If you’ve lost Jerome Armstrong…

What’s he disappointed for? Obama got 70% of what we wanted, or 90%, depending on which interview you listen to.

Jerome was always an Obama skeptic (to his credit) and for someone so tied to the party has been pretty consistent in calling them out on Democratic Party failures. One of the great things about Jerome is that he truly doesn’t care how many hits his blog gets. He’ll lose some readers over this, but he’s never really cared about that. He’s been one of the few mainstream Democratic bloggers that I still read.

In contrast to Jerome, I’ll note how depressing it is that Digby has become “Look over there, Sarah Palin (or Rand Paul or Sharon Angle…) almost non-stop and has even turned off comments from what I can tell. But I guess it’s easier to focus on how bad the GOP will be than on how bad the Democrats are right now. I mean, whatever her sins, children haven’t been killed by flying robots on her orders.

News item: Amost Half of Democrats Want Obama to Face a Primary Challenger in 2012.

I haven’t read Digby in months, but she used to shut off comments when the trolling got bad.

There are a few bloggers (I won’t name names) that like to focus on the far right’s deeds du jour, which to me is a never ending and pointless way to spend your life, always looking down. It’s a huge gravy train for people like Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, which to me is the more productive use for this material.

First, Digby is less pro-obama than she used to be. I can’t remember the last time I read a post like that.

Second, I can’t ever see the teapartiers ever being on the same side as true liberals. Abortion alone will see to that never happening.

From Alyosha’s link
The AP-KN poll has tracked a group of people and their views since the beginning of the 2008 presidential campaign. Among all 2008 voters, 51 percent say he deserves to be defeated in November 2012 while 47 percent support his re-election – essentially a tie.

Among Democrats, 47 percent say Obama should be challenged for the 2012 nomination and 51 percent say he should not be opposed.

That 47% re-election support isn’t very firm when the same percentage of Democrats think he should be challenged. No doubt the White House will take this as evidence they should move further right.

Ditto on the Digster. Unreadable. Why a blogger or her audience needs the obvious stated day in/day out. As opposed to holding those actually in power accountable.

As for Alyosha’s link, the two things that leap out at me are:

“Democrats currently disappointed with Obama will likely be less disappointed if he spends the next two years fighting a GOP Congress”

Sadly true of far too many disenchanted dems who’ll return to the flock.

“Those favoring a contest include most who backed Hillary Rodham Clinton’s unsuccessful faceoff against Obama for the 2008 nomination”

Even more discouraging, as dem voters’ “solution” for redeeming the party involves replacing one centrist hawk with another. Clinton to Bush to Obama to Clinton = a seamless line of corporate-friendly governance/descent.

A primary challenge from the left would be DOA. I’ll start paying attn. when such #s reflect droves fleeing the party outright.

forgive me, i’m doing the 3rd shift commenting routine tonight/today:

Second, I can’t ever see the teapartiers ever being on the same side as true liberals. Abortion alone will see to that never happening.

actually, this isn’t correct, unless you mean the old ones who will soon die. strategically speaking, abortion is today and always is “a winner.” church/mosque/temple will forever oppose us, but the young men? no, not really. it’s a simple, show stopping question: “if your girlfriend was raped by a (X) and got pregnant, what would *you* want her to do?” shuts ’em up every time. the religiously constipated ones will blather, but in truth? look ’em in the eyes. they will falter with muling, pathetic impotence while you stand tall as a woman/feminist. none of them but the very most stupid fail in this regard, when a woman/feminist tests them. the younger generation will “vote” (for all it matters) the right way; they are too informed about science not too and that’s one of the many reasons the Right hates science. but my point is: Be Not Afraid. abortion, your right as a human being and woman, is always easily defended, theoretically and morally speaking.

it’s a simple, show stopping question: “if your girlfriend was raped by a (X) and got pregnant, what would *you* want her to do?” shuts ‘em up every time”

Except that Republicans aren’t idiots. That’s why George W. Bush (and the Hyde Amendment) both endorsed abortion rights in cases of rape or incest.

beowulf and cathyx, you can’t eat social issues. When you are starving, you’ll break bread with anyone willing to have you.

When gas gets to $5 a gallon and a loaf of bread is the same, you’d be surprised how easily and quickly “compassionate conservatives” can shelve the abortion issue to get some economic relief. Food, shelter, basic health care (not cancer treatments, I’m talking access to antibiotics and an x-ray to check for pneumonia) have the wonderful quality of focusing the mind once any or all of them are absent from your life. Most tea baggers are one eviction notice away from being the greatest social safety net defenders ever born.

