Elevating intellect to new heights, liberals have lost touch with instinct

[wyldwolf]

Interesting article here though it is bound to ruffle more than few feathers on DU...

In the midst of the current battle between the "leftist" grassroots and the "moderate" DLC, this article interjects a missing link. Political leadership is not about mimicry of "tough" positions, nor is it about reactionary complaints and bomb-throwing. It is about the attitude of power.

The attitude of power has an evolutionary basis, one that is rooted in the signals of alpha masculinity, and it is sorely missing from both the Democratic establishment and the liberal rebels. This isn't about policy positions or ideology. It's about something more fundamental. It's about biology.

Call it toughness or brashness, chutzpah or machismo, iron guts, brass balls or just plain alpha maleness. Whatever you want to call it, to paraphrase Potter Stewart, you know it when you see it, and you know when it's not there. The time has never been more critical for liberals to defy expectations and show they've got it and attack conservatives for having none.

Since Election 2004, liberals have been agonizing over the shape of the Democratic Party and the fate of liberalism itself. Should they look for new policies or new personalities? Is the right demographic the "security moms" or the "values voters"? Is their salvation in the framing, in the heartland, or in the Bible?

For a moment, liberals may want to put aside all the abstract political analysis and poll-data parsing and consider something far simpler. A basic fact of nature gone underappreciated for a very long time. Something fundamentalist conservatives won't believe and enlightened liberals don't like to acknowledge.

People are animals.

http://www.bloggernews.net/showstory.asp?page=blognews/stories/UP0000466.txt

[mhr]

1. More Than A Grain Of Truth In That Article

Basically, Liberals act like wimps and are treated as such by the voting public.

[BlueEyedSon]

2. You mean like Howard Dean?

[JAbuchan08]

20. we lost on the Democratic establishment's terms not Deans.

If I remember correctly no Democrat is president right now, but I guess you can blame that on Dean. The problem isn't that Dean had balls but that the establishment did everything they could to castrate him. Was Dean the right choice for nominee? Frankly I don't know, but I wouldn't be defending him if the status quo was WORKING - its not.

I just want to know why the HELL it is so important to stick with what is not WORKING. If my car is not WORKING I get it fixed. If my VCR is not WORKING I take it to the repair shop. Right now the Democratic party is not WORKING, so, um let's stay the course, that's the ticket... :eyes:

On edit: I don't think we should go to far with calling people assholes and so on, but maybe we should think a little about not trying to be overly sensitive about the feelings of people who don't care about our feelings (much less our lives). We don't as the, article says, have to curse a blue streak, but we should try not to treat the impact politics has on people's lives as some sort of academic exercise.

[mikelewis]

3. Or Barbara Boxer, or John Conyers?

[BoneDaddy]

5. wow

Interesting article and probably true.

Dean, Boxer and Conyers are unfortunately the exception and their strength has been deftly labeled them as being "fringe" and "radical" by the MSM and the Rove machine.

I don't believe that the Dems are "weaker" than the repubs per se, in regards to policy etc, but it is the image and perception that most Americans apply to liberals that matters.

For the past thirty years this cabal of dark sorcery has spent billions in the image market, painting libs as wimps and supporting the image that they are tougher and more able to do "masculine work" which is BS to begin with.

The problem with the dems is that they have struggled so much to appear "tough" and end up looking like "Bush-light". Much of the country still adheres to old value systems of patriarchy and militarism.

There was a great study done a year or two ago, where the speeches of the Bush admin members and the speeches of libs were analyzed. The Bush group tended to appeal to the reptilian aspect of our brains by feeding the "flight or fight" phenomenon by playing upon our baser more primal emotions of fear, anger and survival. The dems and libs' speeches tended to appeal to the "higher" aspects of brain functioning such as logic, reason and abstraction. This, unfortunatly, does not appeal much to the mob mentality of the Bush crowd who revels in baser thinking and therefore is ineffective.

[blm]

25. The problem for Dems is that the MEDIA LIES REGULARLY ABOUT THEM

and covers up the TRUTH about the chickenhawk Republicans.

The media told the public that Bush SAYS WHAT HE MEANS...BUSH IS A STRAIGHTSHOOTER....WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET.

