It's time to pivot, folks.

[HaggardsMethDealer]

First of all, I wanted to congratulate everyone on the election victory. We worked hard, and have certainly suffered for the last six years. We have had to become accustomed to being the minority, loudly opposing Bush, and using humor and derision to mock the President. It finally reached the point where every late night show, and every news show was slamming Bush and seeing what we have been screaming about since the very beginning. It has been a tsunami, and everyone working on speaking out against Bush (especially when it was unpopular) deserve a lot of credit.

But now it's time to pivot, and get used to playing a lot of offense.

I think a lot of DUers still haven't mentally adjusted to being the party in power. So I wanted to point out some things that I see, that I think people need to start being aware of.

1. We don't need to answer every scurrilous charge and accusation and get upset about it.

> Take a cue from Hillary Clinton on this, and the way the Republicans have brushed off many attacks on them. When you are in the minority and under attack, you have to scream and slam every false charge. But when you are the majority, you can brush it off the way Hillary is so skilled at doing. Just laugh and say what the Democrats said regarding the Bolton nomination "Don't waste your time." That is ALL that is needed. There is no reason to rage and freak out. We are the MAJORITY NOW. Just chuckle and start talking about what YOU want to talk about.

WE ARE DRIVING THIS BUGGY NOW, AND IF YOU ADJUST YOUR ATTITUDE YOU CAN RIDE ALONG WITH US!

2. It's been less than a week since the elections and this infighting that I am seeing is not going to help things at all.

> There will be a time for that, but we have to be SMART in the way we proceed. Just as the Republicans sat back and took their sweet time dismantling the Supreme Court, Environmental Laws, and shredding the Constitution, we must also be patient in giving our elected leaders time to get things accomplished. I think a lot of us are still in "searing anger" mode and are a bit too quick to attack people that we need to give time to work.

I WOULD RATHER DIG THE KNIFE IN SLOWLY AND METHODICALLY ON THESE SCUMBAGS.

3. We have some pretty amazing people in office now.

I mean, we got Reid and Conyers for God's sake. I realize that we did not get everything we wanted on election day but we cam pretty damn close. Let's try to focus on the positive.

4. Bush being a lame duck doesn't mean we stop attacking him.

The Republicans NEVER stop attacking liberals and the Democrats. If they did, than the conversation would turn to attacking them. So while we do not want to be Republicans, we do want to stay on the offense no matter what....which leads me to my next point...

5. WE CONTROL THE DIALOGUE NOW.

That's right. WE get to be the ones to shove the Republicans in a closet and laugh at their insane ideas. We don't need to answer the Republicans idiotic charges...that is what you do when you are on the defensive. We are no longer on the defensive. Now is the time we stick it to the Republicans and crush them. We found the weakness in their armor and it is time to go in for the political kill. No mercy, no letting up, and no forgetting how horrible these last 6 years have been for America and the world.

6. We need to be prepared for being mocked and being under the microscope.

We aren't used to being mocked lately on all of the shows and having our leaders under a microscope. It's going to sting when we experience the first torrent of late night jokes, Pelosi and Reid jokes, and outright lies from all of the mainstream media. BUT THATS THE PRICE OF BEING ON TOP! Now is the time to dig deep, dig your heels in, and prepare to stand by your party, because the next two years is going to get real interesting. Bush is not going down without a fight, and the mainstream media is NOT our friend. They are going to pull every sleazy maneuver they can, and we have to learn to let it go. We can't drag the minority mentality with us for the next two years. In other words, it's time to MAN UP NANCY.




In closing I just wanted to say that it's time to relearn how to play offense. This is a new thing to a lot of us, but we also have a lot of born leaders in our party and a lot of fighters. But this minority mentality has GOT TO GO. I have already seen it exploited by the pundits and I have already seen some hand wringing by our side about fighting back against every charge. If we keep this up, and don't switch to having an offense mentality, we are not going to get anything done and we are going to go insane.

