I can always count on a mailing list to tick me off

edit at 8:30pm
This has annoyed me enough that I've edited a version of this as a letter for DFA. It's been a long time since I've sent a letter to a PAC (I write to my members of congress a few times a year), but somehow this hit a raw nerve. Maybe it's because the national GOP is floundering and rather than raise the level of discourse, Democrats are wasting time on cheap shots. No wonder they can't win elections on a large scale. And now the Young democrats are doing it too; fund raising to send a golden hammer. Enough with the gags.

You know, right afer I'm lamenting my lack of topics to post about, I get an email that I could write volumes on.

I'm not shy about my politics. My friends know my liberal leanings, they know that I voted for Howard Dean in the primaries back in 2004, but increasingly I'm put off by the antics of the mainstream party that more often than not gets my votes.

Take this fundraising campaign that I heard about via one of the email lists I was on. The group Democracy for America, a grassroots group I had supported in the past has sunken to the stunt of fundraising to, I kid you not, send dozens of rubber chickens to Tom DeLay's office since he's decided not to run for reelection.

Now I'm not a fan of DeLay. I find his ethics abhorrent, his politics foul and his tactics vile. I'm glad he's resigned. But to resort to the prank (which is all it really is) of mass-mailing rubber chickens is as puerile as many of DeLay's own publicity stunts.

Use this resignation as an oppurtunity to fundraise to support a candidate in his district. Use it to advertise in another tightly contested district. But, for the love of civil discourse, don't waste a dime of that money on something as absurd as sending rubber chickens to the man. He's resigned, we've won that battle. Why can't we (the Left, that is) at least be civil about it?

The Left is notorious for it's persistent lamentations that "we deserve to be in power, the election was stolen, etc." Well, maybe if we had some sort of a plan, some position (other than "We're not Bush!") and if the party had the good sense to bring some decorum to the game we'd be in a better position.

All this does not mean I'm going to run out and register as a Republican. Far from it. But if Democrats want my continued support they better decide to to act like adults. It's the only way things can get better in our national politic.

That goes for both of you. Knock of the childish insults and bickering, look at where this country is going, and get to work fixing it rather than blaming (The Clinton Administration | The Bush Administration | The Aliens at Area 51) for the problems you yourselves are making.

Thank you.