Over at Alternate Brain, our pals Fixer and Gordon are two of the more level-headed dreamers we’ve seen in the Liberal/Progressive arena. Fixer writes the AM edition from Long Island, and Gordon, writing from northern California, takes the second shift.

Fixer has an opinion on the response of Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill) on ABC’s “This Week” when asked about the Lieberman/Lamont primary battle in Connecticut. Durbin thinks it’s quite proper to support Lieberman (Fake Democrat - Israel) because he’s worked with Holy Joe for quite a few years in Washington. Lieberman used to be correct on a lot of Democratic/Progressive issues before he figured out that Mr Bush represents millionaires, major corporations and Israel more than he represents the US. My own personal opinion is that ANY Democrat who allows Mr Bush to kiss him on the lips must be tarred, feather, and run right out of the Democratic Party. Any Republican who allows that should get the T & F treatment, and then run out of the human race. Fixer takes a 20 lb sledge to the pesky nail of reality:

I tell ya what. You Dems who aren't up for reelection in Fall can afford to run off at the mouth but remember this, I, and probably most of Left Blogtopia (y!sctp!), will not forget. If Holy Joe loses the primary to Ned Lamont, you guys better be prepared to back Ned or we'll find a Ned Lamont in your state or district to support. Don't think this is an aberration. We've had it with Republican-lite. Warn your buddy Schumer too. The crap he's been spouting lately ain't gonna fly for long.

Bang! Zoom! Right to the moon, Alice!

In a succeeding post Fixer also quotes Lambert,of CorrenteWire fame, who has a realistic view of the compost heap that the current Democratic Party “leaders” have become in Washington.:

I have the feeling that the pebble that started the avalanche that will be 2006-2008 went down the mountainside sometime in the last six months, and that alia iacta est - Though we don't know what the outcome is, yet, the forces that will bring it about already have huge momentum, and all of us are riding the rocks down the mountain.

Lambert is right. The die is cast. The DLC, which hasn’t won an election in 14 years, is still trying to direct the national electoral affairs of the Party. This is a huge drain on the financial resources of the progressive and liberal elements of the American people. It’s just about time for those boys to go out and get real jobs, and start working for a living. Just like the old Soviet Army, I don’t believe in reinforcing failure.

That brings us to Fixer’s logical follow on idea, picking up from a post by Bulldog, who sez:

My point to all of this is that bloggers are a very politically aware group; even those who do nothing more than read the blogs. A healthy distrust of the spoon-fed news we see on TV is good. Blogs tend to serve as alternate media sources with varying degrees of readership and knowledge on the issues. Personally, I don't think there is anything stopping us bloggers transitioning from talking about the issues and policies to deciding the issues and policies.

So, what do you think? Do we really need the Dems (I'm thinking long-term here, not the '06 - '08 elections)? After all, we, painting with a broad brush, are probably more progressive than anybody but Dean and Feingold. Why not a Blogger Party? At least, an American Progressive Party? Should we say 'fuck the Dems' and create a party that's 'more lefter', where competency, integrity, and ethics, as well as the betterment of all Americans are the major planks of the party platform?

I'd agree that a "Bloggers' Party" has some merit to it, viewed from the point that the Democratic Party seems doomed to fall by the wayside. However, as you noted, this must be viewed as a long-term goal, because all too many bloggers are not politically conscious enough to properly empower such an enterprise. Tragically, neither of the two current major parties is responsive to the concerns of American citizens. So the ball has to start with the online community, all 30 or 40 million of us.

The theory of politics in America as it was established is that the people are sovereign. All political power resides in them, and they allow some of their members to represent them in the conduct of national, state and local government. It was never intended to be a life time career.

The major enemy is not the Republican Party. It’s corporate media which has been bullied, coerced, and bribed into whole-heartedly supporting the Republican narrative-of-the-day, and the “pay for play” of the professional lobbying industry. Their political power is all out of proportion to the social and economic realities of their position. Both have to have their sails trimmed to a serious degree.

The long-term solution to the power of corporate media is forced divestiture, as the Bell system was broken up after a US lawsuit that began in 1974. More independently-owned newspapers and radio and television stations will inevitably provide a more balanced, reasonable, and honest reporting of real news. To wake America up we need more news, and fewer stories about missing blondes and Mr Clinton’s sex life.

I’ve got some ideas about lobbying, too. More on that later. For now, I’m waiting on Gordon’s second shift ideas.