Via Happy Capitalist comes this: anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan threatened to run against California US Senator Diane Feinstein unless she joined the fillibuster against Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito. I know Feinstein as a moderate liberal and Sheehan as an unfortunate nutcase (she sent her ultimatum by e-mail while she was in Venezuela attending the World Social Forum and meeting with President Chavez).
Feinstein didn’t support the no-starter filibuster, so should she now fear an electoral challenger from the left? Even if Sheehan chickens out, the threat isn’t over. A Mr. Rob Call, writing in Op-Ed News (of which he is the editor), had this to say:
I’ll keep this short and bitter. Every god damned blue state senator who failed to sign on to the Alito filibuster MUST be fought in the primaries and replaced. The Democratic party has failed the rank and file members.
Why the far Left would want to sabotage its moderate liberal senators is bizarre to me. Not that I’m necessarily complaining—given the choice, I generally prefer politicians from the Republican Party—but if the US is going to have a two-party system, the activists on the far left need some medication and instructions to calm down.
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COMMENTS / 14 COMMENTS
mark safranski added these pithy words on 31 Jan 06 at 2:49 amThe best thing that could happen to the United States is a civil war within the Democratic Party that causes the wingnuts to hive off and form their own quasi-Communist party – which will allow the GOP to shed itself of its reliance on crackpot liabilities like Pat Robertson.
Two broad parties, one moderately liberal and one moderately conservative could start governing once again,free of our political system’s most destructive elements.
Nathan added these pithy words on 31 Jan 06 at 5:01 amThis is the most awesomely awesome bit of awesomeness in US domestic political news from the past few days. I think it might be even better than Kerry’s further attempts to be the messiah of the far left.
Like Mark said, anything that immentizes the sloughing off of the far left from the Democratic Party (which allows for the far right of the Republicans to be ignored) is a wonderful thing. Hell, the kossacks are slobbering for a civil war. It’s just that they think they’d win.
Dan added these pithy words on 31 Jan 06 at 5:09 amtdaxp self promotion warning level: Red.
I wrote a smilar analysis which was later picked up by the Democratic Underground
snow added these pithy words on 31 Jan 06 at 8:20 amI hope the far left keeps it up, more public embracing of tyrants. I hope Cindy comes over to Korea and makes googly eyes at Kim Jeong Il just to completely destroy any credibility that she could possibly have. Let the loons break off and form their own freak party of the left!
felipe the latinlover added these pithy words on 31 Jan 06 at 2:45 pmanother crazy that support chavez,i dont know, why here in the ocuntry the popularity of chavez, is falling each day, in other countrys appears more supporters of him
http://blogs.salon.com/0001330/2006/01/28.html#a2716 in this link can see the venezuelan point of views
Curzon added these pithy words on 31 Jan 06 at 3:17 pmDevil’s E is a great blog on Venezuela, although does it really express the Venezuelan point of view? Surely someone voted for him…
What is the future of Venezuela, Felipe? How much longer will Chavez be in power? Who will succeed him?
Eddie added these pithy words on 31 Jan 06 at 5:05 pmI think the Democrats are getting addicted to the online cash bonanza that is Daily Kos and its ilk….. until the far left turns off the cash spigot to democrat candidates, these dem politicians will continue to suck up to them early and often, even if their voting pattern does not always reflect it. They all want to be the darlings of daily kos and co. because of the enormous fundraising potential.
CTDeLude added these pithy words on 31 Jan 06 at 6:55 pmPersonally I would rather see a stronger Dem party that kept the Republicans more honest to their conservative ideals in regards to business and stronger security. As it is right now the accountability level among our top ranking Republican leaders is sorely lacking and it is reflected in the Abramoff scandal as well the lax security on our borders (all I have to do is drive to work in the morning here in Southern California to know it isn’t working). I’ve been repeatedly disappointed with our elected “conservative” leaders as of late and feel that more, not less, heat needs to be placed on them. It’s accepting the status quo that I absolutely hate (only to have grown stronger as I read Kaplan’s latest) and we’re just allowing far too much of it.
A bit disgruntled you ask? Yes, just slightly.
Gollios added these pithy words on 31 Jan 06 at 7:08 pmHere’s something I saw on IMAO (www.imao.us)
What if your livelihood was based on you winning races, but you always had the same opponent: a half-crippled man who could barely see straight as was always stumbling into walls. Also, he drools. How much would you train and condition yourself to make sure you won those races when it took so little effort to win them because how awful your opponent was? You probably wouldn’t train at all. Instead, you’d get lazy… maybe even come to the races coked out of your mind (and still win).
This is the problem with the Republicans. To stay in power, they just have to be better than the train wreck that is the Democrats – impotent idiots who still seem to be stuck in a downward spiral. With the bar so low, what’s to keep the Republicans from being lazy and corrupt? They know any threat to vote for Democrats instead is just that: a threat. Who would be so stupid as to actually vote for one of those incompetent boobs? Right now, their main area of attack is criticizing Bush for surveillance on terrorists; they’re acting like the guy in the Dirty Harry movies who yells at Detective Callahan for bending the rules… even though he’s just trying to save people’s lives. Everyone always boos that character when he’s on screen.
