You know what I find really really reeeeeeeeeeeeeally interesting right now?

[wiggs]

17. We aren't doing the same thing they've done previously.

We might finally be doing some political jiu jitsu....smart politics, three-dimensional chess, the long game, etc. And it's a good thing. Takes courage and conviction. And it takes having your back to the wall, as dems may have been pushed so far to the right they decided to get serious before there was nothing progressive remaining in their platforms. And...the task is easier when you're on the correct side of the issues.

But what Atwater and Rove did was nothing like this. They make stories up out of whole cloth. They will call a hero a coward. They will label a self-made man an elitist snob. They will invent numbers, take quotes out of context, edit video, ridicule, smear, misinform, deceive, polarize, foment hate, throw a group to the wolves, cage, dis-enfranchise legal voters, etc. They know the jiu jitsu moves perhaps, but they combine the knowledge with a willingness to go low, using 90% of talk radio and very effective media machine to get a sharp message across.

Thank goodness we aren't that low...and thank goodness (some) dem leaders are playing serious politics. For the GOP, so many positions are untenable and indefensible...no wonder they are having a difficult time.