Up For Discussion

Republicans are in trouble. Poll numbers show that a majority of people think we are on the wrong track, and that the popularity of our current president (OCP) is at a historical low figure. And those of us in the Progressive camp just love to talk about this good news. We, after all, have not had a whole lot of good news in the past 7+ years since OCP was elected. So the blogosphere draws us back to reading and discussing, day after day and year after year. There are several reasons, not the least of which is the mere presence of really clever writing. Today's post showcases a few posts who take on Republicans with particular effectiveness. The proof of that is the number of comments generated by the highlighted posts.

It's No Secret -- Cleverly turning fear mongering back on our opponents is the technique used here. Tongue in cheek, it is not new news, but a new "take" on old news, that makes this a great post so much fun. The (5/17/08) entry generated 286 responses so far. It is titled,"Late Night: The Conspiracy Unmasked," and was written by "Thers" at Firedoglake. To quote:

This is big. Very big. We should all be afraid, very afraid. I know I am.

And I think it goes all the way to the top.

Let me explain.

For the past several months I've been heading up an in-depth FDL investigation of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, John McCain. Way back in December, we here at FDL started to hear disturbingly consistent rumors from several of our highly-placed sources, startling and troubling information to the effect that McCain now has -- and has had for years -- uncomfortably close ties to an organization and individuals who have had the intent and the means to carry out an unnerving, even deadly, anti-American agenda. I do not wish to alarm anyone. But it is no less than the simple, raw truth that if our sources were correct, this organization, and these individuals, have already caused our people grievous, even deadly harm both at home and abroad, and it is their intention to wreak further destruction upon our democracy in the future.

And they have selected John McCain as their chosen vessel to execute their insidious plans.

Bald Incitement -- This one generated 267 comments to date. Written 0n 5/17/08 by Glenn Greenwald at Salon.com, its title, "High Standards at the Washington Post Op-Ed page," does not really hint at the piece's provocative and intelligent content. Deadly serious, Greenwald is one of the very best at searing and reasoned criticism. A lawyer, he never pulls his punches, however. Greenwald takes the WaPo to task for their inclusion of old-fashioned sexism and racism against Senator Barack Obama via the incendiary writings of columnist Kathleen Parker. To quote his conclusion:

UPDATE II: Hilzoy notes that because Parker's columns are distributed by the Washington Post Writers' Group, the White Pride column by Parker noted above (Obama is not a "full-blooded American" because of his "bloodlines") "ran all over the place: in the Baltimore Sun, the Chicago Tribune, all sorts of places." So The Washington Post is distributing white supremacist cant about Obama's "blood equity" and "heritage," along with today's column insinuating that he and Edwards are pretty, girly gays who want to hug and kiss each other.

Hilzoy says of the Post: "they should be ashamed of themselves." They should, but they won't be. Then again, as uptoolate notes, accurately, in comments: "As for Obama vs. McCain, try to remember that this kind of tripe is just the warm-up act."

Own Worst Enemy -- This very well constructed post has generated 243 comments so far. The writer uses a good mixture of balanced and understated criticism towards both parties, whenever someone has gotten off track. The article makes good use of quotes combined effectively with the author's own commentary. "Repub Congressman Diagnoses GOP Illness, Declares Them Terminal" was posted on 5/17/08 by "DHinMI" at Daily Kos. To quote from "DHinMI's" opening and closing paragraphs:

Tom Davis is one of the few Republican office holders whose strategic analyses I respect as being largely free of ideology. He's a past chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, and one of the few Republicans who has voted against his party even when he was pressured to go along with the crowd. He's not a bipartisan nice guy. As chair of the Oversight committee, he blocked any serious investigations of the Bush administration, and since Democrats gained control of Congress he's been an obstructionist on many issues that could be politically damaging to the GOP or the Bush administration. He's an adversary, not someone I like, but as a political strategist, he's someone to take seriously.

Thus, it's noteworthy that Davis has written a 21 page memo to his colleagues with suggestions for what they must do to prevent disaster.

. . . I don't have any sympathy for the Republicans. But I do believe it must be horrible knowing that if they don't eschew the extreme right positions they've adopted over the years, they will get slaughtered in the general election, but breaking from the extreme right means they will not make it through party primaries.

It couldn't happen to a more deserving bunch of people.

Republicans need to stay in trouble until after the November elections. Not all Republicans, you understand, just those who have behaved destructively towards our country. I do not look for the Poll numbers to change between now and then. Those of us in the Progressive camp need to take opportunities to highlight the good news as well as the bad. It is going to be a long hard slog in the next few months. The blogosphere will continue to attract us with really good writing, that takes on Republicans with particular relish. It will still be up for good discussion if we remember what the real deal is . . . Democratic majorities across the board in November!

View my current slide show about the Bush years -- "Millennium" -- at the bottom of this column.

(Cross-posted at The Reaction.)

My “creativity and dreaming” post today is at Making Good Mondays.

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