Why are Democrats opposing the Feingold measure? This is why!

[Vinnie From Indy]

Many of the Democrats in the US Senate seem absolutely clueless as to the ground they occupy in this struggle against the BushCo regime. They do not see the implements of political war making that BushCo is effectively using to render them confused, disoriented and ultimately powerless. The target of their righteous indignation should not be Russ Feingold but the gigantic media conglomerates that have proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that they will daily provide cover for BushCo. and that they will offer no resistance to delivering the carefully crafted messages of fear so vital to BushCo's survival. Quite simply these Democrats that insist on preplanned, coordinated strategies to defeat the GOP should focus their efforts on directly challenging BushCo's media accomplices.

BushCo. has clearly been successful at securing the support of vast swaths of American media merely by offering their standard "quid pro quo" deal to the small group that controls these media empires. Recent history shows this is how BushCo operates first and foremost to garner support from deep pockets. A fascist model to be sure, but that is irrelevant to the main point. The only logical reason for so many Democrats to be so unwilling to stand up for the rule of law and the reason they are adopting a foxhole mentality is that they are convinced that the information they receive from traditional and mainstream news sources is reality. For example, many of the responses to the Feingold censure motion that I have read from staffers and Senators state that these people believe that Americans are fully behind the President's illegal wiretap program because of certain polling results that appear to show a very slim majority of Americans support the program. Laughably, they say that these polls clearly show that just because BushCo slaps the name "Terrorist Surveillance" on it's illegal operation Americans will support it. They believe that the "murkiness" manufactured by BushCo's media accomplices makes confronting BushCo. on this issue a losing proposition. They seem to blindly accept that many of the poll questions used in the studies are valid. The obvious truth of the matter is that these polls are more designed to drive opinion rather than measure it. They seem to believe that BushCo will engage in all manner of nefarious and evil activities but not, astonishingly, when it comes to the issues of the validity of the polling and the media empires that incessantly report the skewed results as reality. If the Democrats want to coordinate their attacks, they need to aim at the media and not Russ Feingold.

SunTzu was absolutely correct when he observed that a general must know the ground that both he and the enemy occupy to be successful.

[xultar]

1. Ahhh so now they are Anti-Feingold. WOW Y'all move way to quick

to condem. Kinda like how fundies condem.

[Vinnie From Indy]

2. LOL!

Sure Xultar! Who am I gonna believe? You or my lying eyes? LOL!

You seem to have missed my point entirely. My point is that the Democrats that are scared spitless are victims of the seemingly obvious ability of BushCo to control and drive the message using their accomplices in the media. Democrats need to attack the messengers in this case.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

9. Maybe they can hear the ad right now. "Democrats

Oppose the Surveillence of Terrorist" with scary pictures, hell maybe a picture of the World Trade Ctr going down.

[Vinnie From Indy]

12. Is there no creativity in the ranks of the Democratic Party?

Why is it a given that the Democrats cannot effectively frame this issue to be understood by Americans? Would it not be possible to craft messages that bring this illegal operation into the daily lives of all Americans by highlighting the ramifications of the abandonment of the rule of law? I would offer that there are very potent messages that could be created from the illegal wire tapping to capture the attention of voters. Hell, use the 2nd Amendment, drunk driving, spousal abuse and, GASP, even Hillary as ways to scare the bejeesus out of the right wing idiot hordes. Simply ask the right wingers that want Hillary to be able to illegally spy on them to raise their hands.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

15. Yes my dear, that is the million dollar question. It is quite simple

speak straight from the heart. Like Feingold, like Murtha. If you do that no one can blow you over, no matter what.

It is extraordinarily frustrating. I know I could hold my own in any right wing debate or attack. I know you and I could come up with a zillion effective advertisements. Why can't they? And why don't they know that the nation is hungry beyond words for people with vision and guts.

[MrModerate]

10. Attacking the media is pointless . . .

No one in their right mind is going to use "ethics" and "journalism" in the same sentence anyway. The media are tools of their owners (who trend right-wing) and slaves to bright-shiny-creepy-gory.

Ultimately, it's all about money, and even the most right-wing media barons would trample each other for the rights to televise Schimpanski's public castration, because they know they'd get viewers and sell more beer and cars. Money trumps politics every time.

So, Dems need to be bright and shiny, by which I mean courageous, bold, interesting, connected to people, and convincing. Then they'll get the press they need.

At present we've got a bunch of deflated puffballs with as much media interest as last week's missing white girl.

[Vinnie From Indy]

14. Do they make more money by taking out Smirky or from

the billions offered by playing ball and realizing all of their consolidation dreams? I don't know for sure, but I would venture to guess that having the ability to get whatever they want in the way of legislation is much more valuable to them than a short term bump in ad revenue from attacking GWB.

