fitz!

I haven’t watched it yet, the TiVo calls it: “Opinionated liberal blogs”

Fitzapalooza!

I’m all for preaching, to the choir and everyone else who shows up!

It’s good to have the choir practice and to find like minded folks to exchange ideas with.

… preaching to the choir serves a very important function.

This is so absolutely true. I don’t think it’s even in doubt that the coalescing of online support for Howard Dean and the notion of Democrats standing up for themselves was an essential first step toward the fleeting moments of spinefulness that party leaders are showing today.

If that “choir” didn’t exist, and no one was preaching to it, nothing would have changed politically since 2002.

As much as I can be an old crab at times
I will have to admit that this FDL blog
preaching to the choir or not, has been on top of so many issues with information that you all deserve a pulitzer
With the rare exception of Keith Obermann
and on some nights Matthews there is no one in the mainstream media
talking about the disaster this adminstration
has been.
Thank you for your fine reporting!

“Democracy is not a spectator sport.”

There are very few pundits who do not talk to a choir. The simple truth is that there are many choirs, and if the music in that other church starts to sound more pleasant you may leave your church and hew to that other.

We need to be sure to keep our best singers to the fore so that our church waxes with new voices and loses none to some glib siren who sings lovely notes from a most foul score.

windje @ 7

“Democracy is not a spectator sport.”

Actually, I would have to say that Democracy is a contact sport.

“preaching to the choir”? Perhaps. But the choir is getting bigger, and the chorus is getting louder, more harmonious, concordant, and sweeter. And the message is spreading.

I see Jane! I see Redd!

jeffreyw @ 8

There are very few pundits who do not talk to a choir. The simple truth is that there are many choirs, and if the music in that other church starts to sound more pleasant you may leave your church and hew to that other.

We need to be sure to keep our best singers to the fore so that our church waxes with new voices and loses none to some glib siren who sings lovely notes from a most foul score.

Ooh! Oooh! I want a solo this year!

TRex @ 9

windje @ 7

“Democracy is not a spectator sport.”

Actually, I would have to say that Democracy is a contact sport.

Exactly the point, Mr. TRex

A good choir is a joy to behold. A good choir provides (or supports) the harmony in the music, giving depth and color and shades of meaning. A good choir helps the whole crowd sing better.

And a good choir makes you want to come to choir practice and not just church!

TRex @ 9

windje @ 7

“Democracy is not a spectator sport.”

Actually, I would have to say that Democracy is a contact sport.

Contact your senator, contact your rep, contact the media . . .

TRex @ 9

windje @ 7

“Democracy is not a spectator sport.”

Actually, I would have to say that Democracy is a contact sport.

The way the Republicans play it, it’s Calvinball.

Swopa @ 16

TRex @ 9

windje @ 7

Actually, I would have to say that Democracy is a contact sport.

The way the Republicans play it, it’s Calvinball.

LOL, LOL, 707!

today at our big downtown Fiesta, I bought from our Indiana State Democrats a T-shirt with Had Enough?

I also bought at another booth a cool T-shirt with a picture of Zapata and the slogan Tierra Y Libertad! (Land and Liberty!)

I see the brilliant Mike Stark

When I read Jane, I see Redd.

Alas, my literal and figurative singing are of roughly the same caliber…

Swopa @ 16

TRex @ 9

windje @ 7

Actually, I would have to say that Democracy is a contact sport.

The way the Republicans play it, it’s Calvinball.

The way the Republicans play it, it’s professional wrestling– stupifyingly simplistic, overly theatrical, conspiculously violent and essentially dishonest.

froggermarch @ 22

Swopa @ 16

TRex @ 9

The way the Republicans play it, it’s Calvinball.

The way the Republicans play it, it’s professional wrestling– stupifyingly simplistic, overly theatrical, conspiculously violent and essentially dishonest.

The wrestlers are so much more likable…

The wrestlers are so much more likable…

And so much more ethical.

