Stop Me Before I Vote Again

I may have mentioned before that my inbox has been getting pounded recently with a steady rain of artillery fire from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, in the form of begging letters over the names of such Big Berthas as Madeleine Albright, Nancy Pelosi, James Carville, and John Kerry. I think my favorite purported to come from the mad bomber above, General Wesley Clark. It was chockablock full of muscular squirrel military rhetoric:

Dear Michael,

In politics, when your opponent attacks your only option is to respond with overwhelming force.

My friends at that DCCC have set a goal of raising one million dollars before the June 30th FEC Deadline to make a show of overwhelming force in response to these unpatriotic attacks on President Obama. Fight back with a matching gift* today.

Will you help stand strong against the right-wing's attacks?

House Democrats are willing to match your dollars with their own money because that's how important it is to show the world how strongly we support our Commander in Chief. The DCCC asked me to review their battle plan for responding to these attacks on President Obama.

They showed me the maps of every targeted Republican district that they plan to hit back hard in.

One feels a certain anxiety for the hapless folk who dwell in the districts mentioned above. When Wesley starts looking at a map of your town, it's time to move.

Yesterday brought a barbaric yawp of triumph:

Dear Michael,

Thanks to you, we didn't just meet our June 30th grassroots fundraising goal - we shattered it by raising an astounding $1.2 million.

Now this doesn't sound to me like such a big number, since the Republicans have more than ten times that amount. But this campaign was pitched on the premise that "grass-roots" money counts for more, psychologically or something, than whatever kind of money the Republicans are getting. Who knows, maybe there's something to it -- it's a rarefied realm of wonkery in which I can't bring myself to take an interest.

So naturally I dropped in to Daily Kos -- that haven for prematurely middle-aged political hobbyists -- to see how this famous victory was being toasted there. To my surprise, I found very little about it. There were a few tepid exhortations to contribute, following the talking points from the DCCC's emails in a half-hearted way. Here's a sample:

The other objection, on the other hand, is entirely an individual decision, and not one that is easily countered.

That is the "the Democrats won't get another dollar from me until they (fill in blank of desperately needed action)" crowd. A crowd that proved pretty irresistable late last year when Joe Lieberman was welcomed back into the Senate fold with a big hug and a cookie.

The sentiment is hard not to understand and appreciate. This would probably be a pretty good spot to remind you that the Republican Party probably cares less about said issue than the Democrats do, but that might be little, if any comfort. So, those of you seeking a campaign finance Conscientious Objector status, consider it granted.

Sounds like the Kosniks are losing some of their go-team-go mojo. I also found a little poll whose results delighted me -- up to a point:

Will you....
Give to the DCCC only	0 votes	- 0 %
Give to individual candidates only	15 votes	- 37 %
Both of the above	2 votes	- 5 %
Neither of the above, too pissed at everyone	12 votes	- 30 %
Neither of the above, no money to give	11 votes	- 27 %

Non-donors, whether by reason of disillusionment or poverty, formed an absolute majority at 57%, which is excellent news. But among the choices given, "individual candidates only" got a plurality of 37%. This suggests that Kosniks still have a thing or two to learn about the relationship of individuals to institutions.

Book burning is not entirely without merit. There's a catch (not that one). It needs to be done in a way that increases book sales.

Also, three cheers for the Nanny State. When you need an infantilizing response to an infantile act,

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Officials in a Florida city have denied a burn permit for a church that is seeking to burn copies of the Quran on Sept. 11.

Interim Fire Chief Gene Prince said yesterday that the open burning of books is not allowed under Gainesville's burning ordinance.

The Dove World Outreach Center drew international attention after announcing a plan to burn copies of the Islamic holy text on church grounds to mark the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Prince says the church will be fined if the burning is held.

In an e-mail sent yesterday, the church said, "City of Gainesville denies burn permit - BUT WE WILL STILL BURN KORANS."

The Gainesville church made headlines last year after distributing T-shirts that said, "Islam is of the Devil."

Why not do the book burn inside the church? That would teach the fire chief a stinging lesson. Fill it to rafters, by all means, for it is written that pointless, faked-up, self-inflicted martyrdom is pleasing to the Lord, who shall ridicule them in His own time and at great length, for His mercy is infinite. But please forget about the Quran. There's no need to add insult to Predator drones, and there are worthy writers who need all the publicity they can get. Burn blogs in effigy too. Purify the ether!

It'd be a real shame if something was to happen to it...

I can't say whether the speculation is on target or not, or whether any of the likely outcomes are desirable. What I can say, however, is that it's hilariously funny. A technocratic coup is taking shape in ways that infuriate most of the technocrats. They'll never untangle this Gordian Knot—pun intended. The traditional solution to such knots is financial armageddon.