By MARC McDONALD
Yes, I've been disappointed with the wimpy Dems as much as any other progressive the past couple of years. But we all need to get out and vote today. That is, unless you're nostalgic for the Bush years.
As Michael Moore said:
"And if they win on Tuesday, they plan to show no mercy. They will not speak of bipartisanship or olive branches or tolerate any filibuster threats. They will come in and do the job with a mandate they'll perceive the electorate will have given them. They will not fart around for two years like the Democrats did. They will not "search for compromise" or "find middle ground." They will not meet you halfway on the playing field. They know that touchdowns aren't scored at the 50-yard line. Unlike our guys, they're not stupid or spineless. Make no mistake about it, my friends. A perfect storm has gathered of racists, homophobes, corporatists and born agains and they are on fire."
So PLEASE, get out and vote (and encourage your friends to do the same).
Here is helpful voting info from MoveOn.org:
Election 2010 Voting Information
Today, November 2nd, is Election Day! Make sure to get out and vote. Voting is pretty simple, but if you have any questions, here's an outline of helpful information. Please share this information widely---post it on Facebook and Twitter, etc.
Q: Where and when do I vote?
Find your polling place, voting times, and other important information at http://pol.moveon.org/votinginfo2010.html, using an application developed by the Voting Information Project.
You can also get your polling location by texting "where" to 30644 from your mobile phone.
These resources are excellent, but not perfect, so to double-check information, you can use the Voting Information Project application to find contact information for your state or local election official.
What do I need to bring?
Voting ID laws vary from state to state, but if you have ID, bring it. To find out the details, check out your state's info at http://www.866ourvote.org/state.
You can also find more information by calling or checking out the website of your state election official. Look up their contact information here: http://pol.moveon.org/votinginfo2010.html/
What if something goes wrong?
Not on the voter list? Make sure you're at the right polling place, then ask for a provisional ballot.
Need legal help? Call 1-866-OUR-VOTE or email help@866ourvote.org.
On your ballot
The League of Young Voters has put together a site where groups and individuals can post do-it-yourself voter guides. Check out your state here: http://theballot.org
How can I help get out the vote today?
Make calls to voters right from your home: http://pol.moveon.org/2010/call/start.html
And a quote to remind us all how important it is to vote today...
"Because if everyone who fought for change in 2008 shows up to vote in 2010, we will win this election, I'm confident that we will." --President Barack Obama
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‘Pardonnez-Moi…’
56 minutes ago
8 comments:
Marc,
We all did our best, but this time, in most districts, our best wasn't quite good enough. There is much to feel defeated or sorrowful over, but we can take great satisfaction in knowing that Angle, O'Donnell, Miller, McMahon, Fiorina, and Whitman were all prevented from getting on the public payroll.
We progressives must endure this scourge of 2010 and face 2012 with heightened resolve and tenacity. For there is no way the group of reactionaries elected last night will successfully solve our problems or be able to govern effectively, and we WILL eventually prevail!
Hi Jack, thanks for your comment. Yes, I'm consoling myself with the fact that the bastards at least didn't take the Senate.
You know, if Obama was smart, he would introduce a measure to abolish Medicare. There's no way the Republicans (or even the Tea Baggers) would dare vote for such a resolution. So this would get them on the record as saying that Medicare is an important program (and not "unconstitutional" or "socialism" as the HateWing radio nuts claim).
I think Obama would win in this scenario. And as stupid as most Americans are, I think most of them would understand that Obama wasn't really in support of abolishing Medicare, but instead was trying to make an important point.
Wouldn't it be making a more useful point for him to show strong leadership, continue to push his agenda, continue to share and support the ideas that brought him to office and to do so with even greater openness and transparency than before? Suggesting the abolition of Medicare is not only extreme, in this case it would be dishonest. Nothing good could come of it.
One thing we can take form this election is that voters want to slow the pace of reform. Passing legislation that no lawmaker or understands or has even had the opportunity to read even in a cursory way makes us look frantic and desperate. It is foolish and destructive to the progressive movement. If reform is going to be genuine, we must win the hearts and souls of the electorate. We cannot govern by saying "trust us." If we create reform in a logical, meaningful way, there is no reason to shield the legislation from the public prior to voting on it. If we continue down that path, the bloodbath of 2010 will be worse in 2012. We MUST tap the brakes every now and then or we are going to crash in spectacular fashion. I am not saying stop reform...just slow down enough we can properly debate the legislation. If it is truly necessary, the electorate will support us, and they will keep us in power in 2012.
Small consolation it is that some of the wackos didn't make it - we still have the likes of Senator Rand Paul to contend with, plus a few more.
Meanwhile, our President is talking about bending even farther over in an effort to find middle ground with a faction which has no intention of budging from their far-right position.
It looks to me like the Republicans don't have to move their agenda forward - Obama will do it for them!
It is over now. I wonder how things might have turned out if Obama had taken an all out progressive route since day one of getting elected. It's not as if the Republicans weren't going to bash him as an ultra-left wing radical anyways (which he wasn't of course, but since when has truth stopped the Republicans).
The other question is - now what? There could be committees against Obama as you say. Lets just say that the nation's Congress probably isn't going to accomplish much at this point with such a power split. In the Senate, both parties can effectively filibuster each other.
Another thing that mentioned was that it might actually be better in 2012 if the Tea Party took over and ran the nation into the ground. Their theories, according to you would be to completely discredit them. By that logic, Bush ought to have been chased out of the nation along with the advocates of his policies ... who have just gotten into power.
With the Citizens United case now solidified, the US in pretty much the worse recession in 80 years, and no way out, lets just say that if the Republicans manage to use their power effectively, over the next few years, the wheels might come falling off the US.
re:
>>Suggesting the abolition of
>>Medicare is not only extreme,
>>in this case it would be
>>dishonest.
>>Nothing good could come of it.
I appreciate your note and your other remarks. But I still think it'd be a good idea for Obama to get the GOP on the record as saying (for once) that Medicare isn't "unconstitutional" or "illegal" or "socialism" or any of the other things these Wingnuts claim that it is.
Let's get them on the record. These Nazis claim that they oppose Medicare anyway, so let's see if they have the courage of their convictions. (Of course, they don't---they're all cowards---and they'll all vote down any bill to abolish Medicare).
Make no mistake: these GOP Nazis want to abolish Medicare, Social Security and all other domestic programs. My proposal would throw up a roadblock that would at least delay the abolition of all these programs. In the long run, of course, the GOP will get its way and we will see the abolition of all these programs.
Who's going to stop them? The wimpy Dems? Please, give me a break.
Oh, and if you think I'm being alarmist, consider this: the pendulum has swung so far to the right in the past half century that Reagan made Nixon look like Michael Moore. And George W. Bush made Reagan look like Hugo Chavez. And Sarah Palin makes Bush look like Karl Marx.
Hi,CunningRunt, thanks for your comment.
Re: Rand Paul: you know, it's interesting---his father has actually said some things that I agree with (like cutting back on America's insane multi-trillion-dollar Military Industrial Complex, which is bankrupting the nation).
Ron Paul is a true Libertarian. Most "Libertarians" that I hear these days are nothing more than Republicans, and they support spending trillions on the Pentagon---as well as keeping the insane Drug War going, etc.
But if a private business wants to discriminate against blacks, then they're cool with that.
Hi Chris, thanks for stopping by.
re:
>>Obama had taken an all out
>>progressive route since day one
>>of getting elected
To tell you the truth, I don't think Obama would know what "progressive" was if it sneaked up and bit him in the ass.
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