What you GET is a liar, an opportunist, a corporate classist with a fascist agenda, an incompetent commander in chief, and a FAKE COWBOY WHO IS AFRAID OF HORSES.

He is a terrible, clumsy athlete, yet the media has the public believing he's a great athlete. He was too scared of landing planes to finish his training, yet the media SOLD him as a fighter pilot.

ALL DONE WITH LIES.

Kerry is an EXPERT PILOT - even an expert STUNT pilot which takes nerves of steel - An EXPERT MARKSMAN. A LIFETIME HUNTER. A LONGTIME motorcyclist, competive cyclist, hockey player, windsurfer, skier, horseman, etc.....

But the media didn't WANT the public to know that.

But, they sure gave hours of time to the swift vet liars claim that Kerry was a coward in Vietnam who lied his way through even when the official Navy records backed up everything Kerry said.

IT'S THE MEDIA, STUPID.

And the GOP owned voting machines.

[omega minimo]

58. The ultimate effect of the Big Lie Machine

"The media told the public that Bush SAYS WHAT HE MEANS...BUSH IS A STRAIGHTSHOOTER....WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET. "What you GET is a liar, an opportunist, a corporate classist with a fascist agenda, an incompetent commander in chief, and a FAKE COWBOY WHO IS AFRAID OF HORSES."

The ultimate effect of the Big Lie Machine, from Reagan to Bushwar I to Bushwar II and Chimpy is to groom the American public to NOT BE ABLE TO RECOGNIZE WHAT IS RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEIR FACES-- to not trust their own judgement and "instinctual" reaction to someone who is a bald-faced liar.

At this point they just come out and tell you they need a catapult to deliver their bullshit.

We need an informed public with enough basic education to understand the system and their place in it; a deprogrammed public with enough critical thinking capacity to reactivate their bullshit detectors.

Appealing to the "lizard brain" of a citizenry overdosed on "fight or flight" toxic chemical stress effects by trying to outbully the mega-bullies leads to mutually assured destruction, :nuke: which is not effect public policy. :evilgrin:

[blm]

61. And the BULLY mentality is being sold to the public as a virtue while they

mock thoughtfulness and nuance as if they were weaknesses.

[omega minimo]

62. Overcompensating

If folks did have functioning bullshit detectors, one look would reveal that the majority of the Repug leadership look like inbred, ill-fed, sunless, demented sociopaths. If the eyes are the window to the soul, why are so many of them cross-eyed or eyes going in opposite directions, or pressing into one side of the head, like W? Not great genetic material!

Anybody remember that the most despised booger-eating geek freak rejects at your high-school were the ones you heard about a few years later leading Nazi groups in hate crimes in your town?

Some of them join the Republican hate machine. Gezzus, look at Limbaugh. Alpha Male or Jabba the Hut?

These ball-lovers are sniffin up the wrong tree.

[mattclearing]

60. "All hat and no cattle" - the best line Kerry never used.

I can't believe he allowed himself to be painted as a Massachusetts liberal by a Connecticut Cowboy.

[punpirate]

4. Okay, now...

... we aren't "agonizing over the shape of the Democratic Party." Many of us have a simpler explanation, and one which is just as valid: if Democrats would simply get back to their roots--avoid big money and its influences like the plague--and honestly describe that root agenda--and then follow through, they'd gain many more votes than they would lose.

We may be animals, but we're civilized animals--government itself is proof of that.

This article is an appeal to behave as the right wing Republican does, and it won't work--the nasty sonsabitches will always be meaner, coarser, crueler, nastier and more low-down than we can manage.

The truth--in word and deed--along with some street smarts, is stronger than all the sharp-toothed flesh-ripping the right wing (or the Democrats) can manage.

We need better candidates, whether they come from the Democrats or a third party.

Right now, the Democrats are chasing the Republicans' coattails as the Republicans run ever rightward. With that steady motion rightward, it doesn't matter if the Democrats win. We still end up with, at best, a center-right government. If you believe that's okay, think this article good advice. If not, look for better ways--and better people--to ensure proper representation.

Cheers.

[Toots]

10. I agree and Cindy Sheehan would make a great candidate

She has balls enough for all the other Democrats combined yet despises war and the results war brings. More candidates that talk and behave like Cindy would benefit the Party greatly.

