(Per transcript at http://www.myleftwing.com/showDiary.do;jsessionid=45B92A25510DD7CFBE6C394C1A4EA2E4?diaryId=17528 )

Then... man, that's sad.  Because he sounds just about verbatim like the Operative in the movie Serenity.  That Operative wanted to make "better worlds" .. no cost to freedom was too high, in pursuit of that aim.

The help they got in round one does not translate to auto-help in round two.

Some people are paying attention.

Pat has been back and forth on a few of these votes, but this one was a biggie.

Nor is Joe Sestak (PA-07).  I wonder if military service corrolates with voting patterns on this issue?

In addition many of them come from districts where more liberal views are not popular with the voters. So it's not a simple matter of replacing a conservative Dem with a more liberal one.

In more normal times many of these people would be Republicans. You can even seen the trend increasing as many Republicans are switching parties. They bring their attitudes with them.

This is the same problem that the Dems faced when they allied with the Dixiecrats. They had to put up with their racism and opposition to social progress because they needed their support in other areas.

So the question really is, given that most of these conservative Dems are going to be in the next congress and given that they are not going to change their basic outlook on life what are the practical steps that can be taken to make progressive policies more likely to get enacted?

The Republicans used outright blackmail on their house members to enforce obedience. This included taking away committee positions, withholding campaign funds and even killing pork earmarks. One would hope that the Dems won't stoop this low.

So each time there is a discussion of the problems with the conservatives in the Dem party it would be useful if there was also a simultaneous discussion of what practical steps should be undertaken to counter this difficulty.

Policies not Politics
--- Daily Landscape

Howard Dean isn't reading the comments sections on blogs.  You need to call the DNC if you want to see a change made.  Their phone number is 202-863-8000.

Don't just complain online, be an activist and make a real difference.  

-m www.scaryshit.blogspot.com