Amen, brother

After two days of having my mailbox deluged with hyperventilating mail from every frickin' progressive group in recorded history, asking me for money, for petition signatures, you name it, this whole drill is getting depressingly familiar. Every time the Bush Administration does something, John Kerry puts his masthead on an e-mail asking for money. ACT hyperventilates. MoveOn.org has a bake sale. Even my beloved Air America Radio is on the petition bandwagon. Does anyone actually believe that Bushrove actually gives a rat's ass about petitions? Does anyone actually believe that BobJohn Roberts is NOT going to be confirmed?

Have all these petitions made one bit of difference?

What we need is a Democratic Party with some courage -- some courage to NOT "wait till the next battle" but to fight NOW -- even if it's a losing fight, just give the opposition a VOICE, and get mobilized to take over the House and Senate next year.

Obstructionist my ass. When you're dealing with wingnut lunatics like the current incarnation of the Republican Party, that's your JOB.

Yesterday I heard a caller to Randi Rhodes' show talk about how she had invited NJ 5th District House candidate Anne Wolfe to a house party this weekend. This is a John Conyers effort, inspired by the house parties Moveon.org pioneered, to inform the already-converted about the ties between Rove-a-palooza and the Downing Street minutes: that both are about the lies the Administration told to take us to Iraq. Now granted, to the extent that people going to these parties can drag along an unconverted person, they may be productive. But in bringing the leading Democratic candidate to take on Tom DeLay's lackey in NJ, Scott Garrett, you take this "Oh How Cool We're Going To Get A Call From Randi And Joe Wilson" wheel-spinning in a direction which might actually make some changes in 2006 -- when it's going to be important.

Because the ONLY chance we have at bringing the entire bunch of liars and thieves and murderers and war profiteers in the Bush Administration -- this bunch of made men (^TM Atrios) -- to justice, is to get some Democrats with balls in Congress and get ourselves a majority.

Hoffmania nails it:

John Roberts is a very undistinguished choice. And he's small potatoes. He's anti-Roe v. Wade, but despite that and Roberts' wife's activism against abortion, it ain't going anywhere. John Roberts is a flea.

We have a bigger fight to fight than this nebbish. We have to stop this administration. For failing in Iraq. For failing us on 9/11. For fostering the American vs. American mentality. For failing us on truth and honesty.

I'm not going to sign any petition against John Roberts. It's a waste of time. It's a waste of bandwidth. If Bush wants his legacy to be a human speed bump like John Roberts, so be it.

No petition will take the place of solid tough questioning by our representatives when this guy is paraded before them. They must do their jobs. That's what I want them to do. That's what I elected them to do. I don't want emails from senators. I want results from senators.

If the guy can pass muster, fine. If he doesn't, I'll trust them to do the right thing (I'm blessed with Barbara Boxer and cursed with Dianne Feinstein, so I live in a coin flip). I trust they will make their decision out of conscience and not out of another of a succession of back-room deals.

I am sick and tired of the spokespeople of our side taking our eye off the ball and taking the bait. Another flurry of petitions isn't going to do anything except dilute our message.

I want to devote my energy and effort to making the sweeping changes in 2006 to make sure George W. Bush's - and Dick Cheney's - free ride comes to a screeching stop. I want to back their runaway train back into the station and shut it down once and for all.

Whatever happens between now and then can only add to our ammunition. God knows they've fucked up everything for the last five years. I can wait another ten months.

2006. That's my focus. That's my goal. Call me crazy. I don't care about winning these little exhibition games. I want to win the big one.

Ripping the lid off the CIA treason scandal is a great start. Take it right to the top. Hold these bastards accountable for once in their sorry careers. And if they stonewall, if they smirk, if they make a stink - keep hammering until they bleed. Make them - MAKE them - tell the truth for once.

3000 citizens on 9/11, 1700+ dead troops in Iraq, hundreds of thousands killed and maimed around the world are all asking, "WHY?"

It's time we got some goddamned answers. If we don't get them, the answer is impeachment.

There's only one way there, people. 2006.

2006.

Amen, brother. I just sent Anne Wolfe 50 bucks to start. She needs to raise $200,000 ASAP in order to get the attention of groups such as EMILY's List. The Democratic Party ceded this seat to the odious Garrett in 2004, thinking we didn't have a chance -- and Wolfe STILL got 41% of the vote, with almost NO help from the county or state party. Imagine what she can do with some support.