Democrats: It's Time To Start Playing Offense

I talked to a friend who is active in New York politics a few weeks back, and she said, wonderingly, 'those people at headquarters think we can just wait for the Republicans to mess up, that we don't have to fight.' We both know that is just political suicide. So does Pachacutec at firedoglake:

FDL Late Nite: The Silent Majority

Today’s Silent Majority wants to see action from leaders in Washington, not just timid posturing. In that vein, I have some advice for Harry Reid (Minority Leader) and Chuck Schumer (head of the DSCC) in the Senate: take a look at those polls again. It’s time to play some offense. Get in front of the parade by getting behind Feingold’s censure motion.

If you do, I’ll bet many of the remaining 26% of democrats who currently oppose censure will flip to support it, moving overall population support for censure from 48% to well over 50% (hat tip to eRiposte). Some independents will follow along, too, if you stand together and make your case to a public starving for alternative leadership. (Note: censure polling varies by the wording of the question.) That will boost democratic turnout for the midterms, and also happens to be a political stance for the right fucking principle: the president does not get to break or ignore the law at his whim.

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All this friendly advice comes with a warning: the Silent Majority will not be denied. The tectonic plates of American politics are fundamentally shifting. To those who would get in the way of the new majority politics, consider: like that guy in the picture [Muhammad Ali], we in the Silent Majority know how to handle those who stand in our way.