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News & ArtsFriday, December 4, 2009
Politics / Drugs One Way To Excite The Democratic Base
Posted by Dan Savage on Fri, Dec 4, 2009 at 7:41 AM
Dems are depressed and disappointed and this could prove disastrous during the midterms next year...
A look at key Democratic constituencies shows how demoralized the party’s base currently is. Among African-Americans, just 34 percent are likely to vote, versus 54 percent unlikely to do so. Republican-leaning white voters clocked in at 66-29. Only 41 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds, a key constituency for Democrats in both 2006 and 2008, are likely to vote, compared to 49 percent likely to sit things out.... If base Democratic voters don’t turn out [in 2010], like what happened in New Jersey and Virginia this year, Democrats will suffer at the ballot box.Thus far, the progressive base doesn’t have much to be excited about. Promised real reform in healthcare, the environment, labor, the wars, civil liberties and gay rights, actual accomplishments have been decidedly thin. The healthcare debate dragged on far longer than necessary as Obama and some Democrats engaged in a fruitless and unnecessary search for “bipartisanship” while taking such options as reconciliation off the table. The end result may saddle people with costly insurance mandates without any mechanism to control ridiculously high rates—great for insurance industry profits, but not what progressives worked for the past two cycles. Progress on card-check and climate change legislation is stymied, while Obama doubles down on the Afghanistan quagmire. Institutions that were “too big to fail” got rich bailouts, while the rest of America continues to bleed economically....
It’s not too late—yet—for Democrats to fire up their base, but it will require delivering on lofty campaign promises.
Or you could just start passing out these in Democratic-leaning districts...
President Barack Obama's approval rating may be hovering in the 50 percent range, but that doesn't mean America's Commander-in-Chief isn’t catching on with new constituents.There is now a line of Ecstasy pillsmade in the image of the 44th president of the United States, according to Texas police who have snatched a batch off the streets.Ecstasy is known for a sense of elation, diminished feelings of fear and anxiety, and ability to induce a sense of intimacy with others.
UPDATE: Please see Dom's post about what's really in those pills.
2
On second thought. I've always considered "E" to be the "feel-the-love" drug. Maybe we should pass it out to all those hateful conservatives.
4
wow, Dan...
who would've thought?
a year of constant bitching and whining and critisizing every thing Obama has and hasn't done and now the base is dispirited?
who would have fucking thought?!?
maybe LC is right.
maybe you're Rush's secret little bastard, surreptitiously pushing the Right's agenda from the Queer seats
who would've thought?
a year of constant bitching and whining and critisizing every thing Obama has and hasn't done and now the base is dispirited?
who would have fucking thought?!?
maybe LC is right.
maybe you're Rush's secret little bastard, surreptitiously pushing the Right's agenda from the Queer seats
7
ATTENTION!!!!
These are not actual ecstasy (MDMA) pills, but rather a combination of BZP/TFMPP. Ecstasydata.org announced this back in Jun after finding out about them in the DEA's Microgram Journal:
http://bit.ly/7Qst43
(http://ecstasydata.org/results.php?A=Sea…)
Here's a report from pillreports.com: http://bit.ly/7Qst43 as well.
You can get yourself a testing kit that will detect the presence of MDMA or the BZP/TFMPP adulterants in the Obama pills at http://dancesafe.org/testingkits
--
NaFun
President, Dancesafe.org
These are not actual ecstasy (MDMA) pills, but rather a combination of BZP/TFMPP. Ecstasydata.org announced this back in Jun after finding out about them in the DEA's Microgram Journal:
http://bit.ly/7Qst43
(http://ecstasydata.org/results.php?A=Sea…)
Here's a report from pillreports.com: http://bit.ly/7Qst43 as well.
You can get yourself a testing kit that will detect the presence of MDMA or the BZP/TFMPP adulterants in the Obama pills at http://dancesafe.org/testingkits
--
NaFun
President, Dancesafe.org
9
It's not like any republican can or will do a better job and everyone knows it. But the Whitehouse shouldn't bank on that because the Palin, tea-bagger crowd will work hard to vote the first black president out of office at any cost. And they might. Never underestimate the apathy of liberal voters.
I understand the disappointment that Dan feels, but none of the things Obama has done surprises me. I enthusiastically voted for the guy but always knew he, and Hilary, were not progressive ideologues.
I understand the disappointment that Dan feels, but none of the things Obama has done surprises me. I enthusiastically voted for the guy but always knew he, and Hilary, were not progressive ideologues.
10
"Opinions", vultures.
