Welcome to The Now

 

The one thing the liberal base has in common with the conservative base is this semi-constant need to prove your ideological fervor. I've read and watched with amusement countless political-types who get propped up as the Spokesperson for the Liberal America only to get torn down or attacked the moment they do or say something third-wayish. It's no surprise to me that both Howard Dean and Dennis Kucinich -both considered part of the Liberal Gold Standard back in 2004- are subjects of stories that shed them in a less-than-liberal light. Time and events change opinions, and anyone who's ever been in elected office can tell you that complete adherence to your political ideology will guarantee that a chunk of your voters will be isolated (and pissed). So these guys have done what anyone who wants to still be in the game do: they adjust. That means occasionally doing things that piss off the base. The bottom line is people need to stop falling in love with politicians...

I'm not one to write 1,000 words when several would suffice, so let me just say it: If Health Care Reform doesn't pass, the Democrats in Congress won't get anything of significance done for the rest of this year. For those wondering why, let me just say that I really don't believe the GOP when they claim to "helping" Democrats by "warning" them of the dangers of passing HCR. It's not like the GOP would suddenly back off and begin working with the Democrats if they dropped the whole thing. In actuality, it would be the opposite: Republicans running in 2010 would just scream and yell about how ineffective the Democrats are. And that's just the elections. In the meantime, the Republicans in Congress will just continue to obstruct and delay Democrat-sponsored legislation and President Obama's nominations with impunity. Of course, they're likely to do this regardless of whether HCR passes, but in this instance it'll happen under the (m...

While I agree that people like Michele Obama, Ted Kennedy, and Hillary Clinton gave great speeches, I think the "Unsungs" (aka, people who didn't make it to prime time of mainstream media reviews) like (from Day One) Republican Rep. Jim Leach and (from Day Two) Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich deserve some praise as well. Both have their qualms with the Bush Administration and the current state of the Republican Party, but deliver it in different ways. Undecided voters (they still exist?) and disenfranchised Republicans should take note of both. The one thing I'll say that *shudder* "needs to be done" is for speakers to effectively switch between articulating the policy differences they have with the GOP and invoking the emotion and passion party members need during this rough campaign season. Once you hear the pundits alternate between saying Speaker X "didn't give alot of detail" and saying that speaker Y "didn't seem to have their h...

Dennis Kucinich provides an example of when it's good to not quit and keep pressing on .

Calling/labeling Barack Obama as some ultra-liberal is kinda hard when you compare him to Dennis Kucinich, who is again calling for the impeachment of George W. Bush. Obama hasn't gone that far. Kucinich, on the other hand, has been pushing this for a long time . The next time you're trying to scare people from voting for a relatively moderate Democrat, make sure that aren't any other more liberal Democrats in the news doing things that make your claims look like outright lies.

US Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) gets a little help in his quest to impeach Vice President Dick Cheney. I can understand why Kucinich may think that getting rid of Cheney could help in dealing with Iraq (as well as help the Democrats and his own chances to be president), but without either more numbers or at least two heavy hitters (aka, prominent Democrats) his battle will eventually come off as self-serving as best and fruitless at worst.