Here I poop; I Can Do No Other.

[East Coast Hustle]

The other thing Gandhi had going for him that reasonable Americans don't is numbers.

There were WAY more Indians than Brits in the Raj, so those demonstrations were enough to put the fear into the Brits of what might happen if they stopped being non-violent.

Here, we'd just get mowed down like dogs. Sometimes I'm surprised that MLK's strategy worked, and sometimes I think that it really DIDN'T work except in the most superficial of manners.

[Juana]

Without mass media, the civil rights movement never would have had a chance.
Unfortunately, the very tactics they mastered and used effectively don't mean much anymore. No one cares about police beat downs anymore, boycotts are yawned at, etc.


I don't have any suggestions for how to wake anyone up, mostly because I think it takes the kind of smack in the face we can't deliver ourselves.

[Epimetheus]

1. Dok, there seems a disconnect between "They're getting exactly what they WANT, ho ho ho" and "We've got to at least try to do something."

2. ECH, I'm not so sure "we" are the minority ("we" meaning basically reasonable, sane people). It's been said before, but the stupidest people are just the loudest, generally speaking. Or is loudness exactly what you're saying will mow us down?

[Precious Moments Zalgo]

You mentioned the Overton window in the OP.  I have been thinking about that concept a bit lately.  Way back when Romney announced his candidacy, I considered him to be a right-wing nutjob.  But after months of Bachmann and Perry running around on the loose, he seems downright reasonable by comparison.  I recognize this and can correct for it in my head, but most of middle America can't or won't do that.  I think Romney is gaining electability, all due to Bachmann and Perry shifting the Overton window for him to put him right in the middle of it.  If he wins the primary, I think his chances of winning the presidency are improved because of Bachmann and Perry.

Maybe what needs to happen is that some real leftwingers need to become real political forces, maybe even some actual Socialists (rather than the center-right Democrats who pass for Socialists these days), and start pulling the Overton window back in the other direction. 

[East Coast Hustle]

1. Dok, there seems a disconnect between "They're getting exactly what they WANT, ho ho ho" and "We've got to at least try to do something."

2. ECH, I'm not so sure "we" are the minority ("we" meaning basically reasonable, sane people). It's been said before, but the stupidest people are just the loudest, generally speaking. Or is loudness exactly what you're saying will mow us down?

We may not be a minority, but we're sure as hell not an overwhelming majority either. At best, it's 50/50 and the majority of political/financial/military power (which is what really matters, innit?) is concentrated in the other 50%.

[Doktor Howl]

You mentioned the Overton window in the OP.  I have been thinking about that concept a bit lately.  Way back when Romney announced his candidacy, I considered him to be a right-wing nutjob.  But after months of Bachmann and Perry running around on the loose, he seems downright reasonable by comparison.  I recognize this and can correct for it in my head, but most of middle America can't or won't do that.  I think Romney is gaining electability, all due to Bachmann and Perry shifting the Overton window for him to put him right in the middle of it.  If he wins the primary, I think his chances of winning the presidency are improved because of Bachmann and Perry.

Maybe what needs to happen is that some real leftwingers need to become real political forces, maybe even some actual Socialists (rather than the center-right Democrats who pass for Socialists these days), and start pulling the Overton window back in the other direction. 

Perry will most likely win the nomination.  Romney is done.

[Dysfunctional Cunt]

Considering they voted in Turner to replace Weiner I truly today feel a sense of hopelessness.  If New York, one of the most liberal places in this country is going Republican....   

[Doktor Howl]

Considering they voted in Turner to replace Weiner I truly today feel a sense of hopelessness.  If New York, one of the most liberal places in this country is going Republican....   

How long did anyone expect the two party system to continue?

[Dysfunctional Cunt]

Considering they voted in Turner to replace Weiner I truly today feel a sense of hopelessness.  If New York, one of the most liberal places in this country is going Republican....   

How long did anyone expect the two party system to continue?

I don't understand what you mean. 

[Doktor Howl]

Considering they voted in Turner to replace Weiner I truly today feel a sense of hopelessness.  If New York, one of the most liberal places in this country is going Republican....   

How long did anyone expect the two party system to continue?

I don't understand what you mean. 

Why should the corporations and interests support two parties, when it actually turns out that they only need to pay for one?

The democratic party is useless, ineffectual, and doomed.  It eats its own.

[LMNO]

Considering they voted in Turner to replace Weiner I truly today feel a sense of hopelessness.  If New York, one of the most liberal places in this country is going Republican....   

How long did anyone expect the two party system to continue?

I don't understand what you mean. 

Due to the gradual slide into plutocracy, both parties have bowed to Almighty Dollar™ -- and in doing so, have made the parties redundant.  It was only a matter of time before they collapsed into the same beast.

[Doktor Howl]

Considering they voted in Turner to replace Weiner I truly today feel a sense of hopelessness.  If New York, one of the most liberal places in this country is going Republican....   

How long did anyone expect the two party system to continue?

I don't understand what you mean. 

Due to the gradual slide into plutocracy, both parties have bowed to Almighty Dollar™ -- and in doing so, have made the parties redundant.  It was only a matter of time before they collapsed into the same beast.

Sure.  And the dems are helping things along.  Weiner, for example, could have survived the whole pics thing, until Pelosi basically ordered him to resign.  His seat was then taken by a republican in the special election.

The dems are a joke.

[Dysfunctional Cunt]

 

[Anna Mae Bollocks]

Considering they voted in Turner to replace Weiner I truly today feel a sense of hopelessness.  If New York, one of the most liberal places in this country is going Republican....   

It's been like that for awhile now. Massachusetts elected Bill Weld governor TWICE in the 90's.

[Precious Moments Zalgo]

Considering they voted in Turner to replace Weiner I truly today feel a sense of hopelessness.  If New York, one of the most liberal places in this country is going Republican....   

How long did anyone expect the two party system to continue?

I figured it would last as long as the plutocrats felt they needed to give us the illusion of choice.  I guess those days are ending.