[punpirate]

14. I wouldn't go that far...

... her cause has merit. That doesn't mean she's inclined to or particularly talented as regards politics.

Do we need people like her, capable and desirous of speaking truth to power--even when they are the powerful? Yes, indeed. She's already shown Bush for what he is by speaking truthfully. That's the power in speaking the truth. :)

We don't necessarily need Cindy in Washington (and I really don't think she's of that mind), but we need people like her.

Cheers.

[Lexingtonian]

6. oh, that's silly bullshit

Pure cart-before-the-horse idiocy.

No leader of a minority is ever 'tough' for long. That was point of the Dean Scream implosion, wasn't it?

No leader of a majority is ever really 'wimpy' to his/her electorate. Scorned, yes, but obeyed.

You can't become one by pretending to be the other. In end it's only about achieving or retaining or losing majority, and posture does nothing.

This 'article' is just a lot of paragraphs of whining, written by a fool.

[Q]

7. So where does this leave the mushy moderate DLCers?

"Balletshooz" tries hard to stereotype 'liberals'...and comes up short...branding anyone and everyone as 'liberal' who seems to fit his preconceived notions of the 'Alpha Male Deficit'. Yet he completely ignores the reality on the ground. He says that Neocons believe it is their 'God-given right to tell others how to live their lives' and that they have the 'bully instinct firmly implanted'. But even the author must know that this isn't the reason why they've been able to take full control of our government and make the Democratic party irrelevant. Bullies don't 'win' because they're bullies...they win because they rig the system to work for their side. A bully without money, connections and a smear machine is a joke...even to other bullies.

The author also fails to grasp a simple reality: the media doesn't back Bush because he's better at lifting his leg and pissing on his enemy's territory. They back him because they're paid to back him. The Right has been buying up the media for decades and they outright OWN most of it. RWing ideologues who own the media pay Talking Heads millions of dollars to tout Bush's glorious leadership and his single-minded 'resolve'. Bush is nothing more than a product of a well-financed public relations machine.

"Twenty first century politics are well on their way to chest-beating, shrieking, dominance-enforcing, thought-limiting, freedom-curbing, 1984esque conservatism. And there is no identifiable way to prevent it from happening."


There sure is a way to 'prevent it from happening'. The first step is to identify the Bush collaborators in the Democratic party and expose them as traitors to the people and country. They're not only making the Democratic party look weak and ineffective...they make Bush look stronger by working with him and backing his insane policies.

[spaniard]

8. interesting

The piece clearly addresses the DLC -

In the midst of the current battle between the "leftist" grassroots and the "moderate" DLC, this article interjects a missing link. Political leadership is not about mimicry of "tough" positions, nor is it about reactionary complaints and bomb-throwing. It is about the attitude of power.

Yet, you seem to have missed it. I'm glad I had the opportunity to show you.

Snarky and convoluted viva progressive/damn the DLC reply to follow, I'm sure.

[Q]

26. Well...welcome back...

...to the neighborhood. I may be wrong...but it seems that you only post when it comes time to 'challenge' anything I have to say about the DLC.

Indeed I did notice the reference to the DLC...they're mentioned in the first paragraph. I also noticed (unless I missed it in the rather long, boring hit piece) that they weren't mentioned again to any great extent. The intimation is that it's the 'liberals'...not the DLC...that has a problem with their Alpha maleness. The only problem the author seems to have with 'centrists' is that they 'ape' Alpha Con policy positions'.

"In the hallowed center of the Democratic Party, self-styled moderates merely ape Alpha Con policy positions - offering slightly modified talking points on the Iraq War or the latest video-game ban. Such creatures confuse mimicry with toughness, and remain dependent on the leadership of others."

But all in all the author makes a good point in that the Democratic party needs to not just 'act tough'...but to walk the walk as well. His mistake is to point his fingers at liberals...that haven't been part of the power structure in DC for decades.

The author asks: "Will there ever be a grunting and thumping ape on the left? A genuine Alpha Lib?"

The answer is: we hope not. The answer to our problems is not 'alpha signaling', grunting or chest thumping. The solution is simplicity itself: honesty and integrity.

