How to honor fallen soldiers this Memorial Day: Stop making more of them.

Doug De Clue — Mon, 29 May 2006 07:00:08 -0400

I recently attended an event where a DCCC-endorsed Democratic candidate for Congress was handing out cards with the names of six soldiers who had died in wars throughout American history. He suggested that we honor these individuals by reading their names aloud in a public place on Memorial Day.

When I asked the candidate about his ideas on how to get US troops out of Iraq if elected, he said that while he didn't like the occupation: "we are there for a long long time" and he wasn't going to make it a campaign issue.

Great. Dead soldiers from past conflicts are worth campaigning on, but living ones in current hot-spots are left to fend for themselves.

This candidate clearly did not seem to grasp that every few days another six soldiers are dying in Iraq. Or, to put it into terms he might understand: Every few days another card full of dead Americans is being filled out.

Being the son of a career Army soldier and growing up in a military family, this callous disregard for the plight of the troops in Iraq touched a nerve as he passed around thinly-veiled campaign literature.

Both Republicans and Republican-lite Democrats, like this candidate, are always quick to be seen praising the troops. However, they are unable to recognize how deeply disrespectful it is to order soldiers to keep dying day after day with no exit strategy or realistic plan for victory.

The best way we could honor those who have fallen in service to our country on Memorial Day is not to read their names from some card printed with a candidate's campaign logo, but to make sure that no more soldiers die in a conflict that is clearly an unwinnable mistake.

The way for Democrats to win this election cycle is to stand courageously on our values and offer voters a clear choice between right and wrong.

Thinking Americans already understand that the Iraq invasion and occupation is wrong. Only ideologues and political opportunists still claim otherwise. I, for one, am tired of Republican-lite candidates who don't have the spine to campaign on a platform that proposes ways to bring as many troops home as quickly as possible.Â

Read counterpoint here.

Tags: DINO - Republican-lite - Iraq - occupation - war - Memorial Day - DCCC - Democrats

A warning against DFA Training

Paul -V- — Mon, 08 May 2006 07:31:05 -0400

I'd like to warn my fellow Democrats about the so called "Training Academy" provided by the political action committee: Democracy for America. (DFA)

You may have heard about DFA, the organization that grew out of Howard Dean's failed bid for the presidency, whose supposed goal is to rebuild the Democratic Party from the bottom up.

I attended the DFA's "Training Academy" this weekend which was supposed to teach us about campaign management, field organizing, communications, grassroots advocacy, and organization building.

Here's the inside-scoop: The DFA Training Academy is amazingly effective. The entire event was planned better than a NASA launch.

For starters, the DFA didn't bring in a bunch of amateur shlubs to do the training; they hired people with decades of experience who understand how to run an effective campaign on every level.

How are Democrats supposed to keep losing ground to Republicans when the DFA provides Progressives with such an incredible program?

We Liberals are so accustomed to learning everything the hard way, that these Training Academies are extremely threatening to the feelings of hopelessness we have come to know and love.

Dammit! I was just getting used to the idea of living under a Republican corporate theocracy and only voting for surrender-monkey DINOs.

How am I supposed to feel hopeless after learning that political campaigns are far more scientific than what I expected? There is no magic involved. The DFA trainers showed us specific equations to plug into a race which measure how a candidate is doing. And, if the numbers don't add up to victory, there are specific steps one can take to make conditions more favorable.

How are Democrats supposed to allow Republicans to control the debate after we have learned how to talk to reporters in such a way that the message can be controlled?

How are Liberals supposed to be discouraged from running for office after we have been educated on how to organize volunteers, produce effective mailings and raise funds?

I've attended many political training seminars over my career as an activist. Most of them have been little more than pep-rallies for the base or bitch-sessions against the old-guard Democrats.

Why can't the DFA waste my time and money like everyone else does?

The DFA Training Academy is, hands-down, the best real-world political training for Democrats I've ever witnessed.

This class should be attended by all Progressives, whether they want to be active in politics or not. It's difficult to over-state how much insight into the political process they will learn from this.

If you are a Liberal who has embraced the fear and hopelessness that the Republicans have programmed you with, DO NOT ATTEND THE DFA TRAINING ACADEMY!

The DFA should be ashamed of themselves for doing such a great job.

Read counterpoint here.

Tags: DFA - Training Academy - Democracy for America - Progressives - Liberals - activism - seminar - classes

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How to honor fallen soldiers this Memorial Day: Stop making more of them.

A warning against DFA Training