alcoholism, sometimes a problem has to be recognized before it can be fixed. If someone is on the wrong path (in this case I choose alcoholism for the befuddling fear and serial retreat - don't make me retrace the same rhetorical steps as you made jpgraz
- I too am happy about the minimum wage but it is nothing comapred to restrengthening our system of checks and balances) what does false optimism and positive thinking serve?

Only to deepen the problem by denial.

So, I respectfully disagree with your position and I second jpgraz.

I hope it turns out you are right and I am wrong. The nation and world would be such a better place if only it were so, and I say that sincerely.

[IronLionZion]

58. Our best days are ahead of us Tom

Howard Dean tells us this is merely the beginning of the Democratic revolution, but it will be stronger and last longer than the Republicans' reign. The seeds are being sown for a long and promising future. This is still a conservative era, but the pendulum will swing back to the left.

The party of the people takes all sorts of people to survive. Thanks for your efforts in the elections and I do hope you continue with it.

[jgraz]

63. You really don't want to use "life-saving" as an argument

Remind me again how many people have died in Iraq since the Dems took power?

You can go ahead and give credit where it is due, as long as you also honestly acknowledge the failures and work to correct them. Positive thinking and optimism are not substitutes for clear-eyed realism. In fact when things are as bad as they've been, optimism borders on delusion.

[spoony]

68. Posts like the OP are a good counterbalance to the

more over-the-top criticisms and obituaries for the Democratic Party and the US as a whole.

[BootinUp]

55. nice thread

and very unusual for DU, lol.

[oasis]

62. Worth a kick into 12/11.

:kick:

[IronLionZion]

60. Feel free to add Dem accomplishments as they happen

and repost this list as many times as it takes. Sometimes people need to be reminded that Dems ARE doing something, even if stopping the war or checking Bush's power is taking longer than we would like.

I for one certainly believe in the power of positive thinking. We can and will do better.

[Bushwick Bill]

61. Agree...

we can do better than being a credit card company lackey.

[oasis]

64. kick

[Dr Fate]

65. Tell the swing voters. DUers are already voting DEM.

Your average DUer wants something big that all the TV shows talk about.

Then again, that is what swing voters notice too. The difference is DUers are not swing voters-we have to vote DEM no matter how much or little we know about their accomplishments...

Great stuff but it is kind of vanilla when held up to all the things they are not doing...it does not inspire me all that much-but I'm not a swing voter-maybe this stuff will impress them.

I'm glad they are doing some things- but it is not big enough to get noticed or to create a media story- I really dont hear the man on the street talking of this specific stuff like they talk about ending the war or holding Bush accountable.

IN OTHER WORDS- if we saw swing-voters and Bush fatigued red-staters getting as fired up over these accomplishments as you, then maybe we wouldnt worry about the DEMS being seen as "doing nothing."

Thinking that DUers and partisans are the only ones who percieve the DEMS as "not doing enough" is a mistake.

[oasis]

66. kick . DUers need to look at the "big picture" from time to time. (eom)

[acmavm]

70. What a crock. We should congratulate them for passing some legislation

(WHICH IS THEIR JOB BY THE WAY) one some issues that are important, but NOT VITAL TO THE SURVIVAL OF THIS NATION.

It's the big shit that they lie about, cover up, stall action on, and ignore. If I did that at work, I wouldn't last very long.

[rAVES]

71. The Ship is sinking but we polished the deck!

[BootinUp]

75. that made me laugh. nt

[rasputin1952]

74. I agree that a lot has been done, there is certainly room for more

to be done, but a year is a year, and it pales in the 12+ the R's have had to screw everything up, especially after 9-11 when they were given virtually a free pass to take the country to hell in a hand-basket.

There are some who will never see any satisfaction until their personal points of view are addressed, and just forget everything else.

Before some serious major issues can be dealt with, we have to increase the # of D's and try to make sure they are at least somewhat dedicated to changing what the neo-cons have done to this nation. There are still enough R's to hold back changes, and w/o a pretty good majority, some things just aren't going to be done...the R's are being the "obstructionists" they always claimed the D's were.

Things will be hashed out on DU and other sites, in the meantime, those who are the most vociferous will sit in front of their screens, typing away, rarely, if ever, getting out to really try to change things.

Hang in there, changes will come, and if those who squeal the most get out and do the hard work necessary to make changes happen...things will change considerably faster...:)

[Mass]

76. True, but people on DU should already know that. Send this as a LTTE to

the MSM newspapers who spend their time pushing Bush's meme of a do-nothing congress.

This said, if your post is to blame those here who want more, you are wrong. What gets done in Congress is done by negotiation and strength. The freepers are very strong at pushing their agendas and I have never seen a Republican politician push them back publicly. Democrats are constantly saying that their left is crazy. So, the far right ends pulling more and the center moves to the right. We need people here to pull toward the left so that we can find the balance again.

[IronLionZion]

77. Of course we all want more

there's nothing wrong with that. I was merely sharing the Dem accomplishments this year and countering the meme of "do nothing Dems". This is good stuff they've done so far and too many DUers are unaware or act like it didn't happen. That sort of thinking doesn't help the situation.

The 00's are a conservative time. The pendulum should swing back to the left soon. I'm hoping we increase our majorities and put a Dem in the white house. Then we will see bigger and better accomplishments. I want to see then reigning in the defense contractors, oil companies, and health care industry. I hope to see single-payer health care within a decade if we can build up a constituency of supporters and generate the political will to do it.

I just like seeing positive stuff posted sometimes instead of just doom and gloom.

[readmoreoften]

80. Some of those are good, some are not.

The war spending bill and the money send to the Gulf. Where is this money going to? The disaster capitalism complex in New Orleans and their Blackwater escorts? Or people trying to rebuilding their homes?


The 9-11 commission recommendations: egads, I don't want those ideas implemented.


(the other stuff all looks good to me)