[wyldwolf]

11. Something in that piece made me think of some DUers

reactionary complaints and bomb-throwing.

Yeah. That was it.

The first step is to identify the Bush collaborators in the Democratic party and expose them as traitors to the people and country.

Yeah, let's start with the Nader voting progressive "my way or the highway" high horse riding McGovernite loony left two percent fringe that put the party in the position it's in right now.

[spaniard]

12. a little strong, but accurate

[bvar22]

22. "My Way or the Highway"

"My Way or the Highway" DOES describe one Extreme Hard Wing of the Democratic Party, and it isn't the Left.
That statement ignores the FACT that the "Loony Left" supported, campaigned, and voted FOR a DLC sponsored Pro-War, Anti-Labor, presidential candidate running on a Platform that IGNORED even a token acknowledgment that the "Loony Left" are Democrats too, and in fact, represents the positions of the MAJORITY of registered Democrats. Hundreds of Thousands (if not millions) of Democrats who supported GREEN in 2000 voted Conservative Dem in 2004.
Where has the entrenched "Hard Right of the DLC" moved toward the Pro-Labor Left in the same spirit?

[wyldwolf]

48. uh, yeah, it is the left

Demonstrated daily on DU

"I won't vote for __________________ because he/she___________"

blah blah blah

[NMDemDist2]

49. Kerry was a conservative Dem? news to me! two words "Paul Hackett"

Hackett shows you can be a Dem with plenty of alpha male testosterone

just saying... :shrug:

[JAbuchan08]

23. The people the DLC considers fringe

are the majority of the party. The "loony left" doesn't have any power in the party. PETA is the "loony left," not elected Democrats like Conyers and Boxer, but I guess its just easier to lump every non-Hawk Democrat into the loony bin. Its not just the "left" that's fed up with Democratic leadership, its just about everyone in the party.

[Name removed]

28. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[norml]

9. Excellent article! A must read by all! Recommended!

While cooperation is as much a part of survival as competition, if we ignore the reality of the pecking order we will never master it.

[Armstead]

13. It's possible to be both

That article does raise a lot of good points. But it ignores or alters other realities to fit everything into one pat theory.

(I have problems with its sexism. It's certainly possible to have Alpha Females too...But that's another matter.)

In terms of his persona, was Bill Clinton an Alpha Male or was he an "overintellectualizing" Lambda Liberal? Fact is he was both.

In terms of sticking to guns, some of the biggest Alphas in Congress have been "mild mannered" males or females like Barbara Boxer, Barbnara Lee, John Conyers, Dennis Kucinich, Paul Wellstone, Jan Schiakowski, Bernie Sanders, Henry Waxman,...etc. Voters respond positively to them in their districts. But they don't project that "it" factor for a President.

Howard Dean is a big time Alpha Male....But in terms of positiions, he was undermined by the Democratic Wusses who let the press and the GOP tell them who was an "acceptable candidate."

It was a sickening display to see Democrats apologize for Wellstone's funeral, go along with the Big Lie that Dean is on the "leftist fringe."

Meanwhile the Democrats who do have those Alpha qualities on personal terms like Biden, Hilary are Lambda in terms of positions. They "me too" GOP conservative falsehoods instead of openly challenging them directly.

No easy answers to all of this. But we ought to start with having Alpha Positions that are solidly liberal and progressive as a starting point.

[Rich Hunt]

21. you make some good points

I liked some things about the article and don't like others, but I liked your take on it.

I suppose it's more of an image problem or cultural rift within the US. Some people respond better to forceful personalities.

[norml]

15. I've posted this in GD and EaOA. Thanks for finding it!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=4346890&mesg_id=4346890

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=103&topic_id=147093&mesg_id=147093

[Lexingtonian]

19. I object- it's crap.

[bemildred]

16. What a load of crap.

We're not agonizing over anything, we're trying to take back control of the Democratic Party and the government. And we did not appoint this fellow to speak for us.

[Name removed]

24. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

17. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[meg]

18. That article is a load of BS!

Bush and Cheney are prime examples of alpha-male wannabes. Neither had the courage of their "principles" to go to Vietnam and fight. Both enjoy war from the comforts of their 6-star accommodations.

