A Trickle of the Political

It's moments like this (NYT ) when I become somewhat more inclined to start throwing things.

"These taxpayers, whose average income was $26 million, paid about the same share of their income in income taxes as those making $200,000 to $500,000 because of the lowered rates on investment income."

Sorry, wasn't quite done: yet another way George W. Bush is a morally and legally a criminal:
The president himself appears to have burned Valerie Plame. (Please see Standard Paragraph.)

Just this morning on my local NPR, an interesting interview on global warming (it's not good) with two scientists from NOAA stopped dead when the host asked them whether they had met with a NOAA publicist, and whether they were preventing from discussing certain things. The silence coming from these two obviously committed and intelligent scientists was utterly chilling. They then admitted they were prevented from discussing policy. Much worse was the sense that their careers were on the line, as we listened to them.

Also locally, a republican caller, despondent over the destruction of the moderate tradition in his party, challenged the sort-of-moderate Mike McGavick, running for US Senate against Maria Cantwell here in Washington, saying he didn't believe McGavick would stand up to the neo-con and right-wing zealots. McGavick then discussed the wonder of more tax cuts to raise revenue, while defending a fundraiser from Sen. Ted Stevens, who is well beyond old coot and rests in the realm of the psychotic old bastard. This really is the key point: at this stage, a nice guy Republican, who wrings his hands about abortion rights and torture and the environment but does nothing about it but keep supporting the leadership that is driving America into the ditch, is rather worse than an honest right-winger.

Special to Ted Stevens: you make me ashamed to have ever called myself an Alaskan.

Which is why McCain has already failed this test badly. Krugman takes him mightly to task here. He is taking, in Jon Stewart's phrase, the Straight Talk Express through Bullshit Town; the worse the Administration falters, the more McCain stands up for them, a ambitious play for the presidency through the primaries that obviates his alleged independence. His wheedling to Falwell is, by all recent evidence, perfectly in character rather than an exception.

So here we are trying to judge the moment: when do you STOP letting the enemy destroy himself and start acting? The Bush polls have more or less solidified at a low level, that might bleed more, but so many Americans utterly loathe him (there is a another imbalance in the polls; his strong disappovals vastly out number his strong approvals,) all further erosion will be coming from the right.

The time is about now. The Democratic Party has to adapt the ferocious power of its base, and yet make it attractive to moderates. I'm convinced we don't need to move to the center- mealy-mouthed middlism - to coin a perjorative phrase - is why Democrats aren't trusted and why we've been losing. It makes us appear apologetic, hand-wringing, and weak. It's difficult enough to hold onto the Left as it is, and what the people want I think is moral leadership without apology. We need to stand up for our political, social, and economic values -which are much closer to the American people's than the Republican's - but we must ditch the old clothes of ideology; be stronger in moral courage, and more flexible in specific policy. The formula: listen carefully to everyone from the whole political spectrum, make a decision based on the best information and clearly articulated values, then move forward. The Mass. health insurance initiative is an interesting example of advancing progressive values by developing policy outside the ideological box.