[MrModerate]

19. The consolidation is a done deal . . .

Now the uber-bosses can spend their time recreationally acquiring each other.

The "News" can no longer be reliably distinguished from a reality show, for the same reasons that real reality shows (deliberate stretching of credulity here) are so successful: they pander to whatever will raise the heart rate of the public, regardless of any other factor. It reminds me of the wry observation (attribution of which I've long since misplaced) that "the public interest is not necessarily defined by what the public finds interesting."

If they can make a nickel bashing Bush, or 4 cents bashing Dems, they do both. No cognitive dissonance here!

Sure it's nice to have the gummint in your pocket, but it's not really essential. Big Media's lawyers are much smarter and harder-working than the gummint's lawyers, and having a gummint with bias in their favor is just gravy.

[Vinnie From Indy]

20. LOL!

"If they can make a nickel bashing Bush, or 4 cents bashing Dems, they do both. No cognitive dissonance here!"

Amen brother!

[rucky]

3. Maybe analyzing it too much is their problem.

It would be a big breath of fresh air if they just did what they thought was right.

[WilliamPitt]

4. When did it become "anti-Feingold"

to say that coordination and collective efforts are effective?

[Vinnie From Indy]

6. I changed the headline to more accurately reflect the post.

I used the wrong words to describe the post. My bad!

[madrchsod]

5. hmmmm-the vp is at what?-19-20%

the president is almost as low as nixon and some polls have him less. he is popular in the states that have more livestock than people. and the dems don`t want to upset him because they are afraid he won`t like them? the american people are so afraid of the sky is falling they will get mad at the democrats if they tell them it was just an acorn?

i think we know the ground but our generals are unwilling to attack

[qazplm]

7. sounds like Feingold should have listened to Sun Tzu..

and figured out the ground HE was on before taking the battle on dontcha think?

You dont introduce this on a Sunday talk show, and then attempt to place the resolution into congress a few days later if you seriously are trying to get censure.

You dont completely blindside most if not all of the Democrats if you are seriously trying to get censure.

[Vinnie From Indy]

18. I can appreciate some of what you say and I would have preferred

a coordinated strategy to introduce the censure measure. That being said, it is still an awesome thing to behold the paralysis of Democrats in the face of a crystal clear attack on the rule of law by BushCo's illegal spying and Smirky's admission that he will continue to operate unbound by the Constitution.

I am struggling to understand what issue exactly are some of these Democrats waiting to emerge to take action. Is there any issue more vital to our freedom than the rule of law? I doubt many of the Democrats in the Senate could even answer that question.

Regardless of the response of the anti-censure wing of the Democratic Party, Feingold is forcing those Senators hoping to grab the brass ring in '08 to firmly proclaim their responsiveness to the base or their lack thereof. Good for Russ! Taking the base for granted heading into the primaries is a very risky strategy in my opinion.

[Vinnie From Indy]

21. The issue has been around for months

The only thing blind in this debate are the critics of Russ Feingold. I see the Feingold resolution as similar to asking Democrats if they are against using live puppies for skeet shooting targets or if they are against using the elderly as automobile crash test dummies. Is standing up for the rule of law so difficult a political calculation in the era of the BushCo empire? Do the Democrats need to huddle endlessly to debate the merits of the rule of law in our democracy?

[leveymg]

8. Excellent analysis. I would add that many Dems never learned how to fight

a war. They're a bit like Vichy French, who refused to choose, and always lost in the face of more determined, focused and better disciplined enemies.

Choice. That is the very point that Sartre and Camus made about living a genuinely meaningful existence -- you're always "Condemned to Choose". If you choose not to choose, unpleasant choices will be made for you by Fascists and Nazis, as the French accomodationists found out.

Our Democratic leaders need to understand war, and how wars are won and lost. Most wars are lost by default because key people refused to fight. Most of all, our "leaders" need to start fighting.

[Norquist Nemesis]

11. You really have to wonder if they haven't been blackmailed

or something. I...just...do....not...get...it!!!

[SeattleRob]

13. I sometimes wonder about that too?

A lot of what is happening does not make sense!

[Laura PourMeADrink]

16. yes, maybe they were complicit somehow in the fraudulent sElection.

I remember that idea came up last Nov. Someone was at a cocktail party of insiders who said that it was rigged and that dems knew. Maybe silence in exchange for their numbers not being touched in the future?

[Norquist Nemesis]

17. The pieces just don't fit together

or make sense anymore. I can't believe that the Dems would be continuously making gentlemen's agreements of old that also consistently are broken, and keep putting up with it!

I dunno. Maybe they HAVE each gotten a 'warning', or 'heads up' in a way that is "a little bird told me". But it is (in fact) a product of the NSA program and Dems just haven't been able to put the pieces together...not to mention PROVE it.