No, the difference between Liberals and the GOP thugs is not Alpha male versus Beta male: the GOP thugs believe that they have the right to rule underlings in a very top-power-centric, hierarchical way. These thugs like to put their foot on your neck and look you in the eye while they abuse you. Liberals believe in personal power and shared power. Liberals like to help people rather than **** them.

[Old and In the Way]

27. Until we get transparency of the voting process back,

all of these theories are meaningless. If we had paper votes that could be counted in the open, I'd be happy to consider "what's wrong with Democrats" missives to explain our losses.

Regarding this specific arguement, you can't discuss "alpha-male" explanations without bringing the media's role into making this happen. All one needs to do is see what Democrats are given the media oxygen week after week on the Republican dominated talk shows. Why are Biden and Liberman always available for these shows? Because they are more than willing to play the "beta-male" role and respect the Republican "alpha-male".

[Peace Patriot]

44. Yup, and to put it even more clearly: Major Bush donors and supporters

at Diebold and ES&S electronic voting system companies tabulated 80% of the vote in the 2004 election using "TRADE SECRET," PROPRIETARY PROGRAMMING CODE--programming code so secret that not even elected Secretaries of State have the right to review it.

Total non-transparency and non-verifiability.

The only transparent result of the 2004 election--the independent state and national exit polls--said Kerry won (--as did many other stats, for instance, that the Dems blew the Repubs away in new voter registration in 2004, nearly 60/40!).

I'd like to see the Democratic Party leaders get the cajones to RESIST the lavish lobbying, future job offers and other corruption associated with the billion dollar electronic voting industry! Throw these election theft machines out! Into Boston Harbor NOW! To do that, they will indeed need to get...Cajones! Balls! Spine! Hutzpah! Guts! Fighting spirit! Integrity! Honesty!

Or at least get a brain cell.

[welshTerrier2]

29. more divisive bullshit from the party's right-wing

it's interesting how some just love to minimize issues (you remember issues) raised by the left ... this article is just great ... it seeks to dismiss legitimate discourse on the issues and substitute hormones ...

the one thing i agree with about the article is that it does encapsulate the DLC's attitude on warfare and foreign policy ... macho, macho, macho instead of thoughtful, thoughtful, thoughtful ... there's nothing wrong with being tough when we need to be tough; there's something very, very wrong with being tough when restraint, temperance, moderation (you see, it's the party's right-wing who are the EXTREMISTS, not the left), wisdom and judgment are called for ...

[SamBass]

30. The piece is dead on, pure and simple.

And folks will cat dance around those razor sharp points, and hem and haw, and analyze, and . . . . we just keep on losin'.

[bemildred]

31. Fuck leaders. This is supposed to be a Republic, not a baboon troop. nt

[SamBass]

32. Your alternative to leaders would be . . .

[bemildred]

33. What part of "republic" don't you get? nt

[SamBass]

34. I do get it.

. . ."and to the republic for which it stands . . "

Republican Party

Republic of Angola

The Arizona Republic

Banana Republic

It's just another word.

Lest I confuse, the Arizona Republic is a newspaper.

[bemildred]

38. Right, and they are run by democratic consensus, not dick-waving leaders.

In fact if you look around the world today, dick-waving "leaders" aren't doing too well, and their nations aren't either. Most countries are run by popular democrats or faceless bureaucrats, not alpha-baboons, and the places run by alpha-baboons suck as places to live.

[bvar22]

42. Thanks. Well put. Agree 100%

I'm still laughing at the imagery.
:rofl:

[SamBass]

43. We don't live in "most countries."

The point of the piece was politics here. Not "most countries."

[Pithy Cherub]

35. Enlightened Liberals are the strongest element of the Dem Party.

The relevancy of the DLC and its self-described power is now in deeply in question as its supporters mimic the talking points to try and justify their existence. Much of the DLC "Alpha Male" characteristics that are testosterone driven have been focused on catching media attention and corporate dollars, not what matters most, VOTES. Liberals have shown POWER in attracting votes, dollars and communications tools that are current. A Liberal power shift is indeed ocurring.

