How Quickly They Change
May 1st, 2008 at 8:06 pm by Susie
Why, it was just two years ago that a prominent Daily Kos poster was defending WVWV from attacks by Rush Limbaugh:
But what’s really disturbing is Rush’s veiled threat, implying that WVWV’s tax status will be challenged. He is trying to undermine this nonpartisan effort and suppress women’s votes. He also focuses heavily on the fact that GMA featured the organization and it’s PSAs, in what is a transparent attempt to intimidate the media as being left-wing if they run the PSA. This is likely to signal the beginning of a concerted effort by the right-wing to shut down WVWV’s efforts to get more women to the polls.
The best way to fight back is to join WVWV in registering single women to vote, in talking to them about the critical issues, and in getting them out to the polls on November 7.
(h/t BDBlue.)
You know what these “progressive” conspiracy nuts sound like to me? The Free Republic gang who “broke the story” of the kerning in the Bush National Guard documents - full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.
“We are the ones we’ve been waiting for” == self loathing
I can see their logic…why encourage people to register to vote?
DK teaming with the right wing to stop the registration process…great
i don’t get it. who are the “conspiracy nuts”? are you denying the allegations against WVWV? there are recordings of the calls and the group itself is now disavowing its own NC campaign.
just because some kos diarist was defending the group a year ago doesn’t make anyone a hippocrate. it just means that new information has come up casting the group in a much worse light.
and it looks like white_n_az completely missed the point of the criticism of the group. the NC registration deadline has already passed. the calls were telling voters who had already registered that they still had to register, and needed to wait for a packet of materials to arrive in the mail that were never sent to them. it made registered voters think that they were not eligible to vote. it’s not a “conspiracy theory” to note that, i think it is pretty clear that is what happened.
Matt Stoller has a number of posts on this in which he lays out the background and comes to the conclusion that this likely wasnt’ a campaign of voter suppression (it was, however, a massive fuckup) and the Clinton campaign wasn’t behind it. Given Stoller’s background in tracking voter suppression efforts by the Republicans as well as his antipathy toward Clinton, I’m inclined to credit his conclusions.
So, okay. I know it’s crazy.
But the last big push the progressive blogosphere made before this cycles-wasting slapping was against FISA. Why? Because having a shadow government spy and blackmail on everyone was dangerous. Why?
I think we’re seeing the result, now. People who would rather sacrifice one of their children before mentioning Drudge’s name without mentioning his egg fetish are now using him for authoritative quotes. I think our most prominent bloggers are operating under a form of blackmail — taxes, women, under-the-table lobbyist payments, intemperate conversations that would embarrass if posted on YouTube — the telcos and the GOP have as many resources as they need to tell bloggers *not* to discuss what really matters. So, what’s left? Stoking the horserace, by backing the underdog, then forcing the underdog to repudiate someone with a strong opinion (I’m not beyond saying Wright’s being blackmailed too, just to accept the speaking opportunities a more prudent spiritual leader would have saved for after the General Election). It doesn’t have to be big blackmail; just a shuttling of behavior to the slightly less optimal choice, and let momentum take care of itself.
Can *you* think of a more sane reason we’re battling each other, instead of a failed administration and duplicitous Rep candidate?