Eli @ 23

froggermarch @ 22

Swopa @ 16

The way the Republicans play it, it’s professional wrestling– stupifyingly simplistic, overly theatrical, conspiculously violent and essentially dishonest.

The wrestlers are so much more likable…

Not as likable as Calvin and Hobbes, though. Which is a point in favor of froggermarch’s analogy.

Is that 60 grit on CNN? I’ve never watched this show before.

Swopa @ 25

Eli @ 23

froggermarch @ 22

The wrestlers are so much more likable…

Not as likable as Calvin and Hobbes, though. Which is a point in favor of froggermarch’s analogy.

Actually, for republicans it’s war. Anything goes.

Ed*ard Teller @ 26

Is that 60 grit on CNN? I’ve never watched this show before.

Oooh, I hope somebody asks my question!

Dr. Joy Brown, not O’Beirne. Sorry, Doc!

Thanks for video. Aside from the wisdom contained therein, I am contained therein, having answered a local casting call for the ad for Markos’ book, Crashing the Gate . So speaking to the choir motivated this member to do more than hum along. Get more involved in any way you can, as often as you can. You might get famous!

Eli @ 21

Alas, my literal and figurative singing are of roughly the same caliber…

Eli, I’ll join you, we can do all the Spike Jones parts.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spike_Jones)

fran @
6

As much as I can be an old crab at times
I will have to admit that this FDL blog
preaching to the choir or not, has been on top of so many issues with information that you all deserve a pulitzer
With the rare exception of Keith Obermann
and on some nights Matthews there is no one in the mainstream media
talking about the disaster this adminstration
has been.
Thank you for your fine reporting!

Thanks very much fran.
I hope your brother at the V.A. is doing well.

AirportCat @ 31

Eli @ 21

Alas, my literal and figurative singing are of roughly the same caliber…

Eli, I’ll join you, we can do all the Spike Jones parts.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spike_Jones)

…Feetlebaum.

AUSTIN, Texas - Former President Clinton tearfully escorted a flag-draped casket Saturday carrying former Gov. Ann Richards into the state Capitol, where she will spend the next two days lying in state before her funeral and burial.

I am sad.

(Although, here in PA, home of Santorum, it’s spelled “Fetalbaum”)

Eli @ 35

(Although, here in PA, home of Santorum, it’s spelled “Fetalbaum”)

Fetal-balm !

I see neurophius!

TRex @
24

The wrestlers are so much more likable…

And so much more ethical.

Who is this reporter:

http://www.dailywaste.com/funn.....-fake.html

OT question about our questionable torture policy:

Isn’t our current policy anything goes unless it is the torturer’s interrogator’s INTENTION to cause major organ damage or death? Intention, not simply outcome?

Ooops, he died, but I didn’t MEAN to kill him, apparently will work as a defense. At least until this person sets foot in another civilized country and gets indicted there.

or

it’s FINALLY happening

the press is starting to call what he is instead of rosey coating

raw story gives a anippet of ny times rich;

Until recently, the mainstream media has been loathe to call out the Bush administration on false statements. And even when a reporter or commentator did so, he or she would would not characterize the misstatements as deliberate lies.

That may be changing. Frank Rich’s column in Sunday’s New York Times trots out the “L” word in matter-of-fact fashion.

He also suggests that if what Bush says really were true — that the safety of Americans depends on the success of the Iraq war — then Americans are in trouble, given the course of the war so far.

Excerpts:

