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Showing posts from February, 2006

ah life

Okay, so the blogger shut down of a week ago really, really bummed me out. On top of which I am just at a "creative crossroads" about my work here and whether "this blog"....ie. on a blogspot template...is even a good idea. My bottom line is that I'm leaning towards splitting my work into two streams: one would be essays which I would do on a blog like this...but one that I owned and controlled the space it appeared on..."A blog of my own" so to speak... with carefully written essays that appear when I can do them. The other stream would involve doing expressly political writing on a larger community blog that has content people want to read every day...and to which I contribute my writing, politics and sensibilities. If you know me from dkos or booman, you know that I already cross post many of my expressly political pieces on those blogs. To be frank, it would be foolish to publish some of that work exclusviely here. Regardless, I'm thinking

a new generation

It's so easy to get focused on the latest news story of the most recent battle or the latest defeat....so, I took a couple days off to think about the bigger picture. I think the big picture is positive. Simply put, this is the best and most exciting time to get involved in politics in the last 25 years. This is a moment, unlike so much of the last two decades, where I think we stand a very good chance of building something new in this country...and a "new generation"...whatever our ages, ideologies or backgrounds...stands a very good chance of making real, lasting change. When I pull back and take in the broader view and incorporate what I've seen happening on the grassroots and in the netroots...I am VERY POSITIVE. While everything we've been doing in the last 5 years seems to have amounted to very small success at this point. I don't think it will amount to "little" in the decade to come either in terms of electoral success or democratic part

blog troubles

My computer would not display this blog for two days....and I was at work where I have no access. Argh. I apologize. What horrible timing. If anyone knows html and sees something I am doing that caused this...let me know. I have an old Mac and am not the most elegant template hacker. Blogger has been down for maintenance almost once a day for a week now...and maybe the changes they are making affect my ancient browser. I don't know. The only change I've made is adding a link in the sidebar. Things seem to be working this AM. Maybe it was temporary?

blogging the obvious: Congress 2006

As readers of this site can tell...I've been focused on the 2006 Congressional elections lately. Obvious, huhn? Here's something obvious about Congress and 2006. Congress passes laws and controls the purse strings. Congress creates the budgets that run our government. Congress oversees and investigates. Congress is where we turn for long term solutions to long term problems and for redress of governmental failures (Health Care, Social Security, Katrina, the intelligence failures that led to our war in Iraq.) Congress is also, both in its lawmaking function and it its power to oversee the process of amending the Constitution itself, the most direct check the citizens of this nation have on the judiciary outside of our input into the nomination process. For all these reasons , 2006 is a year we should elect a Democratic majority to the US Congress...and to state legislatures across the country. The GOP Congress is corrupt , they are profligate in their spending , their budgets

Bloggers United

I've created a DFA Group on DFA-link called Bloggers United . The group's main focus is allowing bloggers to keep in touch with one another in a structured way. I'm going to send out occasional "bulletins" on topics like "Blogging Tools" and "2006 Races to Watch". You are welcome to join this group. If you are not on DFA-link , you can join up through my invitation by using this link . (P.S. There's 16 of us now. I'm trying to send our personal email invites one at a time....so...if you haven't got one, don't be insulted...and...please feel free to join!!) You can email me at: kidoaklandactivism"at"comcast"dot"net

Democratic leadership: 2006 is the Bridge

I promised I would write about what I mean by "a generational change" in Democratic leadership. Here goes. It is my firm belief that the leaders who will carry our party forward will come to prominence over the next six-ten years. Currently, there is what I will call a "bridge generation" in Democratic leadership that will help pave the way for this next generation to emerge. The Democratic Party we are building is about this nation's future over the next 25-50 years. The "bridge generation"'s role is to make this possible, to pave the way . There is a single standard that we can apply to judge if someone represents the change we want to see....to understand if someone is a member of the "bridge generation:" Can you help us elect Democrats in vulnerable Republican districts nationwide in 2006? Is your message, your ethos, your character such that if you were to show up and support a candidate like Mary Jo Kilroy or Francine Busby o

