...from a guy whose name is Mudd, as printed over at Bartcop.  It's not poetry, but it has a certain charm:

If you want me to act, then you show me your party has the resolve to fight.
Show up on television and take the fight to the media.
If you can't even do that, the I'd be wasting my time and money trying to help you.
It would also help if you removed the Republicans from your party (like Lieberman for example).

The day you guys seriously work to rid us of the Diebold voting machines, or the day when you all
stand up and walk out of a senate hearing in protest because the douchebag republican you let win
the leadership (you nominated KERRY for chrissake) refuses to swear them in, that will be the day
I pledge to you my support.

They swore in Clinton to discuss his sex life, for crying out loud!
If you can't fight aggressively to attempt to force testimony on National Security-related issues
to be under oath, then you can't count on me to be motivated to help you in any way.

Your party needs to grow a pair.
Contact me when you can show me examples of this taking place.

Oh, I don't find it terribly charming, Jamie. In fact it reads like ever so many angry screeds we've seen for the past however many years gone by. In fact, I thought my sister may have written it!

That familiar first line got me right out of the box! "Fighting" Democrats.

See, I think that's one of the party's fundamental problems and misjudgments. Oh, what do I know? I left that party a decade ago. But I don't recall the old "I'll fight for you" motto coming from Bill Clinton at any time during his campaigning. It's just so .... limp. So...impotent. So unconvincing coming from the anti-warriors, even those with three Purple Hearts.

There's this implied sense of victimhood that goes along with the "I'll fight for you" mentality. YOU losers need ME to do your fighting. Against whom???? Why, those mean, underhanded, cheatin', lyin', liars = the Republicans! We Democrats have been too soft. Too nice. Too fair. Too sensitive. We need to FIGHT! Go team go! You know who the enemy is -- the voting machines that the Republicans fix! Go get 'em, Team Blue!   Picture John Belushi's "Are you with me?!?!" scene in "Animal House." Everyone stays seated as a frenzied Belushi tries to rally the troops.  

I propose a different strategy for saving the other party. You know I care! You know I don't want to see a two-party system based on the false premise of rich powerful corrupt bullies versus sweet lovable pushed-around softies, unable to effectively fight back because they are loathe to use the same dirty tactics of the opposition.

Anyway try this: Don't talk about it. DO it. And leave out the pseudo bluster of Pugilist-ese. Thou protesteth too much and it's...well... transparent. It only smacks of schoolyard bravado when the pit-bull factor is clearly missing.  Mark Warner "sensible centrist" strategy that isn't just a Chester fighting Spike plan.  It's a "here's what WE'RE gonna do..." plan. 

Who is Mudd anyway? The doctor who set John Wilkes Booth's broken leg in April 1865. That actor who shot the president.  The Republican president. 

Ah, and the ever glib Carl Oglesby. Sigh... Still lost in space while searching for the real killer (or killers) of JFK.

Other than that, I like it!

Susan

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin

I wonder if Jamie is pulling our collective leg with his endorsement of the above as charming ? I guess the idea is to ressurrect a Give 'em hell Harry (Truman) kind of pep talk. But a call to petulence and ' I'll take my ball and go home ."appraoch is certainly contraindicated here and now, and does not represent growing a pair of balls. Sounds like more childishness and more anger. Didn't Harry Reid and company do the walk out bit a month ago? Dems should get issue oriented, show an adult, reasoned, more sophisticated playbook as Susan suggested.

Balsy Harry Reed after boasting " We killed the Patriot Act ! " last month quietly, meekly and without comment voted for the bill this week.         

Nope, not being sly in the least. I'm perfectly happy to enjoy lefties showing the frothing aggression that Civilized Democrats usually leave entirely to the right. I'm a fan of political expression in all its forms, and establishment-wise, the left in Canada as well as what's left of the left in the U.S. has a thing or two to learn about calling "Bullshit" when it's required, and not exclusively in drawing-room language. There's plenty of don't-rock-the-boat attitude on the left already. But if you can suggest an electorally-effective way of combining the gentle vibery of the left with the political pragmatism of the rest of the spectrum I'd be extremely happy to hear about it.

There's no reason anyone who enjoys Rush shouldn't be able to at least appreciate (if not actually relate to) the letter I posted above. The fact that it's neither succinct nor complete nor particularly eloquent doesn't detract from the fact that a lot of lefties feel like that at least once in a while, even if the very next day they return to fighting whatever good fight it is they connect with.

And as far as them "fightin' words", I feel the action denoted is far more of a threat than the use of the word as a metaphor.

 O K , Jamie, but you do like to have fun with your posts , so I thought maybe... And I do honestly think a factual, less emotional presentation will get you folks more results. Either way have a good one. I see you are a late night poster, you are in Toronto, no ? Herofix, who I miss, would post at like 4:00 AM Greenwich time !

It may be worse than we initially believed. Now this!

Susan

.

Democratic Party faithful cheer on their leaders’ Democratic Party’s promise to remain marginalized.

Democrats Vow Not To Give Up Hopelessness

February 27, 2006 | Issue 42•09

WASHINGTON, DC—In a press conference on the steps of the Capitol Monday, Congressional Democrats announced that, despite the scandals plaguing the Republican Party and widespread calls for change in Washington, their party will remain true to its hopeless direction.

"We are entirely capable of bungling this opportunity to regain control of the House and Senate and the trust of the American people," Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said to scattered applause. "It will take some doing, but we're in this for the long and pointless haul."

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi reaffirms the Democratic Party’s promise to remain marginalized.

"We can lose this," Reid added. "All it takes is a little lack of backbone."

Despite plummeting poll numbers for the G.O.P nationwide and an upcoming election in which all House seats and 33 Senate seats are up for contention, Democrats pledged to maintain their party's sheepish resignation.