Rarely has a television network presented a more perfectly matched double feature. President Bush’s 9/11 address on Monday night interrupted ABC’s “Path to 9/11″ so seamlessly that a single network disclaimer served them both: “For dramatic and narrative purposes, the movie contains fictionalized scenes, composite and representative characters and dialogue, as well as time compression.”
No kidding: “The Path to 9/11″ was false from the opening scene, when it put Mohamed Atta both in the wrong airport (Boston instead of Portland, Maine) and on the wrong airline (American instead of USAirways). It took Bush but a few paragraphs to warm up to his first fictionalization for dramatic purposes: his renewed pledge that “we would not distinguish between the terrorists and those who harbor or support them.” Only days earlier the White House sat idly by while our ally Pakistan surrendered to Islamic militants in its northwest frontier, signing a “truce” and releasing al-Qaida prisoners. Not only will Pakistan continue to harbor terrorists, Osama bin Laden probably among them, but it will do so without a peep from Bush.
…
The untruths are flying so fast that untangling them can be a full-time job. Maybe that’s why I am beginning to find Dick Cheney almost refreshing. As we saw on “Meet the Press” last Sunday, these days he helpfully signals when he’s about to lie. One dead giveaway is the word “context,” as in “the context in which I made that statement last year.” The vice president invoked “context” to try to explain away both his bogus predictions: that Americans would be greeted as liberators in Iraq and that the insurgency (some 15 months ago) was in its “last throes.”
The other instant tip-off to a Cheney lie is any variation on the phrase “I haven’t read the story.” He told Tim Russert he hadn’t read The Washington Post’s front-page report that the bin Laden trail had gone “stone cold” or the new Senate Intelligence Committee report contradicting the White House’s prewar hype about nonexistent links between al-Qaida and Saddam. Nor had he read a New York Times front-page article about his declining clout. Or the finding by Mohamed ElBaradei of the International Atomic Energy Agency just before the war that there was “no evidence of resumed nuclear activities” in Iraq. “I haven’t looked at it; I’d have to go back and look at it again,” he said, however nonsensically.
…
Rather than tune this bluster out, as the country now does, let’s try a thought experiment. Let’s pretend everything Bush said is actually true and then hold him to his word. If the safety of America really depends on the outcome of the battle in the streets of Baghdad, then our safety is in grave peril because we are losing that battle. The security crackdown announced with great fanfare by Bush and al-Maliki in June is failing. Rosy American claims of dramatically falling murder rates are being challenged by the Baghdad morgue. Perhaps most tellingly, the Pentagon has now stopped including in its own tally the large numbers of victims killed by car bombings and mortar attacks in sectarian warfare.

Hey, I see me!

John Casper @ 32

fran @
6

As much as I can be an old crab at times
I will have to admit that this FDL blog
preaching to the choir or not, has been on top of so many issues with information that you all deserve a pulitzer
With the rare exception of Keith Obermann
and on some nights Matthews there is no one in the mainstream media
talking about the disaster this adminstration
has been.
Thank you for your fine reporting!

Thanks very much fran.
I hope your brother at the V.A. is doing well.

Up and walking John.Thanks!

Forgive if slightly fuzzy. Day before travel = panic day. Day after travel = coma day. It’s going well, I even got out the cattle prod and made myself take a long walk. But I didn’t INTEND to cause major organ damage :)

OT- JC- I am gonna phrase this somewhat generally, but I trust you will understand. Do you happen to remember that person who came to FDL and kept hammering Jane and Christy by saying they weren’t writing about Jill Carroll (which was wrong)? He kept linking his blog, which was full of anguish, but had absolutely no practical information as to how to help. Initially people responded with practical info themselves, but then got fed up because it appeared that all he wanted to do was rant. I’ve seen this kind of person on other blogs. I don’t see them as trolls. Maybe something like “all piss and no vinegar”, if I understand that phrase correctly.

fran I missed the story on your brother…

Would you fill us in please?

One of the most fun aspects of preaching to this choir or singing to all the rest of the preachers, is that we have our wit and humor.

For instance, Billmon just posted this:

Doctors say traumatic brain injuries are the signature wound of the Iraq war, a byproduct of improved armor that allows troops to survive once-deadly attacks but does not fully protect against roadside explosives and suicide bombers.

So far, about 1,000 patients have been treated for the symptoms, which include slowed thinking, severe memory loss and problems with coordination and impulse control.

However, doctors say they are puzzled by the fact that some of the worst casualties appear to be among top officials in the Pentagon and the Bush administration — even though these patients typically show no physical signs of injury.

