A few issues that the progressives have taken a bit too far.
Paul Hackett: This outspoken Iraqi War vet had a good showing in a special election to fill a slot in a heavily Republican Ohioan district. Nonetheless, again, he is an Iraqi War vet, Ohio Republicans are having loads of problems these days, and his opponent was apparently a pretty lame yes woman. So, yes, he is a good rallying point for progressives, but even when everything seemed to be aligned right, it turned out to be a loss. So, it was nice and all, but let's tone things down a tad, k?
Cathy Sheenan: Okay, you can hate me for this, but the mom of a solider killed in the war is also getting on my nerves a tad. She is down in Texas demanding that the President -- who she hates per their last meeting -- meet with her again and explain why her son died. Her son died in a misguided and poorly run war to overthrow Saddam Hussein and help establish a regime friendlier to our country. Evidence of WMDs was exaggerated to further the process. And, yes, we care about Iraq in large part because it is in the center of an important oil producing area, our major energy source.
Are we supposed to find this shocking? Or, rather, what is the confusion? The basic value of this campaign is to make the President look like an asshole and make him suffer a bit. This is not, mind you, necessarily a bad thing. But, over there are I guess a few thousand (one would guess around three thousand) parents who lost children in the war. Why aren't they all there with her? In fact, why not a bunch of them? She serves as an important symbol of what is being done here, but seriously, why should the President meet with her? Why her in particular? Is she the appointed representatives of all the other parents?
Gas Prices: The energy law is a bit of a joke, including the failure to seriously include a plan to start the road toward alternative fuels or serious conservation measures. But, what is this big business about gas prices? First, there is the idea that President Bush is somehow personally to blame. Second, and yeah I generally take public transportation, but high gas prices is not exactly a horrible thing. The prices unevenly fall on certain individuals, but for the population at large, we can use some incentive to conserve and cut down on wasteful uses of energy.
And, guess what? Security in the Middle East is in part a matter of safeguarding reasonable fuel prices. But, we are not supposed to even think like that. OTOH, what would happen if gas prices rose a bit because we decided to rely less on such sources or had to pay more because Iraqi leadership less friendly to us resulted in higher prices? The public would be whining, including various anti-Bush voices. As Laura Flanders of Air America actually admitting in passing, the prices are not really so high all things being equal. Maybe, we can put them to better use, using the increase for some sort of regulatory tax if the prices do eventually go down.
Too easy targets: It's fun and all, but targeting assholes on the Right, even when they really do not speak for party as a whole, is a bit too easy. Yes, "they" do it too, but at some point beating a dead horse gets tiring. For instance, James Dobson compared stem cell research to human experiments performed by Nazi Germany. Patently ridiculous and crossed the line. But, top Republicans support the research in some fashion. [Their hedging, often amusing, is surely fair game.] So, repeating the point ad nauseam is excessive. Ditto Novak's "outburst" (a joke -- he cursed and stomped off the set -- bfd) when dealing with James "hey, he is a bit of an asshole" Carville.
When a top Republican (though his leadership role is stupidly often not mentioned) like Sen. Santorum (up for reelection in 2006) makes a stupid comment, sure ... same with Bush or some other top idiot. But, sometimes targeting shrill ideologues people already know are nuts or assholes is of little value. Fun and all, and they are the base of the party -- a base the party too often lets off easily. Still, enough already.