WE ARE THE MAJORITY NOW. TIME TO START ACTING LIKE IT.

LET'S HAVE SOME FUN AND START KICKING SOME REPUBLICAN ASS, FOLKS.

THE FUN HAS JUST BEGUN.

AND I, FOR ONE, AM GOING TO ENJOY THE HELL OUT OF IT.:)

[Lurking Dem]

1. Let me be the first

to recommend.

I think some people are addicted to righteous indignation. It's time to go to work now.

[William769]

3. And I'll be the second!

[MGD]

21. It's time to start fucking over some Republicans, I want to make these scumbags pay.

We need to all come together on the premise of fucking them up, down, sideways, and inside out. I want to hurt them so hard that they change citizenship and leave this country forever. Fuck you you treacherous money grubbing Republican assholes! It's time to redistribute your wealth. K&R

[exlrrp]

25. Agreed!!

Nice to find someone else with the ssame spirit.
But whats REALLY cool is that we don't have to enact any new rules to do it--the ones the 'Pubs put into place to disenfranchise us will do just fine.
Hope they like holding their meetings in the basement now that we've left it decorated so nicely with "DEAN--"08!" posters wallpapered all over the walls.
Hope they like not being able to add amendments to bills
Hope they like standing out in the halls waiting untill our leadership tells them whats going to happen.
After Committe meetings are over, Dems will caucus seperately, shut out 'Pubs while we decide what to do. Then they'll be told whats goin to happen
Welcome to the last 6 years, republicans

The rules and regulations to put this in play are already there, all we need to do is move in and start jerking the levers. And the Republicans can't protest against their own rules!! Sweet!! Thanks Tom Delay, hope you get a cell by the window!

[MGD]

26. That's what I'm talking about. Exclude them from everything except their hearings.

I want to see thousands of subpoenas issued.

[lonestarnot]

27. Does that mean the basement treatment?

But that is not democracy. :-(

[electropop]

40. Karma's a bitch.

Sucks to be GOP today!

[SharonAnn]

48. Yes, thank you. I realized that I no longre have to search for fresh

outrages of the majority GOP partisans who have been controlling the agenda in the House and the Senate.

Also, I need to calm down, sit back, and let our leaders get started doing their work. They've got a lot to do and they know a lot about the important, urgent issues. So for a while, they don't need my input. They need to concentrate on starting to govern.

I'm happy with Speaker-Elect Pelosi's 100 hour strategy and items. Let's let her get those things through the House and then go from there.

Senate Majority Leader-Elect Reid has his hands full dealing with our Independent Democrat, Senator Lieberman. He's done a good job in the Minority and I think he'll be great in the Majority.

So, let's relax and let them do what they need to do.

I think they already heard us, loud and clear.

[sendero]

2. Interesting thoughts...

.... and welcome to DU.

[bleedinglib]

4. Today on Reliable Sources !

The three talking head female politicos, made a point of saying it will be their job for the next two years to keep an eye on the Dems. (yeah just like they did the pubics) and they sounded rather giddy about it ?
BLIB

[cassiepriam]

5. Time to start acting like leaders, not whipped puppies.

I agree, and stop letting the repugs set the agenda.

Welcome to DU!

[Tuesday_Morning]

6. Absolutely.

It's a completely different ballgame now.

Welcome to DU!

[LibertyorDeath]

7. Great post!

"LET'S HAVE SOME FUN AND START KICKING SOME REPUBLICAN ASS, FOLKS."

Rec!

[Catchawave]

8. Welcome to DU HaggardM'Dealer !

:toast:

KnR :hi:

[madmusic]

9. K&R

EDIT, and, uh, welcome!

[Viva_La_Revolution]

10. Ok. I have to get the skinny on your username

great post by the way, and

to DU!

[upi402]

11. A.K.A. -insert spine here!

:thumbsup:
k/r

[Orsino]

12. Caveat!

When you are the party in power and media coverage is fair, you can simply brush off attacks. The corporate media will attack or undermine anything left of center, though, so anyone more liberal than Hillary will still need to deal with the BS.

