I’m not quite sure why. She just bugs the hell out of me and I can barely stand watching her on Meet the Press. She won’t answer a damn question about a possible Democratic agenda with a straight answer.
Why do they need an agenda? All they really need to do is cash in on the general discontent, the scandals, the investigations, wiretapping, the war, signing statements, the Katrina debacle, cronyism. Abramoff, etc. In short, attack attack attack.
*Look at them. It wasn’t us. Vote for change. * It’s worked in the past, it could work again if it is “sold” the right way.
Well, it annoys the hell out of me. I keep hoping that Tim will jump across the table and tell her to give an actual answer. Listen to the podcast or watch the video on MSNBC.
Bullshit. One of the biggest gripes in the last decade is that Democrats lack vision; that they don’t stand FOR anything. Me, I’d like to see a much more positive attempt to create an agenda.
Amen!
Exactly. I’ve voted Republican, but I’m not married to them. To quote Henley, “Just give me something, something I can use.” The Republicans are trying to give the Democrats a head start, but the best thing the Dems have come up with so far is, “We’re not them!”
Well, what the fuck are you?
I haven’t watched MtP yet-- it’s recording and I’ll watch it later-- but I recall Russert having a Democrat on several months ago (Dean or Kerry or someone like that) who swore up and down that the Democratic party would put out a clear agenda to the American people before the midterm elections. I guess there’s still time.
Anyway, Pelosi bugs the shit out of me, too. Why, just last week I called her an ignorant slut in this very forum. 
The idea that the Dems can run on a “we’re not Republcans” platfrom is laughable. It might work to some extent in the Senate, but House races tend to focus on local issues, and the “culture of corruption” theme only works if the local Dem is running against a Pub who is under indictment.
I liked it when Tim brought up that Reid took money from Abramoff and Pelosi was like “yeah, whatever. Republicans Republicans Republicans!”
Joe Klein was on Russert’s other program yesterday (he’s out pimping his new book), and compared the Dems to the Palestinians-- they never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity. Anyway, his new book “Politics Lost” sounds pretty good-- he seems to do a very thorough analysis of why Kerry’s campaign failed.
I agree with the others that said that the Democrats need to put forth an agenda. But I don’t think that you’re entirely wrong either.
IMO, as long as the Democratic agenda is [ol]
[li]Not obviously unworkable (we’re going to fund our schools by mining gold on the moon!)[/li][li]Not inherently extremely unpalatable (mandatory gay marriage and abortions for everybody!)[/li][li]Actually distinguishable from the Republican position[/li][/ol] It doesn’t really matter what it is, exactly. Liberal, conservative, libertarian, whatever. Just give the American people an alternative, any alternative, and as long as they know what it is, they’ll vote for it over the current crop of losers.
“We’re not Republicans” isn’t enough, they have to actually state how they aren’t Republicans.
The problem is that the Dems want to be a party that is equally attractive to gay feminist Marxists and conservative Christian businessmen. That ain’t possible. Some elements either have to be jettisoned from the party or converted to the ideals that the Dems actually stand for.
That’s their biggest problem. Like my Mets, they snatch defeat from the jaws of victory far too often. Still attack works, it’s all in how you do it. Right here in California, during our recall election against Gray Davis, Arnold’s biggest advantage was
I am an outsider, I’m not one of them.
Not in those exact words, but he played it right and it worked.
Then Russert was being disingenuous, as Reid did not receive any contributions from Abramoff. Other members of Abramoff’s lobbying firm and some of Abramoff’s clients, yes…but Abramoff, no. And yes, that’s an important distinction given the nature of the charges Abramoff plead guilty to.
I might have misheard. I wasn’t paying as close attention as I could have.
I think she made a valid point there – that the Republican corruption is a systematic thing being run by the Republican leadership, while the Dem corruption cited were two or three individual things. Almost any independent group that deals with Congressional accountability will confirm that by far the majority of corruption in Washington is Republican in nature, because they set up the system. Pelosi is calling for a return to a system of publicly funded political campaigning, which is the only thing that will get rid of the corruption.
Funny how you missed all that. Not ha-ha funny, but definitely funny.
It’ll work like a charm, even in the House. People are sick of CONGRESS (that’s both houses) and they want CHANGE, and thanks to our wonderful two-party system, their only real option for change is to vote Dem. They’ll do it.
I hope so, but I would still be pissed if the reason the Democrats came back into power was because of Republican failure. I’d like the party to stand FOR something, to go back to being the party of the little guy, the environment, fiscal responsibility, and protection of civil rights, yet still be able to hit hard on national security issues. I want the party to lead, not clean up the remains of the worst administration in recent memory. For decades, the Republicans have gained control by creating this bogeyman “liberal” and blaming them for everything from Communism, the downfall of society, and weakness in the international arena. It’s time to stand for something again.
I doubt you misheard. The idea that Abramoff gave money to Reid has become a “zombie lie”…it just won’t die, despite having no basis in fact. It would just be par for the course for Russert to dig it up again and send it lurching on its way.
Have to admit, I never really thought much about her one way or the other, but I saw her “performance” on MTP this morning, and just about every time she opened her mouth, my only thought was: “What the fuck???!!!?!!?!?!?!?”
We’re all in more trouble than I thought. And I didn’t really think that was possible.
PS – I think I used the words think and thought too many times in this post.
Yeah. President Kerry is living proof of that strategy.
What’s wrong with the agenda as put out at the Democratic Party website?
Honest Leadership and Open Government
Real Security
Energy Independence
Economic Prosperity and Educational Excellence
A Health Care System that Works for Everyone
Retirement Security
Just look at security:
Recall Kerry bringing up the leaky port security repeatedly in the campaign? Did you listen then? Would you listen now?
Which party invaded a soverign nation and allowed their weapons to fall into the hands of terrorists? Which party would be less likely to do this again?