You just have to wonder how stupid our Democratic officials are. This
exchange between Glenn Greenwald and a Dem Senate staffer is so telling of the complete delusion these folks still live in:
I explained that there is a bursting and eager energy among the literally millions of people who write and read blogs to take meaningful action against the Bush Administration. The people in the blogosphere are highly motivated, informed, and politically engaged. Activating that energy and having national Democrats work cooperatively with the blogosphere (rather than ignore it or scorn it) could make an enormous difference in how these stories end up being covered and resolved. It is monumentally dumb not to embrace the one mechanism which has the ability to unleash genuinely impassioned, mass citizen action. And there are obvious and easy -- yet quite potent -- ways for national Democrats to work with bloggers and the blogosphere to maximize the force of these efforts.
This was the response I ultimately received:
I think there is an opportunity for us to figure out a better way to work together. But, you have to understand, my ultimate goal is to help [the] Senator [] achieve his objective of real oversight on national security matters by the Intelligence Committee.
Even with the best of intentions, I'm not convinced that bloggers can help us meet that goal. In fact, I worry about it hurting our efforts given the increasingly partisan environment.
Glenn concentrates on the "fear of blogs" these Beltway Dems have. I am struck by something else, the insane belief, which is implicit in the response that:
[H]elp[ing] [the] Senator [] achieve his objective of real oversight on national security matters by the Intelligence Committee
can be achieved by working with Republicans. At what point do these folks learn the lesson - Republicans play Dems for fools. There is NO working with the Rubber Stamp Republican Congress on anything worthwhile. They are craven lackeys to the Bush Administration.
Here's a simple question - after "working with" Pat Roberts for four years, how much "real oversight" have these Beltway Dems achieved over ANYTHING?@!?
The old saying goes, "fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me." What happens when it is "fool me a million times?"
Do these Beltway Dems REALLY want "real oversight?" There are two ways to do it, possibly. One definite way is to win the election in 2006. That means being partisan and tough. Sort of like, well, bloggers. The other is to galvanize public support for it. The Beltway Dems embrace neither of these tacks. In fact, the laughable thing is that the LAST people who are actually going to do a damn thing about gaining "real oversight" over the Bush Administration are the Beltway Dems like Glenn's correspondent. The fact is that:
Even with the best of intentions, I'm not convinced that [Beltway Dems] can help us meet that goal. In fact, I worry about [Beltway Dems] hurting our efforts given the increasingly partisan environment.
We are in a partisan gunfight, and these Beltway Dems won't even bring a knife. They hurt our cause. Maybe bloggers should consider cutting off their cooperation with them.