"In times like these, when the American public is palpably dismayed with the political status quo, it is crucial that Democrats remain unfocused and defer to the larger, smarter, and better-equipped Republican machine," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said. "If we play our cards right, we will be intimidated to the point of total paralysis."

Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT) cited the Bush Administration's bungled response to Hurricane Katrina as a model for Democrats.

"Grandmothers drowning in nursing homes, families losing everything, communities torn apart—and the ruling party just sat and watched," Lieberman said. "I'm here to promise that we Democrats will find a way to let you down just like that."

According to Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA), Democrats are not willing to sacrifice their core values—indecision, incoherence, and disorganization—for the sake of short-term electoral gain.

"Don't lose faithlessness, Democrats," Kennedy said. "The next election is ours to lose. To those who say we can't, I say: Remember Michael Dukakis. Remember Al Gore. Remember John Kerry."

Kennedy said that, even if the Democrats were to regain the upper hand in the midterm elections, they would still need to agree on a platform and chart a legislative agenda—an obstacle he called "insurmountable."

"Universal health care, the war in Iraq, civil liberties, a living wage, gun control—we're not even close to a consensus within our own ranks," Kennedy said. "And even if we were, we wouldn't know how to implement that consensus."

Democratic Party faithful cheer on their leaders’ resolutely defeatist agenda.

"Some rising stars with leadership potential like [Sen. Barack] Obama (D-IL) and [New York State Attorney General Eliot] Spitzer have emerged, but don't worry: We've still got some infight left in us," Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean said. "Over the last decade, we've found a reliably losing formula, and we're sticking with it."

Dean reminded Democratic candidates to "stay on our unclear message, maintain a defensive, reactive posture, and keep an elitist distance from voters."

Political consultant and Democratic operative James Carville said that, if properly disseminated, the message of hopelessness could be the Democrats' most effective in more than a decade.

"For the first time in a long time, we're really connecting with the American people, who are also feeling hopeless," Carville said. "If we can harness that and run on it in '06, I believe we can finish a strong second."

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin

I can't believe you're not an Onion fan, Dave.  It's not the first time you haven't gotten a smile from them.  Oh, well, I think we've established I'm easily amused.

Susan 

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin

Not a letter to the Democrats, but an editorial from a "Progressive" to everyone else basically tired of the Democrats...

http://progressive.org/mag_ivins0306 

Enough of the D.C. Dems
By Molly Ivins
March 2006 Issue

Mah fellow progressives, now is the time for all good men and women to come to the aid of the party. I don’t know about you, but I have had it with the D.C. Democrats, had it with the DLC Democrats, had it with every calculating, equivocating, triangulating, straddling, hair-splitting son of a bitch up there, and that includes Hillary Rodham Clinton.

I will not be supporting Senator Clinton because: a) she has no clear stand on the war and b) Terri Schiavo and flag-burning are not issues where you reach out to the other side and try to split the difference. You want to talk about lowering abortion rates through cooperation on sex education and contraception, fine, but don’t jack with stuff that is pure rightwing firewater.

I can’t see a damn soul in D.C. except Russ Feingold who is even worth considering for President. The rest of them seem to me so poisonously in hock to this system of legalized bribery they can’t even see straight.

Look at their reaction to this Abramoff scandal. They’re talking about “a lobby reform package.” We don’t need a lobby reform package, you dimwits, we need full public financing of campaigns, and every single one of you who spends half your time whoring after special interest contributions knows it. (Jordan's Note: Oh no we shouldn't do that!!!!! Now taxpayers will pay for campaigns?!?! I know plent of people wnat to do that but it's stupid, stupid, stupid, IMHO! )The Abramoff scandal is a once in a lifetime gift—a perfect lesson on what’s wrong with the system being laid out for people to see. Run with it, don’t mess around with little patches, and fix the system.

As usual, the Democrats have forty good issues on their side and want to run on thirty-nine of them. Here are three they should stick to:

1) Iraq is making terrorism worse; it’s a breeding ground. We need to extricate ourselves as soon as possible. We are not helping the Iraqis by staying.

2) Full public financing of campaigns so as to drive the moneylenders from the halls of Washington.

3) Single-payer health insurance. (Jordan's Note: ???? Is that tax-payer funded health insurance?)

Every Democrat I talk to is appalled at the sheer gutlessness and spinelessness of the Democratic performance. The party is still cringing at the thought of being called, ooh-ooh, “unpatriotic” by a bunch of rightwingers.

Take “unpatriotic” and shove it. How dare they do this to our country? “Unpatriotic”? These people have ruined the American military! Not to mention the economy, the middle class, and our reputation in the world. Everything they touch turns to dirt, including Medicare prescription drugs and hurricane relief.

This is not a time for a candidate who will offend no one; it is time for a candidate who takes clear stands and kicks ass.

Who are these idiots talking about Warner of Virginia? Being anodyne is not sufficient qualification for being President. And if there’s nobody in Washington and we can’t find a Democratic governor, let’s run Bill Moyers, or Oprah, or some university president with ethics and charisma.

What happens now is not up to the has-beens in Washington who run this party. It is up to us. So let’s get off our butts and start building a progressive movement that can block the nomination of Hillary Clinton or any other candidate who supposedly has “all the money sewed up.”

I am tired of having the party nomination decided before the first primary vote is cast, tired of having the party beholden to the same old Establishment money.

We can raise our own money on the Internet, and we know it. Howard Dean raised $42 million, largely on the web, with a late start when he was running for President, and that ain’t chicken feed. If we double it, it gives us the lock on the nomination. So let’s go find a good candidate early and organize the shit out of our side.

Jordan .