Adam Nagourney and the Democratic leadership

I'm sick of articles like this from Adam Nagourney and, to be frank, I'm sick of the New York Times political coverage in general. Sick to the point of being done with it. These two quotes ( here and here ) from Josh Marshall strike me as right on. Basically, after years of reading this stuff, and hearing similar sentiments echoed on NPR, I think blog critics of mainstream media political coverage are right. There's a persistent media bias that has the genetic code of GOP spin and there's no point in giving it energy or credence. The press is no friend of the Democratic Party and has not been for years. Now, despite this "press reality" it's also true that the Democratic leadership has contributed to this situation. Simply put, our leaders fail us. For myself, the idea that in 2006 Durbin, Kerry, Dean, Obama, Kennedy and Edwards all supplied Adam Nagourney with quotes for this article is pretty lame. What the hell did our leaders think Nagourn

Coretta Scott King: in memoriam

When I was in seventh grade I was a member of a small group of students from St. Luke's Elementary school in St. Paul Minnesota who were spirited out of class and to Minneapolis to hear a lecture by Mrs. Coretta Scott King. Mrs. King, widow of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., spoke at Coffman Memorial Union Hall on the campus of the University of Minnesota. It was, the best I can guess, 1981. She filled the auditorium that day. We sat high up in the balcony. That did not matter. I can remember Mrs. King to this day. She said these words, very clearly, over and over again, in way of explanation and in way of proselytizing: non-violent, civil disobedience. It was the philosophy of her late husband. Mrs. King spoke of Gandhi. She spoke of Dr. King. She spoke of history. She spoke of how love conquers hate. She spoke of tactics in confronting injustice. It was clear, from Mrs. King's words, that there was something here larger than herself, larger than her husband, larger tha

know your strengths and weaknesses: the 'perfect storm' and CA-11

I've been thinking about Iowa 2003 as it relates to the challenge of defeating Richard Pombo in CA-11. One of the lessons of the Dean moment is to "know your strengths." * reforming the Democratic party with people power * pledging to respond forthrightly to GOP attacks * raising money online * making a hard critique of Bush's foreign and domestic policy early and often Dean was so right on these core things, and convicitions about these core things drove his candidacy. They defined the "Dean moment" in Iowa in 2003. What did NOT work: * Howard Dean's candidacy itself * the "Stormers" in Iowa: organizationally and on the "local/outsider" level * Dean's ads * Dean's message as it appealled past his netroots base My point: there's going to be a great number of races in this country where we can apply some of the lessons we learned in 2003 and 2004. At the heart of all these lessons is a failure to understand the voters i

Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey and Joe Nation in CA-06

Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey is a House Member with an impressive voting record . That analysis (from Joshua Grossman's website Progressive Punch ) lists Woolsey as one of the most progressive members of Congress. Term-limited CA State Assemblyman Joe Nation is running against Congresswoman Woolsey in the Democratic primary in CA-06. The local press doesn't give him much of a chance. I honestly don't know. I'm sure, however, that this race will get some attention this year. Conventional wisdom puts this as a "more centrist" challenge (Nation) of a "progressive Dem" (Woolsey). Here's what Assemblyman Nation lists as his reasons for making this challenge. The phrase "a rubberstamp Democratic vote" notwithstanding (what does that mean to imply?), clearly, someone who's willing to challenge a popular incumbent is nothing if not amibitious. I'm curious what the community here makes of this. Democratic primaries are a two-edg

Defeating Congresswoman Deborah Pryce, OH-15: the first step is listening

Anyone who cares about politics in Columbus, Ohio....hell, anyone who cares about politics in the United States...should read this article by Jeff Zeleny of the Chicago Tribune covering an event with DCCC chair Rep. Rahm Emanuel in Columbus, Ohio last week: Representative Emanuel faced some tough questions from Ohio residents...exactly the kind of tough questions I'm advocating the netroots and grassroots ask of our leaders. Let's take a look. (Note: I quote more extensively than I usually do from an article because I want to emphasize the voters own words.) Rep. Rahm Emanuel, the leader of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, found himself fielding spirited questions at a breakfast meeting late last week as he laid out his ideas on how Democrats could seize control of Congress. When the Illinois congressman didn't include national security in his top five talking points, a man raised his hand and his voice. "Can I give you a piece of advice?" said