“We’ve seen almost total loss of advanced brain functions among scores of top commanders and officials — Sanchez, Wolfowitz, Feith, Rumsfeld, Cambone, Pace, you name ‘em,” one doctor explained. “The vice president’s office, for example, is practically a coma ward. And yet most of these people have been nowhere near the fighting.”

Pentagon researchers say they are exploring the possible use of a “stupid ray” or some other high-tech device by the insurgents.

“The implications are pretty grim,” one scientist said. “Some of the worst-hit patients haven’t even been to Iraq. If the terrorists now have a weapon that can reach all the way to Washington D.C., we’ve probably lost the war.

A choir is many voices, singing at once and in harmony. This can not be achieved without a choirmaster who gets everyone together. When done right it is a powerful experience, more so than any single voice. Without someone “preaching to the choir” all you have is a lot of people trying to sing, hopefully, but not assuredly, in the same key.

As my voice was never strong enough to be a soloist, I thank heaven every day that someone is, at last, preaching to this choir, and it is getting clearer and clearer and louder and louder. Hallelujah!

Katymine is there too as is BarbaraB and Zennurse.

jeffreyw @ 38

TRex @
24

The wrestlers are so much more likable…

And so much more ethical.

Who is this reporter:

http://www.dailywaste.com/funn.....-fake.html

Remember what that got Andy Kaufmann! (His own REM song!)

A strong choir can be a powerful thing lifting voices and spirits at the same time to heights unimaginable. Being in the middle of that kind of choir can be a divine experience.

It seems to me that our choir is getting better and better the more we practice. It is a thrill to be part of it.

Ah, singing to the choir–great lead in to today’s local college football game. During the beginning of the solo of the Star Spangled Banner the speaker had some trouble then went out. We could not here anything. I picked up right where the singer left off and within a few words the entire audience was singing in perfect unison and without music. It choked me up so much to hear all those folks from both sides joined together. I couldn’t finish.

That is what I get from lurking here (several months now)–the ability to feel part of the a beautiful patriotic chorus! I’m still learning the words to the song, but I like how it sounds. Thank you everyone.

The reporter in the clip with the irate wrestler is this guy:

John Stossel

jeffreyw @ 52

The reporter in the clip with the irate wrestler is this guy:

John Stossel

Excellent. Couldn’t happen to a nicer twit.

Who else saw Ann Althouse make a complete fool of herself (a very easy thing to do which she accomplishes regularly) over a picture from the Clinton bloggers meet that had Jessica Valenti from Feminisiting. Now Jane and Redd were both in that picture, too. I think this is unfair. Ann must now make up for this and say something really stupid about our FDL ladies, even though they were standing off to one side.

Maybe while she’s at it she could throw in a snide comment about one of the guys’ beards or something, as well, because she’s such a, you know, feminist.

Morris Sheppard @ 54

Who else saw Ann Althouse make a complete fool of herself (a very easy thing to do which she accomplishes regularly) over a picture from the Clinton bloggers meet that had Jessica Valenti from Feminisiting. Now Jane and Redd were both in that picture, too. I think this is unfair. Ann must now make up for this and say something really stupid about our FDL ladies, even though they were standing off to one side.

Maybe while she’s at it she could throw in a snide comment about one of the guys’ beards or something, as well, because she’s such a, you know, feminist.

Althouse is a truly vile creature. The living embodiment of the banality of evil.

RevDeb @ 50

A strong choir can be a powerful thing lifting voices and spirits at the same time to heights unimaginable. Being in the middle of that kind of choir can be a divine experience.

It seems to me that our choir is getting better and better the more we practice. It is a thrill to be part of it.

I always felt the choir and even the soloists were just filling time until we instrumental musicians would take center stage again.

For fans of Ann Richards, have a look at this fabulous photo essay here– on the left of the page.

*warning: gag alert b/c of some dubya photos but not too many!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200.....n_richards

I’m just perpetually amazed at how a frickin’ law professor can sound like a right-wing Paris Hilton.