Like the waning of the Roman Empire right before the Dark Ages, the DLC has passed its prime and has the Glory Years of Bill Clinton to assauge any current loss of power or reach. The DLC and its Third Way methodology is bereft of the hearts and minds of the people. That is where true power and empowerment aligns.

The power manifestation in TODAY's current thinking is that the DLC has been rejected as a thoughtful purveyor of the Democratic Party. The Iraq War is mightily unpopular and unjust. To have any vestiges of credibility the DLC and its adherents must disavow their support of the Iraq War and have the character capacity to admit mistakes. If continued justification of a mistaken military travesty is the means and methods sought to increase any electoral chances then truly the severely wounded DLC is now in need of sympathy, not scorn.

[Jade Fox]

36. A Warrior Mentality is needed by the Democrats....

unafraid to fight, unafraid to claim power.

I think that's what this blogger is trying to get at. Unfortunately, he
calls up images of macho bullshit, which is most visible in the sort of
pro-war Chickenhawks who are either all hot air, or mindless, destructive
action.

A Warrior, in the spiritual sense, is thoughtful, focused, and responsible.
But she/he is also focused on action.

[Joe Chi Minh]

37. No, Balletshooz has it half right and

half significantly wrong.

Arid cerebral thinking can never be a substitute in politics for a visceral understanding of human nature, its needs and aspirations. About that, of course, she is right.

It is no coincidence that, in the UK, it is to the most entrenched right-wing newspapers, such as the Daily Mail and the Scottish Post that you find a wealth of human interst stories. While the neocon/new labourite Daily Mirror obsesses over the most meretricious pap for the young - endless photos of "instant celebrity" clones, staggering from night clubs in a "tired and emotional" condition, and news snippets about the minutiae of their love lives.

What the atheist liberal component of the Democrats needs to understand is that, at a visceral, actually much deeper level, most people do place great importance on values, ethcis, morality, spirituality, etc.

And this obssession with the origin of the universe, evolution, etc., in the sphere of politics, is rightly viewed by them as irrelevant and misconceived.

Liberal atheists, however, tend to play right into the hands of the powerful hypocrites in the neocon camp, with their passion to smear Christianity with its transparently fraudulent simulacrum bizarrely known as fundamentalism.

Although essentially, it clearly has nothing to do with Christianity, insofar as it is made to appear to do so, as a political ploy, it is used very effectively by them to wind you up and divide and rule, getting you to smear the large majority of the Democrats and the electorate at large, on their behalf.

Values matter supremely to most people, because they realise that it governs the very fountainhead of government and its policies as they affect them. Not the worst, biblical Pharisaic values, but the kind of values Christ taught. And they are keenly aware that a Government is known by the fruit it bears; the reason why the neocons never had a hope in hell of winning the last election or - still less - the one before it, legitimately; and, indeed, they knew it. Why do you think they went to such extraordinary lengths to subvert it? So, however sincere and interesting the theme of the post, it doesn't address the only *real* problem at all: the voting machines and the overall conduct of the elections.

[bvar22]

45. Not mutually exclusive.

You are contributing to the stereotype perpetuated by the Right Wing propaganda machine!

Is this man "visceral"?

He was also the charismatic leader of the "Democratic Wing of the Democratic Party."
Not exactly the picture YOU try to draw of a "Liberal"!
Forceful, Passionate, Emphatic AND Cerebral!
Clear Thinking does NOT exclude PASSION or Values!


And WTF is with the "Liberal atheists"?
The majority of the LIBERALS I know are deeply spiritual, much more so than the "centrists" I know who may "go to church" but are primarily motivated by Material Acquisition.

[Joe Chi Minh]

50. "Clear Thinking

does NOT exclude PASSION or Values!"

Absolutely not! On the contrary. The point about arid, cerebral thinking is precisely that - it is thinking in name only. It is the heart that is the seat of wisdom and understanding.

But if more DUers thinking were more values-based (instead of mired in imbecilic nescientist twaddle, denying intelligent design, etc), and preoccupied instead with the over-riding priority of economic justice for all, perhaps there'd be fewer of you arguing the toss with posters who are manifestly neocon operatives; and instead of intoning, "Oooh, I disagree with him, but I will die to defend his right to express his opinion!", they'd call him on it and give him hell! These people are not reasonable and play hardball ALL THE TIME! These political threads should be a war zone ALL THE TIME, when a neocon operative surfaces. If you don't want to call him on it, ignore him; don't argue with him. (For "him", read "him"/"her").

