Politico:
Meanwhile Rush and Steele are fighting over who is allowed to use the word republican in front of their name.Code Pink first made headlines by disrupting congressional hearings with anti-war rhetoric. Today, it's helping disrupt health care meetings -- even though it's in favor of reform.
What's up with that?
Call it a classic case of Washington mission creep -- and Code Pink is hardly the only group facing it.
A host of progressive advocacy groups that spent years warring with Republicans are now finding new causes to justify their existence and stay relevant in the Democratic-controlled city.
VoteVets, known for advertising against Republicans who voted against funding better body armor for combat troops, is now pushing Congress to pass climate change and pro-union legislation.
MoveOn.org is returning to its roots as an issue advocacy group.
And the Center for Community Change, a granddaddy in the progressive movement, is shifting its organizing strategy to concentrate on Washington instead of the local communities that have been its usual domain for pushing immigration, health care reform and other social justice issues.
"My group and other groups have made a radical switch in our approach because we think there's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make change on some very long-held progressive goals," said the center's executive director, Deepak Bhargava.
Still, he concedes: "It is a very difficult challenge because most of us have built up a culture that is deeply adversarial and oppositional."
Read more: "Liberal groups get makeover - Chris Frates - POLITICO.com" - http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0609/23329.html#ixzz0HSyoHZUu&A
....In the first 100 days of Obama's administration, the VoteVets brought 350,000 people to Washington, made more than 100,000 phone calls on health care and economic recovery legislation, and held more than 800 local meetings with congressional lawmakers.The 40-year-old center also is devoting 90 percent of its $13 million budget to passing major national reforms of health care, immigration and other big-ticket issues.
Are you kidding me?
I don't think rush is fighting anymore about what is Republican, but has come to the conclusion that many of us have, that the Republicans stand for nothing, and are therefore not worthy to represent anyone anymore.
ReplyDeleteRush appears to expect a third party to surface from of this rumble.
ReplyDeleteActually, I've stopped listening.
ReplyDeleteI've been listening to John Gibson .. who handles progressive call after progressive call like nobody's biz.
Hysterical.
XM168 ..not sure of Sirius designation and on many std radios as well
Mission creep? More like Beware of the Blob.
ReplyDeleteMoveOn, Code Pink, VoteVets For Polar Bears... thank goodness for Do Not Call lists and Caller ID. I would spend all day screaming at people on the phone.
Epam, thankyou! I now have someone to listen to in the early afternoon. He's an excellent point for point commentator.
ReplyDeleteJohn says he wants to keep to the high road. Good for him. Meanwhile I will continue digging my tunnel. (He questions Obama for apologizing while at the same time making important statements of principle. I say, beware of we-can-now-say-he's-pro-Muslim presidents mouthing platitudes to help paper over the submission.)
John makes the point that while previous to the election you could get yourself horsewhipped for referring to Barack HUSSEIN Obama's Muslim roots, we will now be expected to celebrate same. And, I suspect, emulate.
Yeah, Obama scolded them for 9/11. And then said we shouldn't have, uh, overreacted like that. You can bet he'll see that never happens again if he can get away with it.
And he apologizes for "democracy" to all those who would rather choose theocracy/communism/fascism/socialism/banana republics/dictatorships so what will be the problem for him in making us as much like them as he can manage?
And did he really bring up headscarves as his first example of the Islamic persecution of women? Never got anywhere near FGM, I assume...