Eli @ 55

Morris Sheppard @ 54

Who else saw Ann Althouse make a complete fool of herself (a very easy thing to do which she accomplishes regularly) over a picture from the Clinton bloggers meet that had Jessica Valenti from Feminisiting. Now Jane and Redd were both in that picture, too. I think this is unfair. Ann must now make up for this and say something really stupid about our FDL ladies, even though they were standing off to one side.

Maybe while she’s at it she could throw in a snide comment about one of the guys’ beards or something, as well, because she’s such a, you know, feminist.

Althouse is a truly vile creature. The living embodiment of the banality of evil.

Or banality and evil.

Eli @ 58

I’m just perpetually amazed at how a frickin’ law professor can sound like a right-wing Paris Hilton.

Some people, like us mostly, think of the law as a way to achieve justice and keep order in society. Others think of it as a way to learn how to screw people. Some of ther latter kind even teach.

egregious @ 56

RevDeb @ 50

A strong choir can be a powerful thing lifting voices and spirits at the same time to heights unimaginable. Being in the middle of that kind of choir can be a divine experience.

It seems to me that our choir is getting better and better the more we practice. It is a thrill to be part of it.

I always felt the choir and even the soloists were just filling time until we instrumental musicians would take center stage again.

Ever hear Sweet Honey in the Rock? No instruments need apply.

Talk about being in tune and together. They know how to lift the most downtrodden spirits and make them soar. I went to hear them in Boston the week that we lost to the Mittster. They made us whole again. When I flew home from Miami the morning after the 2004 election after having volunteered for Election Protection there I was as down as I can remember. Fortunately I had their music on my laptop. I plugged my earphones into it and they sang my way home.

That’s the kind of choir we are becoming. They each have their own part to sing and together they make the most powerful statements with their music as anyone anywhere can with words.

Is Jane wearing a double super secret ID badge?

Okay gotta go or I’ll be late for the barbeque. Wouldn’t want that. TTFN.

Morris Sheppard @ 60

Eli @ 58

I’m just perpetually amazed at how a frickin’ law professor can sound like a right-wing Paris Hilton.

Some people, like us mostly, think of the law as a way to achieve justice and keep order in society. Others think of it as a way to learn how to screw people. Some of ther latter kind even teach.

It really is quite extraordinary when you compare the lawyers who blog and comment on the right against the lawyers who blog and comment on the left.

I mean, Althouse, Reynolds, Hindraker… vs. Christy, Mary, Greenwald, emptywheel, lhp, imm, Grand Moff Texan, Nim, just to name some of the ones that come quickly to my mind.

egregious @ 39,
That is my undestanding.
OK, here it is from the Bybee memo:
‘The memo concludes that the restrictions are very limited; that only acts inflicting and specifically intended to inflict severe pain or suffering,” whether mental or physical, are prohibited. ‘
http://www.discourse.net/archi....._memo.html ‘

(Any minute now, someone’s going to tell me Atlas is a lawyer…)

oh, and btw
those Democratic ’strategists’ bave been doing a bang up job attracting those swing votes and winning those elections.

Eli @ 64

Morris Sheppard @ 60

Eli @ 58

Some people, like us mostly, think of the law as a way to achieve justice and keep order in society. Others think of it as a way to learn how to screw people. Some of ther latter kind even teach.

It really is quite extraordinary when you compare the lawyers who blog and comment on the right against the lawyers who blog and comment on the left.

I mean, Althouse, Reynolds, Hindraker… vs. Christy, Mary, Greenwald, emptywheel, lhp, imm, Grand Moff Texan, Nim, just to name some of the ones that come quickly to my mind.

and who can forget Ann (I vote where I please) Coulter

Eli @ 66

(Any minute now, someone’s going to tell me Atlas is a lawyer…)

[ties white handkerchief on head] My. Brain. Hurts!

Althouse’s posts made me want to go flash her!

My wife just showed me - me

RevDeb @
48

Katymine is there too as is BarbaraB and Zennurse.