Our fightin' Dems shouldn't let themselves get too comfortable, anyway. That way lies GOP-style corruption.

[ConsAreLiars]

13. One correction - Progressives should NEVER let the reactionaries frame the

terms of the debate. The difference is that the rightists are now widely recognized as liars and hypocrites, so simply replying to their baseless accusations as Dean has, is now easier. When Media Whore #1 or #25 repeats the Rove talking points we need to be saying something like, "Well, they might sat that, but it is simply not true. What we intend/plan/want/think is ...." Clark is another one who does this very well. Kerry, unfortunately, has given too many examples of how not to do this.

The first requirement for going on the offensive, of course, is to have a firm sense of our purpose and our goals, as we define them. This is why the centrist strategy of minimizing the differences has been so damaging to the party and leaves so many potential voters and activists indifferent to what they see as "just politics."

Unfortunately, when both parties are led by those whose primary goal is to extend and strengthen corporate rule, differing only in tactics, instead of putting forth a strong and clear set of goals that can unite the greater number for the common good, debate gets divisive and muddied at best. The fascist-theocratic sector of the Corporatists took over the Republican party and turned it into the overtly corrupt and vicious institution that reflected their ideology. With any luck, the progressive elements in the Democratic party can gain dominance over the Corporatists, and the party can put forward a clear platform based on the common good for the common people and the greatest good for the greatest number.

[HaggardsMethDealer]

15. It's true...

But, it's also irrelevant what they have to say once we have the power. They can scream until they are blue in the face, but if they don't have the votes the media doesn't matter.

[nolabels]

29. Exactly, the correct framing is most important

I don't have a problem with the last six years, it goes much farther back than that. That common man you're getting on about has been getting greased for quite a few decades now. It might be hard to go back and fix any of it but clanging the bells to put the common man above corporation should be the imperative.

If one was to carefully go back they would see the impetus for putting our country in this mess (which most still don't recognize that we are in yet) is this focus of putting business above all individual rights and interests.

[Swamp Rat]

14. IMPEACH BUSH!

NOW!!!

[shadowknows69]

16. What he said

n/t

[SeattleGirl]

17. Yep, it's time to pivot. Not only are we the majority now,

but we can place ourselves solidly in the driver's seat, AND turn this buggy away from the cliff.

[AntiFascist]

20. Right! Let's not wimp out n/t

[w4rma]

18. I think what we should do is simpler than that: Just do exactly what we have been doing, except now

we have the extra tools of being able to bring our legislation up for votes and we have more control over the debate by using our control over legislation.

The strategy we used up until the midterms worked well. Let's keep using it.

[progressive_realist]

19. Offense offense offense

I have a long diatribe about this that I drafted the day after the election and still haven't had time to finish polishing. I think one of the key causes of our victory this time around was that our leaders went on the offense and wouldn't let up. Think back to the last couple months and how many prominent Democrats -- Kerry, (Bill) Clinton, Dean, Webb, Tester -- went on the attack and refused to be bullied by the Republicans or the media. I think this newfound strength played extraordinarily well to the masses. Suddenly it was OK to vote Democrat -- you weren't voting for the losers. In politics, being on the offense means you are winning; playing defense means you are losing.

And yes, we have some pretty amazing people in office now. Ignoring the President (which we need to do as much as possible between now and November, 2008), I don't think we've ever had it this good.

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

22. WTF does "man up Nancy" mean?

[Canuckistanian]

31. Butch up

Grow a set, get a spine, buck up, steel yourself.

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

33. I'm familiar w/ the expression

It's just fucked up in context here.

[Canuckistanian]

35. Agreed. Pelosi needs no augmentation

She's the real deal.

Sorry for the misunderstanding.

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

44. As am I

I was PWC (posting without coffee).

