Not quite purple yet

Missouri made headway yesterday, but we aren't purple yet. Not with a Republican Governor, and Republicans holding the majority in both chambers of the state house. But what the hell? It gives us motivation for 2008.

Matt Blunt will lose in 2008. In the Republican primary he will lose either to Republican State Treasurer Sarah Steelman or a wing-nut to benamed later. A wingnut would be good news for Jay Nixon, but if Steelman and Nixon face off in the general, no matter what, the citizens of Missouri win.

If Steelman wins the primary, the Democrats need to field a candidate for State Treasurer as well as Attorney General. We also need to take the congressional seats held by Roy Blunt and Sam Graves, damnit. Roy's might be up for grabs if he retires after this term in a fit of pique. He's going to lose out to Shaddeg for the Minority whip spot just like he lost Majority leader to that schmuck Boehner. People hate him. He's a vile nasty creature and if you look at a map of the United States, you will see that sending his ass to Washington is about as far away from Missouri as we can get him. Ditto Sam Graves. If we can hold the four safely blue congressional seats we now have, and barring some Republican-grade scandal we will, we only need to add one to get the tip - Missouri has nine congressional districts. Five or even six would be sweet.

Dr. Dean has a plan for us out here in still-red Missouri. For so long we were lost in the desert, then the physician husband of a nice Jewish girl led us out of the wilderness. The 50 State Strategy is the key. Howard Dean was right and Rahm Emanuel was wrong. Let's take Dr. Dean's advice and build the party that will field those successful candidates.

A mile from my house is Kansas. They gotta do something about that chief Bush enabler Pat Roberts. Keep the blue wave building and wash this asshole out of office in two years. And please, can you Wichitans in the KS-04 field an opponent for that damned Todd Tiahrt? Dan Glickman represented the KS-04 for years, until the 1994 revolt swept him out of office. I know Wichita will vote for Democrats because I have lived there when they did.

We made huge strides yesterday, but it was just the beginning. We have a lot of work left to do, and we have no laurels to rest on.

Those are some mighty short coattails you got there...

Those of us in the Reality-Based Community have known for years that the President is a tool with limited utility, but even the Publican Party has started to figure it out.

Facing a harsher political climate than the Democrats faced in 1994, the President has taken to the campaign trail in an effort to boost some of his fellow Republicans.

He is hitting the campaign trial...From Georgia to Texas and back to Georgia again, the President appeared before three pre-screened audiences in two days, trying just to stem the tide as dissatisfaction with his administrations management of Iraq grows. That we are on a fools errand is painfully apparent, and the fool who sent us on this errand is our own president.

The war in Iraq has become the defining issue for the country. Over a hundred American military personnel have lost their lives this month alone. Violence in Iraq has spiked, killing scores every single day. Yet today, Bush stubbornly insisted that "terrorists win and America loses" if his political opponents rule the day in one week.

There is one week to the midterms, and there are a mere 812 days remaining of the Bush administration.

I am beyond being insulted by the bilge he spills. Now I'm just embarassed by him.

I've had enough. And you know the rest.

Entering the home stretch

Coming 'round the bend, with just eight days to go, the Democrats are strong and the Republicans have fallen back, just hoping to stanch the bleeding. The House is gone and the Senate is in peril. The issues they have counted on for leverage with the electorate are no longer theirs at all, much less theirs alone. In every single category that prospective voters were polled on, Republicans trail Democrats in the public trust; save on the issue of terrorism, where the public has equal confidence in both parties.

Democrats need to be tough and vigilant. The Republicans are going negative out of desperation, and it is getting ugly. Remember, they are the party of Lee Atwater, and while I normally hate to speak ill of the dead...I'll just say Karma can be a bitch.

But as Colbert says, facts have a well-known liberal bias, and facts are ruling the day this election. Negativity seems to have a blowback effect that they didn't expect, and the national party has gone so far in a couple of races that they have actually damaged their candidates. Anyone else notice that those horrible Progress for America ads have gone the way of the Edsel? (And not a moment too soon.) Fearmongering isn't working? All I can say is "Finally!"

And it doesn't matter how they try to shift the focus away from Iraq, it remains the yellow elephant in the room.

Keep up the pressure, Democrats. Man phone banks, canvas, donate to campaigns, light candles...whatever you can do. There is too much at stake. Defeat is not an option.

Kansas City Star Endorses McCaskill

The Kansas City Star endorsed Claire McCaskill for the United States Senate on their editorial pages this morning.

Many of us expected the endorsement, especially after the paper had to formally request Talent stop running misleading ads that deceived the public by atributing quotes to the Star that were actually made by political opponents of McCaskill.

The Star did not mention this in the endorsement, although it would have been fair to do so. They did however point out his dubious record of - ahem - achievements and his rush to the negative in his advertising.

Talent’s shrill, deceptive campaign ads — over-the-top even by lax political standards — have been disconcerting. Pressed about them last week, Talent oddly sought credit for not using them earlier. He added with apparent pride that other candidates had run even worse material elsewhere.

A "But Mom! Billy did it first!" defense doesn't work with parents and it won't work with the electorate either.

It is time for grown-ups to be in charge, and Claire McCaskill is a grown-up, not a petulant child.

How we are going to win, and keep winning

Eight days to take back America. It's an awesome mantle to assume, but the people of this country believe we are the ones fit for duty.

I am not backing off and playing nice now. I'm in this to win. This is a knife-fight for the soul of the nation, and I am not bringing a bouquet of flowers. I'm bringing a rifle, and I'm sniping from the rooftops. The feckless, thoughtless, gutless and honorless warmongers who have brought this nation low are due for an accounting, and I have the tote-sheet.

We are in the catbirds seat, and we owe a lot to Dr. Dean and his 50 State Strategy. Because of that we had candidates poised when the wheels came off the Republican bus. We are the Party of the People. It all starts at the precinct level. Duh. Some of us in the middle tried to tell the national party that for years, but to no avail. Thank you for shaking them by the collar Dr. Dean, and reminding them we exist out here, too. Where is the candidate who can challenge a Kit Bond going to come from? The stork? No. That candidate is going to come from some precinct.

We are going to win this one because of the strong local Democratic Party precincts. We are going to keep winning because we are going to keep fostering this base and return the party to the people. We are going to build a positive record to run on.

We are going to keep winning because we the people are going to hold our leaders accountable to us, and we will not allow the bloat of 1994 to destroy our party again. We are going to keep winning because we are not out parents democratic party. Rather, we are our grandparents Democratic Party.

Harry Truman said he didn't give anyone hell, he told the truth and they thought it was hell. That's all we need to do. Keep telling the truth.

When they try to make their tax cuts the issue, tell the truth about that - They opted to pass the burden off to your children. Every child in America is born owing $30,000.

Tell the truth about what has happened with North Korea on their watch.

Tell the truth about the medicare Part-D drug benefit.

Tell the truth about health care.

Tell the truth about No Child Left Behind.

Tell the truth about the national debt.

Tell the truth about the president assuming imperial powers.

Tell the truth about Iraq.

Tell the truth about Afghanistan.

Tell the truth. They'll think it's hell.

We've had enough, and we are going to vote accordingly on November 7.