Can somebody tell us who is who? And Zennurse, she got her computer working again but I haven’t seen her in weeks.

PNWster @
51

Ah, singing to the choir–great lead in to today’s local college football game. During the beginning of the solo of the Star Spangled Banner the speaker had some trouble then went out. We could not here anything. I picked up right where the singer left off and within a few words the entire audience was singing in perfect unison and without music. It choked me up so much to hear all those folks from both sides joined together. I couldn’t finish.

That is what I get from lurking here (several months now)–the ability to feel part of the a beautiful patriotic chorus! I’m still learning the words to the song, but I like how it sounds. Thank you everyone.

I think that’s an excellent metaphor for what’s happened to our democracy. Maybe we should just forget all those soloists, unplug all those speakers and just sing it ourselves.

I gotta have more cowbell.

Morris Sheppard @ 60

Eli @ 58

I’m just perpetually amazed at how a frickin’ law professor can sound like a right-wing Paris Hilton.

Some people, like us mostly, think of the law as a way to achieve justice and keep order in society. Others think of it as a way to learn how to screw people. Some of the latter kind even teach.

This is what the Soviets did. My uncle was an expert in Soviet “law.” Everything was against the law. But the law was/is only enforced against people they wish to intimidate, silence, extract money from, or crush. Sound familiar?

egregious @ 75

Morris Sheppard @ 60

Eli @ 58

Some people, like us mostly, think of the law as a way to achieve justice and keep order in society. Others think of it as a way to learn how to screw people. Some of the latter kind even teach.

This is what the Soviets did. My uncle was an expert in Soviet “law.” Everything was against the law. But the law was/is only enforced against people they wish to intimidate, silence, extract money from, or crush. Sound familiar?

In Soviet Russia, law is against *you*!

angie @ 57

For fans of Ann Richards, have a look at this fabulous photo essay here– on the left of the page.

*warning: gag alert b/c of some dubya photos but not too many!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200.....n_richards

Ann Richards: THE Yellow Rose of Texas. Some ‘things’ grow really well in the dry soil of the Lone Star State. Richards was one of those ‘things’.

Oklahoma kiddo @ 77

angie @ 57

For fans of Ann Richards, have a look at this fabulous photo essay here– on the left of the page.

*warning: gag alert b/c of some dubya photos but not too many!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200.....n_richards

Ann Richards: THE Yellow Rose of Texas. Some ‘things’ grow really well in the dry soil of the Lone Star State. Richards was one of those ‘things’.

Are you objectifying women?

HotFlash @ 72

RevDeb @
48

Katymine is there too as is BarbaraB and Zennurse.

Can somebody tell us who is who? And Zennurse, she got her computer working again but I haven’t seen her in weeks.

I hesitate to “out” people on line so they will have to speak up for themselves. Collectively there is a pic with neurophius, yours truly, and the other three as well as a few folks I recognize by face, but not name. Oh and there is Pach’s back in one of the shots too.

I haven’t been on line much since work started up again so I haven’t been able to notice who is around and who isn’t. Zen did get her computer back, but haven’t heard from her in a while off line. Anyone else?

Eli @ 74

I gotta have more cowbell.

Sandblocks! I got some 60 grit here…

New thread from Jane

“…they overlook the fact that preaching to the choir serves a very important function.”

Yes, typically to exact their tithe. Or in this case ad revenue.

Re Soviet/Russian law, intimidation, & bribes:

I might add, in principle I am firmly against paying bribes. The only one I am aware of is when they trapped us at the end of our ICU construction. The fire department contacted us and said they needed $2,000 to make sure that the new ICU would be safe from fire. No need to read between the lines there.

Did they even care that newborns would be the victims? I paid, and would do the same again. Win sometimes, lose sometimes in order to protect the innocent. You can be pure, and lose the larger battle.

I once asked our retired 93-year-old minister whether it was better to wait until I achieved some sort of spiritual purity or go out there with mixed motivations and try to get some work done. His message: DO SOMETHING NOW. LOVE PEOPLE NOW.