[ClassWarrior]

39. Is this akin to the thread that says "Dems can't think straight?"

"Liberals have lost touch?"

:rofl:

Nice try.

NGU.

[madfloridian]

40. We had it for a while: "brashness, chutzpah or machismo, iron guts"

But it was too much for most Democrats to handle. I saw it on FTN this morning again. Brash and brilliant.

[blm]

63. And the MEDIA sold it to the public as CRAZY and ANGRY.

Just as they sold Kerry's resume, thoughtfulness, intellect, stature and nuance as undesirable.

[donsu]

41. poopie

nt

[Irreverend IX]

46. Wait a minute here...

Doesn't most everyone here complain about the spineless, pink-tutu Democrats? But now that an article has come out addressing the problem and suggesting a solution, everyone starts blasting it. Reading the replies to this post, I have to wonder once again why many Democrats are so reluctant to change their strategy. The RW has trapped us a cycle of defeat and ridicule, and some of us seem to be content to stay in this rut and spin our wheels. We have nothing to lose and a lot to gain by bringing forth aggressive, dominant political figures -- politicians like that could spearhead a movement towards real progressive values instead of the wimpy centrism the mainstream Dem party focuses on.

Howard Dean, for example, was definitely an alpha male, but I feel that his strategists encouraged him to put out an unceratin, inconsistent message that undermined the force of his personality. The day we get a Democrat whose entire staff holds a kick-ass-and-take-names mentality is the day we start winning elections again. Of course, Diebold is always an issue, but if we put forth a powerful candidate who inspires people and changes the political climate, it'll be easier for us to fight against BBV.

[Guaranteed]

47. Entirely correct.

That space we need to be in is somewhere in between DLC cowardice and whoredom and left-wing craziness.

Strong stances with common sense and real- that's REAL- American values are what we need.

[bemildred]

51. Here is some alpha masculinity for you:

[omega minimo]

56. Curious..................

[Stinky The Clown]

52. Absolute truth .... nominated

Nothing more to say.

This is true.

To an audience .... a leader is seen as a leader.

[ulysses]

53. "liberals have been agonizing"?

I haven't seen that, myself. Maybe I should get out more.

[bemildred]

54. Yeah, isn't that precious? Talk about a straw man.

:puke:

[omega minimo]

55. If the clacking

of one's brass balls
is too loud
one cannot
hear oneself
think

:think:

[sendero]

57. I couldn't agree more..

.... and I've been trying to say the same thing here for 3 years (albeit not framed that way).

People respond to passion and conviction and worry about the facts secondarily. Especially busy people who have to choose based on limited information and who know the press is full of shit.

It couldn't be more plain and yet so many seem to not get it. For those who still don't believe it, I have one word for you - "Hackett". :)

[mmonk]

59. Have liberals lost their instinct

or have Americans lost their souls in the lack of real media coverage?

[lukasahero]

64. "People are animals" who have hopefully evolved beyond their

basest animal instincts. Macho swaggering demostrates a lack of evolution. Intellect is a function requiring a higher level of evolution. I like my politicians to be a little more evolved than the apes we once were thank you very much.

[omega minimo]

65. Consolidated Corporate Crime Cronyism has Congress BY THE BALLS!

Here's your balls :scared::scared: in a global vice (pun intended) grip.




Jade Fox has the answer. See #36


Cindy Sheehan is a thoughtful warrior. This is the power of the people embodying democracy by being so disgusted with the spin machine that they literally STAND UP for the truth.

That's what voting IS-- and that's why some of us vote NO MATTER WHAT. (Those here who argue that with the right candidate, strategy and numbers, we are "more likely" to succeed against BBV are deluded. BLACK BOX VOTING MUST BE ENDED OR OUR GOVERNMENT IS OVER.)

The "biological" depends on the brain and the heart to decide how and when and why to act. The "balls" mentality results in nothing more than flinging poo with the Repug apes.

:hi:

[eridani]

66. The people who are actually tough and principled--

--are mostly "far lefties," with honorable exceptions like Dean and Hackett.