The core constituency is still strong no matter what D.C or Capitol Hill 'intellectuals' say. Tho the ecstasy pills might not be such a bad idea for them. I mean, especially since a certain blogger is so fond of drugs and all, might as well start using some for his own good.
The core constituency is still strong no matter what D.C or Capitol Hill 'intellectuals' say. Tho the ecstasy pills might not be such a bad idea for them. I mean, especially since a certain blogger is so fond of drugs and all, might as well start using some for his own good.
11
This is the first time in my life I've ever considered not voting in an upcoming election. I'm so fucking angry at the dems for selling us out, and I really am wondering what the point is of even voting. They'll bend over for the right no matter what.
12
My God, the patience of the gay community when it comes to the Democrats is nothing short of masochistic. You must REALLY want equal rights to be dangled over your heads forever without any tangible results.
"We'll see what happens next year..."
"They can't take any real action YETTTTTTTTTTTT..."
"I will continue to believe in the Democrats until I am refused entry to my dying partner's hospital room. Then I'll just keep believing some more..."
Good luck with that.
"We'll see what happens next year..."
"They can't take any real action YETTTTTTTTTTTT..."
"I will continue to believe in the Democrats until I am refused entry to my dying partner's hospital room. Then I'll just keep believing some more..."
Good luck with that.
13
@6, why is there no other option? In a presidential race, I could maybe see your point, but in a Senate or House race where the bar to election isn't as high? There are other parties.
14
Bring all the troops home and pass a single payer national health care public option that includes abortion and all is forgiven.
Don't and you'll lose seats everywhere.
Period.
Don't and you'll lose seats everywhere.
Period.
15
@13 - yeah, in your dream world. What, Cat Fanciers Party, or the also-ran Whig Party? Or do you mean the Talibangelist Party?
16
I never saw any hard evidence that these aren't MDMA other than a comparative visual analysis done by amateurs on the internet. The only way to know for sure is a lab test, which the police would have done by now. Any challenge to this fact is otherwise baseless, if good-natured in intent.
17
@15, yes. All of those and more. Just because the Democratic and Republican parties are the biggest names doesn't mean they're the *only* names. Arguing that it would be inconceivable and ridiculous to vote for anybody else (which, by the way, thank you) is like arguing that if you're not drinking Coke or Pepsi you clearly can't drink anything else.
How in god's name do you get what you want, then? Threaten the Democrats with a Republican victory? The Republicans aren't going to enact meaningful health care reform. The Republicans aren't going to repeal DADT, or DOMA, or lift the stem cell ban, or adopt reasonable environmental legislation, or do any of the other things you want. Why not elect people who do want what you want? Why is someone unelectable if they aren't Democratic or Republican?
Again, in presidential election, the advantage is going to be obviously on the side of the largest parties -- they've got the money and the name recognition. But in state races? Especially in House races, where you're only looking at a small part of the state, anyway. There's a lot more room for experimentation there. Why not elect a Green Party candidate? Or a Libertarian? Or a Socialist? Or a Raving Bloody Loony, if they happen to have an agenda you want to see enacted? You can argue that the number of independent representatives in the House is so small that they're aren't going to be able to accomplish anything, but there aren't any because they aren't electable because there are so few of them. There's no way out of that, is there? What's the solution, then, aside from bitching about the Democrats and sitting home on election night?
How in god's name do you get what you want, then? Threaten the Democrats with a Republican victory? The Republicans aren't going to enact meaningful health care reform. The Republicans aren't going to repeal DADT, or DOMA, or lift the stem cell ban, or adopt reasonable environmental legislation, or do any of the other things you want. Why not elect people who do want what you want? Why is someone unelectable if they aren't Democratic or Republican?
Again, in presidential election, the advantage is going to be obviously on the side of the largest parties -- they've got the money and the name recognition. But in state races? Especially in House races, where you're only looking at a small part of the state, anyway. There's a lot more room for experimentation there. Why not elect a Green Party candidate? Or a Libertarian? Or a Socialist? Or a Raving Bloody Loony, if they happen to have an agenda you want to see enacted? You can argue that the number of independent representatives in the House is so small that they're aren't going to be able to accomplish anything, but there aren't any because they aren't electable because there are so few of them. There's no way out of that, is there? What's the solution, then, aside from bitching about the Democrats and sitting home on election night?
18
the solution is to get active in your party and influence the selection of candidates. if you wait to see what you have to choose from in November you will always be stuck with the lesser of two incompetent evils. participating early and at the local level greatly leverages your efforts.
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