[NancyG]

38. Yeah, WTF's wrong with being Nancy?

Nancy

[Sugar Smack]

23. OMG, who ARE you? You're WONDERFUL! K&R!

I was blown away by your post. Thank you so much for this. :applause:

[FernBell]

24. k&r

[Wednesdays]

28. k&r

nm

[Canuckistanian]

30. Good advice!

But what's this about "Reid and Pelosi late night jokes"? I can't remember many Hastert/Delay knee-slappers.

K&R! Welcome to DU!
:toast:
:hi:

[npincus]

32. Amen.

[SeanQ]

34. Great points, particularly #2

2. It's been less than a week since the elections and this infighting that I am seeing is not going to help things at all.

> There will be a time for that, but we have to be SMART in the way we proceed. Just as the Republicans sat back and took their sweet time dismantling the Supreme Court, Environmental Laws, and shredding the Constitution, we must also be patient in giving our elected leaders time to get things accomplished. I think a lot of us are still in "searing anger" mode and are a bit too quick to attack people that we need to give time to work.

While I'd love to see Bush impeached, I'd like to see him in jail even more! Give the new leadership time to set up, look at the data and pick the targets and methods that will be most likely to succeed. Certainly keep the pressure on them to stay on the offensive and make as rapid progress as possible, but give them enough room to make smart decisions. As HaggardsMethDealer, we need to cool the 'searing anger' some. We WON the House and Senate. It is time to be calculated and ruthless.

I think of it like football. Great athletes get drafted into the NFL - but many of the best struggle their first year or three because they expect their athleticism to be enough. They get overly aggressive, hitting gaps to soon, not waiting for blocks, etc, and aren't as effective, frequently causing more problems. It is once they slow down a little bit, learn to read their opponents and look for an opening that they start making game changing plays. They don't play any less hard - they just look for the best play they can make. JMHO

[Joe Chi Minh]

36. Every now and a again you read a post on here that you know is

incredibly, incredibly perceptive. I mean, I don't know if HaggardsMethDealer is a professional strategist, but you'd be hard pressed - yes, even in the US, where many of your brightest intelligences eat and sleep politics - to even find one such individual who almost bears comparison.

It's an overview that this board can really profit from, because he/she writes with such clear and compelling insight, such sovereign good sense. He/she reminds me of a certain 'Crisis Papers' commentator. Lead the way, McDuff (aka HMD)!

[civildisoBDence]

37. Welcome to the heavy hitters--CorpGovActivist, Ides of October,

and now HaggerdsMethDealer.

I'm not taking off my tinfoil hat just yet, though--there are so many agendas and so much intrigue and duplicity in politics.

Newsprism

[porphyrian]

39. Kick for power. - n/t

[Raffi Ella]

41. Hallelujah and Amen, my friend!

I'd like to add my voice in Welcoming you to D.U.This was a much needed post, thank you for it. :toast:

I think the The Democratic leaders up in Washington would benefit from reading it; Afterall D.U. is a place of ideas and sharing/debating them - Democratic Leaders are the ones to set the tone and they need to project the sort you write about here...

all I know is,every morning when I get up and remember We Got Our Country Back I smile and laugh outloud and get excited all over again.
The Neocon Movement is DEAD!The nightmare is OVA!God,it feels so DAMN GOOD.America has woken up and declared Democrats the Victors; REVEL in it D.U., REVEL.in. it! WE are the "Deciders" now.lol.Woo! :patriot:

[Phrogman]

42. I want to find out who approved the air cover stand down on 9/11

that what somebody needs to start looking at!

[pat_k]

43. "Turning the knife slowly" is NOT an option. Time is NOT on our side.

The price of "putting off" Impeachment could be unimaginable

On September 10, 2001 there were many signs that sanity was returning. The number who believed Florida was stolen had passed 50%. Bush's approval was continuing the steady downward slide that started the day he was inaugurated. A coalition that included Democrats.com, National Lawyers Guild and Bugliosi was about to announce a campaign to impeach Scalia et al. for Bush v. Gore -- a campaign that would have undercut Bush's claim to even a semblance of legitimacy.

