This may now be a minority opinion since everyone in the Democratic blog community has become so self-important all of a sudden...but I want to please ask everyone here at DKos and in the Democratic arena in general to stop the endless sniping, bitching, complaining and whining about the Democrats in the Senate and House.
Here in America we have a two party system and that means if you ruin the Democratic brand then you end up with a Republican. Period!
I have a novel idea for us Democrats....instead of bashing, try supporting our leaders, imperfect as they are.
Wow...who would have thought of that?? Sounds crazy,eh??
Do you prefer a Republican Congress instead? That's what you'll get!
We Democrats have been in the wilderness for a long time as far as Congress is concerned and as soon as we get a chance to recover from the Right-Wing spin monster and to lead America in a a more Progressive direction, the whining blogging pressure groups all come out of the bushes to snipe at the leaderships heels and bite at their backs and spend countless hours alternating between tirades of contempt and threats to withdraw support.
To accomplish what I ask?
Read the commentary here about the impeachment debate, the Iraq withdrawal debate or other topics and you'll get a flavor of what I am referring to.
Do you see Republicans behaving that way towards their leadership?
Of course not. Which is why they have held both houses of Congress for the most part for nearly 20 years. Republicans know how to act as a cohesive unit, not a bunch of infuriated self-important parties of one.
If you want to change Congress, fine. I understand you want your issues addressed, that's natural and a fine thing. How you do it is another matter.
I constantly read here how many of you feel YOU are responsible for the current majority status Democrats now have, I beg to differ with you.
DKos (or any other blog-site) is not responsible nor are the other message boards, action groups, etc...for the current majority, George Bush is responsible.
Without his maniacal and constant outrageous over-reaches and fuckups we would still be doing exactly what the Republicans in Congress (especially in the Senate)are doing now...obstructing everything we can.
It wasn't until we looked like a reasonable alternative to the GOP madness and GW's bullshit that they gave us a chance again. It's not from fuming bloggers who bitch and moan as a way of life.
For Gods sake stop tearing down the Democratic Congress you're ruining the chance to change the narrative about our party which, if you notice, holds the barest of majority in the Senate. With this slim margin you expect everything 20 years of Republican domination created to be undone in a heartbeat.
I would ask folks to consider what this self-important self-serving behavior actually accomplishes in reality as opposed to how makes them "feel" (which we know is very self-important!)
- Are you moving the Progressive agenda forward by depressing the approval ratings of a Democratic Congress?
- Are you doing more for our Democratic cause than the Republican cause? Since that party is in desperate straits they would be satisfied if we looked as hopeless as they do to achieve some parity.
- Are the issues you are complaining about NOT being addressed more likely to be addressed by a GOP controlled Congress?
Answer these questions for yourselves and then decide if the trash & burn tactics of the blogosphere and net-roots community towards the Democratic Congress is worthwhile.
That's all I ask but to me the answer is easy.
Express disdain in quiet and directly to the members in question, make your feelings known to Congress in a way that doesn't hurt the party, our slim majority or our chances for holding the Congress in 2008.
Sounds simple and logical...doesn't it?