And IMHO those conditions are coming. I would say by 2014 we’ll be in the thick of it, once all Helicopter Ben Bernake’s QE has obliterated the dollar’s value and the Republican fools place trade tariffs against China (thus making everything they send us twice as expensive and causing them to dump US treasuries.) $150/barrel oil, $5+/gal gasoline, and $7 gallons of milk. Not many people will be worried about the rights of the unborn in those conditions.

Tea baggers and conservatives might be rubes, but they are still people. They like to eat and not shiver through the night in unheated homes. Just keep pushing the truth, you never know when it might take seed in someone’s mind.

Tea baggers and conservatives might be rubes, but they are still people. They like to eat and not shiver through the night in unheated homes. Just keep pushing the truth, you never know when it might take seed in someone’s mind.

Traditionally, rubes will blame whoever their leaders tell them is responsible. Muslims. Liberals. Jon Stewart. If only these subversive elements were purged, surely the good times would return…

zot23,

Tea baggers and conservatives might be rubes, but they are still people. They like to eat and not shiver through the night in unheated homes. Just keep pushing the truth, you never know when it might take seed in someone’s mind.

This is the sad, pathetic dream of a left steeped in a narrow sort of rationalism. I used to believe it too, and I used to mock all of the Lakoffian “frame” tomfoolery that still gives me the heebie-jeebies. Yes, there’s a larger truth to it: we’re all people.

In reality, the truth is no cheaper to defend than a lie in this complex world—we come to this world with certain cognitive biases. Once upon a time, Americans were more willing to view ceux en haut as The Other, but a number of developments including a split between white labour and the identity-politics left, as well as the perception of identity-displacement in males in particular have allowed the right to redefine The Other and create for themselves a Bottomless Well of Crazy. They’re able to do this because we’re all people.

Way too much time around right wingers has painfully, indelibly taught me to never underestimate their capacity for viciousness. At the end of the day, we’re all human, and all need food, shelter, and warmth. I personally know right wingers who would never let this basic, common need get in the way of their perceived need to dominate and triumph over others, without a shred of remorse.

I believe Jerome wrote this, too, on 5/21/2008, ” IT’S NOT CLOSE. YOU FREAKING LOST THE NOMINATION, WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU? Good God. What is wrong with her? The Clintons and their campaign staff don’t give a damn that they are now hurting our electoral chances in the fall against McCain and against the Republicans in Congress. Their campaign isn’t happening in some vacuum, and they know it. Our candidates can’t fundraise because of her. Obama can’t focus on McCain because of her. Obama is wasting money on HER, rather than spending it on McCain, because of her. EMILY’s List, and AFSCME, and the American Federation of Teachers and others are wasting their members’ money on her now-failed race – money that they could be spending, should be spending, on other real races, races that haven’t already lost. She can’t win, the math says she lost the nomination, but she doesn’t give a damn. She’s going to stay in the race like some spoiled hateful egotistical brat. Why is the media even covering her? The only stories that should be written about Hillary Clinton is how much damage she’s causing our party. How she’s hurting fundraising at the DNC – they even admitted it, they’re not raising the money they need to fight John McCain because of this woman. Why don’t you write some stories about how she is hurting our candidates who can’t fundraise because of her? How she has forced EMILY’s List and AFSCME and the AFT to waste their money because of her. How she has caused a civil war in the Netroots. Five months ago we all felt that we had 3 great candidates. Now, far too many of us loathe Hillary Clinton, and she has done her racist best to ensure that her supporters can’t stand Barack Obama either. The Clintons don’t give a damn about our party. Their party, their church, is themselves. To hell with everyone else. I actually liked Hillary up until a few months ago. Other bloggers used to tell me that Joe and I were too nice to Hillary. People just assumed that we were endorsing her. Now I actually loathe her. She makes me yell at the TV like she’s George Bush, and no one other than George Bush makes me yell at the TV – until now. I actually can’t stand her or her husband any more. I defended her. I defended her husband. And now I’m actually wondering if the Republicans weren’t right about them. That’s how bad she has damaged her reputation. People who actually liked you, who actually helped you, who actually defended you, LOATHE you now. Call me a Clinton-hater all you like, but people like me were the ones who had your back. And we never will again.” Yea, let’s all listen to Jerome, NOT.

Ian, I understand your point, but personally, when I read anything he writes, I remember that rant.