DFA-link: Bloggers United

I had a great discussion with Matt Lockshin this afternoon re: blogging and politics. He convinced me to sign up at DFA-link . I did. It's a "bridge software" between organizing and the social side. I am convinced we need to do something more than "blogging" in 2006...and at the same time we need to make blogs relevant in ways they haven't been before. This will only happen if bloggers like me get off line and more active and relevant to grassroots politics while continuing to hone my online work. So.... I've created a new email address: kidoaklandactivism"at"comcast.net And a group at DFA-link called: Bloggers United Write me if you'd like to link up with my group on DFA-link...or if you have any desire to work with folks like Matt and me on California political activism, or story ideas. I'm all ears.

the California Five

These are the five districts that we should be looking at in 2006. Richard Pombo in CA-11 David Dreier in CA-26 Elton Gallegly in CA-24 Mary Bono is CA-45 And Duke Cunningham's now vacant CA-50 Pombo, Dreier, Gallegly and Bono ALL voted for House Budget Bill on Wednesday...any one of them could have held out their vote. Remember that, because just like Frank LoBiondo of NJ-02, the final votes are the folks who have that "extra say"...they are the ones who can demand a change or an amendment. In a normal Congress, one that didn't vote in lockstep with the will of Grover Norquist and Karl Rove, that would happen. None of these four helped out in the least, and we got the bill we got. A budget with draconian cuts for poor, for the least powerful, for students. Ask yourself, are those Californian values? Now take a look at the issues page for Russ Warner , this guy is putting together a challenge to Dreier that deserves a look, especially as Dreier is dragging his fee

Congressman Frank LoBiondo of New Jersey, NJ-02

Yesterday the GOP House of Representatives crafted a razor-thin victory that will shape all of our lives for decades. I wasn't alone in decrying the lack of attention this measure got. Ihlin at dailyKos had a diary up lamenting how so little attention was paid to this vote, which basically served to ram Republican budget priorities down the throats of every American for years to come. This was a bill for the folks who've been seeking to brand "entitlements" as a code word for government hand outs that people don't deserve. Social Security and Medicare aren't hand outs. They represent YOUR money. You paid in. Everybody does. In fact, every penny the government spends is your money. Branding government dollars as undeserved "entitlements" sure is a convenient way to bash senior citizens, the disabled and the poor; it's also a great way to reward the wealthy friends of the GOP. (If you make less than $200,000 and vote GOP, you are voting a

call me a contrarian

I just think the Democratic grassroots needs to be: a) more critical of our liberal Democratic leadership than eviscerating moderates right now b) much more focused on vulnerable Republicans than anyone On A: Constructive, persistent criticism of folks like Kerry, Pelosi, Dean, Edwards, Hillary and Obama is the due of leadership. It comes with the territory and makes them better leaders. How can we expect anyone to "fight to win" if we aren't critical of how our leaders lead the battles we find important? It's not just about fighting...leadership is also about winning. On B: The netroots virtually ignores vulnerable Republicans. We are idiots in this regard....churning our anger against media personalities, media outlets, the "scandal du jour" and "sell out Dems". There are a ton of Republican incumbents who are worthy of a little netroots attention. It would be great to see some blogger focus given to Republicans like Ohio Congresswoman Deb

state of the union

President Bush glossed over Katrina and Dick Cheney Like they didn't really exist. Hard to do. He promised to fix Social Security, Health Care, and Energy Policy And no one believed him. They kicked Cindy Sheehan out for wearing a t-shirt Which is stupid on so many levels. Justice Samuel Alito looked Really, really happy And so did Mrs. Alito. I wonder how many people who called about the filibuster will call about this?