Then the sun came up on 9/11/2001. In the weeks that followed, the countless people who were horrified by the stolen election and Bush's incredible abuses were silenced in a nation that had seemingly gone mad.

Sanity is once again returning, but we must recognize how fragile the moment is.

The urgency cannot be underestimated. Taking up the fight for impeachment now is a scary thing, but members of Congress must "Just Do It." Any day we could see another terrorist attack; Bush could declare war Iran or Syria or North Korea, Venezula, or even Haiti; or some completely unforeseen event could make it impossible to rescue our national soul for a long time to come.

A message to "investigations first" people

"We must have investigations first" says one thing: "we don't know enough to impeach." That statement is a lie. We know all we need to know http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Senator/10">right now.

Seeking refuge from action in investigations makes it much HARDER to convey the simple truth. It puts us on the fascist's turf ("If the case is so simple why are they having all those hearings? There must be something wrong with the case. They don't have anything. If they did, they would have impeached already.")

We must to stop pretending and get on with it. The Constitution is being tortured in plain sight. We must rescue it by removing the torturers from power. Thorough investigation and prosecution must follow, but FIRST we need to take away the power they are abusing.


-----------------
BTW -- OP is right that we must never pay any attention to their accusations or allow fear of being called names stop us, but being in power has nothing to do with that necessity. When you go on the defensive, or seek to avoid attact through inaction, you are you are on the accusers (Nixon's "I am not a crook" = "Nixon could be a crook?" = "Don't think of an elephant").

[tomp]

45. brush off charges...

...like hillary brushed off charges of being pro bush's iraq war...from progressive democrats? great plan. we have so much to look up to in the great junior senator from new york.

[PATRICK]

46. Maybe another big step

would be to exploit power for the rapid crafting of good service to the nation. The biggest offense is doing just that without a self-destructive and purely manipulative eye to day to day polling. Bill Clinton was written off, washed up, compromising into oblivion as he kept his focus on an economy and hopeful world climate that dramatically solidified his support.

Bashing the beast is STILL necessary if they are going to run around propped up, coddled by their own media, but the REAL work of DU that has degraded over the years is actually DOING the jobs ruined or ignored by the GOP and discussing the ways and means for accomplishing progressive goals.

This post is still in a stage of reaction to the Bush years, headed in the right direction. Suddenly we are FREE to discuss positive ways to BE America, share disagreements on issues and people and set aside the tools of political war while we do so. In many issues and posts Bush and counter-Bush has always been a foreground or background. Only the Lounge seemed relevant to life without Bush- at times.

Now the real work begins and there is a lot more for us than those on the other side who needed enemies even in triumph. When I first began posting the issues were a healthy source of sharing and intellectual work. That was was overshadowed by the Occupation. Like veterans we have to re-enter the world of peace, with the experience to make sure America finishes what it started, defends itself against another coup, and gets from DU what has been the biggest lesson learned. We must get involved and act and speak out united in our common ideals. Many others have done more and sacrificed more, so that is the challenge, a a tremendous responsibility, to those seeking health for America's social forums.

[puebloknot]

47. I'm one of those anal editor types...

... and I'm laughing at my response to your comment: "...it's time to MAN UP NANCY."

Bear with me!

That sentence can be read two ways, with or without a comma.

1) "...it's time to MAN UP, NANCY." This is a call to Nancy to show us she has some balls!

2) "...it's time to MAN UP NANCY." (The way you wrote it!) This puts the burden on We the People to give Nancy some marching orders, and to let her know we don't want any pandering to fascists (my take, of course).


I vote for No. 2. I'm concerned about her taking it on herself to declare impeachment off the table (which I guess I'd have to say *does* show some "manhood" on her part, but not the kind I personally am looking for)!


Just for laughs, you understand! :)


Judy Barrett, Citizen
United States of America