His message resonates through the generations. Thanks Pastor Luke.

Eli @ 76

egregious @ 75

Morris Sheppard @ 60

This is what the Soviets did. My uncle was an expert in Soviet “law.” Everything was against the law. But the law was/is only enforced against people they wish to intimidate, silence, extract money from, or crush. Sound familiar?

In Soviet Russia, law is against *you*!

For many Americans it is already Soviet enough. When I worked in law enforcement, narcotics officers called their grand jury and trial testimony “testilying.” Once the system gets onto a black, Hispanic or Native American, the law and the truth become subsidiary to the system itself.

Eli @ 78

Oklahoma kiddo @ 77

angie @ 57

Ann Richards: THE Yellow Rose of Texas. Some ‘things’ grow really well in the dry soil of the Lone Star State. Richards was one of those ‘things’.

Are you objectifying women?

If by “objectifying” you are asking if I am holding Gov. Richards up as an ‘ideal’, then, yes I am. I am not being gender specific.

BobbyG in there too.

That Markos is not only smart but he is one cute young man. If I was only twenty years younger than I am!

Valley Girl @
44

OT- JC- I am gonna phrase this somewhat generally, but I trust you will understand. Do you happen to remember that person who came to FDL and kept hammering Jane and Christy by saying they weren’t writing about Jill Carroll (which was wrong)? He kept linking his blog, which was full of anguish, but had absolutely no practical information as to how to help. Initially people responded with practical info themselves, but then got fed up because it appeared that all he wanted to do was rant. I’ve seen this kind of person on other blogs. I don’t see them as trolls. Maybe something like “all piss and no vinegar”, if I understand that phrase correctly.

Yes, VG, I do remember him, but I cannot recall his handle.

John Casper- handle best forgotten. Not to worry. He’s history. Meanwhile, after reading recent comments back on that other thread, perhaps I have to revise my “troll” call. There are many different varieties of trolls. Some are simply egomaniacs, and it’s lookin’ like we got one here.

I have to confess I’m new to these sights and half the time I don’t have the vaguest idea what the hell you’re talking about, but I can sure tell your hearts are in the right place.

I had gotten to the point of feeling pretty alone and you guys have made me realize that there are millions of us.

Thanks and I’ll join in when I can!

Long ago on an FDL post, I mentioned the importance of playing to your base, aka preaching to the choir. If a campaign doesn’t do this, it is doomed, for it is not the squishy middle swing voter that makes a candidate exciting and noticeable–it’s the base’s enthusiasm and passion that does it.

If the base/choir isn’t motivated, then it won’t motivate the swing voters. It is the base/choir that registers one more voter, makes one more phone call, knocks on one more door, drives one more person to the polls until the fat lady sings. The base does this. Not the squishy middle swing voter. Swing voters can’t be bothered to do that. They need “assurances.” They want winners and sure things.

When a campaign is a winner you can feel it. Ask any of those people in CT who worked on the Lamont campaign. I can guarantee that y’all could feel victory in your bones, couldn’t you? You always can, when the right candidate with the right campaign comes along at the right time. That’s the way it felt in ‘82 when the Dems in Texas won big in the state races. We could feel that victory, and it made us work all the harder. The base’s confidence and hard work and faith made all the difference.

Swing voters don’t jump unless the bandwagon looks interesting–better yet, that something is happening there that they’re missing out on, it looks like the people on the wagon are having the time of their lives. And that’s when they jump. Not before. That does not start without the base.

Preaching to the choir is old school politics 101, and a good candidate understands that. What is so fucking difficult about that to understand?

Peterr @
14

A good choir is a joy to behold. A good choir provides (or supports) the harmony in the music, giving depth and color and shades of meaning. A good choir helps the whole crowd sing better.

And a good choir makes you want to come to choir practice and not just church!

And a good choir practice is church, at least in my experience.

“As the scientists say, and association is not a correlation”!!!!

Actually, an association IS a correlation. But neither imply causation.