Stop Me Before I Vote Again

I must say it's nice to see Sheehan doing a third-party run against Nanzilla, rather than some lame primary challenge. That's at least a step in the right direction. Like some other commenters here, though, I suspect that the peace "movement" will end up letting her twist in the wind long before she can do any real damage. Seeing Medea Benjamin hovering in the backgound is always disquieting, of course, and bodes very ill indeed.

Medea got the cushy job shepherding Sheehan after helping to torpedo the Green party in '04. No doubt the rest of her crowd will rally 'round to put a spoke in Cindy's wheels and collect another favor from La Nan.

Honestly, if we weren't making progress with IRV here in MN, I'd be applying for Canadian citizenship right now.

It's the same old problem with left or popular resistance movements, especially the more extreme, they don't hate the other side as much as they hate others on their own side who they view as not as "pure" or "extreme" or "knowledgeable" or "smart". It's like the Monty Python movie "Life of Brian" in which all the groups opposed to Romans don't hate the Roman's as much as they detest each other.

There's a lamentable tendency for 'progressive' organizations to become vulnerable to their own peculiar form of regulatory capture. Almost everything that exists as a check in our political system adopts a placatory approach to that which it is supposed to regulate. Placation has some merits, but none of them come until well after it has become clear that the regulator can and will lower the boom. Early placation is a disaster, demoralizing and breeds cynicism.

It seems to me that at the very least some analogue to consumer consciousness is essential. Otherwise, even the mildest reforms are never going to be possible. That means a minimum standard of conduct. The very obvious first step towards that is:

No Democrats; no way, no how.

And none of their remoras. They've been the kiss of death to anything remotely progressive for ages.

The haggler should never be afraid to walk away and call on others to follow. Someone who haggles and then says, "oh, very well" lets all the steam out. Someone in a position to say "oh, very well" and be influential when saying it is necessarily going to be held to a higher standard. Mike Flugennock is being street smart, not writing screeds.

Especially in the last 20 years, the left has too many armchair generals (or laptop generals, as Alexander Cockburn updates the term) just as the right does, and I would have to put you in that category too, sometimes, Michael, and I say this as someone who agrees with you about some of your targets (especially the Democrats) and appreciates the wit and good writing in your columns.

There's a qualitative difference between the guy yelling, "Nooooo! Don't be a sucker! Not again!" and the guy interested in ordering underwear inspections at dawn. Some sense of proportion is in order here! Please!

I'm not saying anyone is above criticism or satire

Good! You're absolutely right. I agree completely.

but it gets a bit much sometimes

Uh, oh.

It's easy to laugh at Medea Benjamin

Indeed! Someone who makes a huge production and then caves is certainly risible.

but what actions is Flugennock (or you) doing to try to change things? I don't think taking a vacation, practicing for your retirement is going to quite do the trick.

What do you have in mind?

Mike's point, I thought, was that Cindy going to Congress -- anyone going to Congress -- to petition the Democrats, was getting a bit old. The Dems have shown they will always have prior appointments the day you show up.

Soquel's point is also valid -- superficially. Criticism is easy; action is hard. But who says Mike isnt an activist? Just because he writes in the morning doesn't mean he isnt down at the steel mill signing up members at night.

The alternative to criticism may not be action, but despair. Some people wake up with coffee in the morning. I like SMBIVA to get me going.

i'm puzzled by this dear john letter

what's the beef ??

too extreme
for saying
the proposed leap won't clear the gap

too pure
when calling a rat a rat

too know it all ish
if noticing
the historical record
finds many black hat trumps
for
the present
white hat hand

too brain proud
when pointing out obvious foolery

nothing i've ever read here
seemed two hand spands from self evident

noticing stuff in its naked particulars
and
repeating
the obvious conclusions
common sense and a popular standpoint
demand

that's the mission here

Action without criticism is all too often misguided. The original writer says why are you trashing Cindy? She's at least doing something. But what if what she's doing is a distraction, a drawing off of left energies into a quixotic cause?

Everyone has to decide what's valid action (a Cindy campaign might be educational, or it might be divisive and discouraging. The same applies to impeachment -- it could be important, or it could be a distraction; see the debate on Democracy Now today.)

There's a lively middle between overly intellectual and blindly passionate. That's where we need to be.

I believe it was Bugs Bunny who said:
"He don't know me vewwy well, do he?"

Before any further slagging, I suggest this Mr. Withheld check my Web site -- whose URL is easily lifted from here -- and check out the fifteen, count 'em, fifteen years' worth of editorial cartoon posters encrusting the streets of this city (and the nation, to an extent) disturbing the comfortable, shaking 'em up, waking 'em up, changing some minds, inspiring some folks to action. You'll notice nearly all of this work was designed to inspire people to direct action for change independent of governments or politicians, except for my occasional DC Statehood Green and GPUSA work as I've always rooted for them to put the fear of Jah into the DP, if not give them a well-deserved electoral torpedoing -- and because I support Statehood for DC in principle, not that our Congressman and Senator would be of any higher quality than what's on the Hill now (if you've followed DC city politics for any length of time).

Mr/Ms Withheld may also want to check out my nearly ten years' worth of protest photography and video at the DC Indymedia site, dating back to the early IMF/WorldBank actions in 1998 and '99, helping to tell stories that wouldn't otherwise have been told.

That writer may also want to remind him/her/itself of that old saw about how insanity is defined as a continuation of a repeated action with the expectation of a different result. This is basically where we're at with the peace "movement" and every other dissident "movement" in the USA -- we're still buying into that schlock shoveled to us by our freshly-minted, late-twentysomething, straight-outta-the-struggle Civics and Government teachers in the early '70s: We Can Bring About Change By Working Within The System... except nowadays not only is the system irreparably broken, but bastardized and mutated into a wretched monster that lives only to enrich itself through the bullying and domination of nations and people -- a monster which, quite frankly, needs killing and not "working within".

I'm all for doing as many things as possible, in the hopes that one or more of them might work. Strength in diversity, and all that.

Sheehan may well cause some damage to Pelosi by running. So I'd say it's a worthwhile effort. Hell, it's been worth it just to hear all the hue and cry at Kos because she pointed out that --gasp!-- the DP has a racist history. It never hurts to be reminded that in addition to being lazy, venal, and selfish, these people have never deigned to bone up on the history of the party they spend so much time pitching as our Last, Best Hope Of... whatever.

In a nation this big, why can't Sheehan run ? Why can't we call for impeachment ? Why can't we also have strikes and sit-ins and refusal to pay taxes and whatever else somebody thinks it might take, civil disobedience-wise ?

I pick and choose actions only to the degree that I'm one person with limited time and resources, not because I'm interested in twitting at the person next to me about My Way being the Only Way. Though I did like Scruggs' checklist.

At any rate, we've had these sort of discussions before, so my POV isn't a surprise to the regulars anyway...