Thus, the only way to improve the Republican Party is to first shake the Democratic Party to its senses. I think the best way to do that is have the Democrats sit down and have a long talk with the KosKids, the people who keep trying to drive them off a cliff as they head towards crazyville (like this lame attempt at a filibuster).
DEMOCRATS: KosKids, we need to talk.
KOSKIDS: Is it about how you are finally going after Bushitler for letting the 9/11 attacks happen and murdering Paul Wellstone?
DEMOCRATS: Let’s rephrase that: We Democrats in the leadership need to talk, but you guys need to shut up because you’re crazy loons.
KOSKIDS: But Bush is a fascist who…
DEMOCRATS: And you guys are stupid.
KOSKIDS: ...and everything is about oil and Halliburton and…
DEMOCRATS: And you guys smell. You people have to come to grips with that Bush does not want to silence you people because, every time you guys get heard, the Republicans win votes. Also, the government doesn’t care to spy on you because no one in the world cares to know anything about you people.
KOSKIDS: But everything is becoming a police state and…
DEMOCRATS: We need you people to shut up; find some other hobby then being paranoid about politics. If all you members of MoveOn.org moved on to jobs in the service sector, that would be great.
KOSKIDS: But we need to fight and…
DEMOCRATS: Here’s a big bag of Skittles and a paddle ball game. Why don’t you eat some Skittles and put your energy into this paddle ball game while we try to regain some power.
KOSKIDS: But Alito is soon going to be a Justice and then he’ll…
DEMOCRATS: I don’t hear paddling.
So, readers, what are your ideas to save the Democratic Party?
The original link is: http://www.imao.us/archives/004681.html
Mike added these pithy words on 01 Feb 06 at 12:14 amYou know the difference between the far left and the far right? Nothing, they’re both intolerant, dogmatic, and moronic, but the far left almost never actually gets into power. Why? They’re wimps. American Politics, the end.
I’m beyond disgruntled with both parties. I’m reading Sarte.
Give me a smart moderate any day.
lirelou added these pithy words on 01 Feb 06 at 12:56 amMike, if you’re reading Sartre, you might also want to take an occasional glance at Jean-Francois Revel. Revel can bore at times, but he does lay bare the bones of European anti-americanism. As for politics, I keep hoping that a third party will rise, but the last good candidate I saw in that vein was John Anderson back in the ‘80s. One final thought on Cindy. The vacant look says it all. But she is a mother who has lost her son, and is desperately trying to find someone to hate for doing that to her. That is an understandable human drive, and whatever deep end she’s tumbled off of, we should be sympathetic to both her loss and her present mental state. Her son would expect no less of us.
felipe the latinlover added these pithy words on 01 Feb 06 at 1:09 am(posted proxy by Curzon)
well about “Surely someone voted for him”¦” yeah chavez have still support but he decrease each day, failure and failure of his goverment is breaking the loyalty of the people to him but really abou cindy sheehan everbody think is only kind of crazy comunist that like socialist revolution in other countrys not in her country.
ABout the future of venezuela? is a very hard question, about the goverment, well can fall down today, can fall down tomorrow, fall down the next week , the next year or in 30 years. hte goverment looks more stronger, but is became more weakk, the populism and the social programs , are no working more, so the people are tired, but the problem the goverment have a lot of money thanks of the oil income, and with that money have enough resources to buy mind and conciences, and keep calm down the people.
the other problem is in the oposition beside the population are against chavez, theoposition, no thave the trust or the will of th epeople, they have failed too, and also many ghosts of the past so is difficult united th eanger and the anti chaves feeling to try to get out him against the goverment.
about how long chavez will during in power meanwhile have the oil income and the control of the armed force a not appears news leaders in th eoposition. or the people break up ion fury and decide go to the presidential house and linchy him; somebody put a bullet in his head, or he died for natural causes, the rest i dont a very apacific or democratic way to recover the democracy.
about how succed him: is very difficult because in the oposition we dont see any leader witht he capacity of defeat chavez or united the will of the people tod better cause, really the oposition leader are accepted like leader is because many people they are less bad thant chavez, is mean with the old political class you can change them each 5 years with chavez the last aamenace was until the 2030.
the big problem of venezuela or the situation now, came from the disaster of the forty years of democracy before chavez, the old politican convert the society in kind of mass used to have a father and mother state. so the statism is the biggest sicknnes of the venezuela, explain the situation is hard.
chavez is no longer popular but have enough money to keep his power, the oposition leaders sucks, the people are waiting i kind of signal to break out and do any disaster here. the situation is very bad.
the rest waiting for a miracle.
Elizabeth added these pithy words on 01 Feb 06 at 7:21 amFirst, she says nothing about the war until her baby gets killed, and now, she’s supporting other dictators and trying to blackmail senators. Talk about inconsistent.
CTDeLude added these pithy words on 01 Feb 06 at 4:47 pmNot to mention if she is for piece, why is she romanticizing those who bring war as “Freedom Fighters?”
Inconsistencies abound.
