One Man's Opinion -- for what it's worth

Date: Wednesday, Sep 07, 2011

Subject: Special to Dan Burns...

I want to continue my response to your, "Choosing Our Fights - Two Views" -- except to press for more details expressed in your original post. You wrote:

Well, my first reaction, reading both those items, is "let's try to do all of the above" (note, again, that I'm only discussing the first part of the Chomsky interview;  I don't, for example, support primarying Obama).  But, of course one has to acknowledge that there are real-world constraints on available time, resources, and, perhaps most of all, commitment and tolerance for setbacks.

Both commenters do note the fundamental need to focus on, in relative terms, small steps and small victories, frustrating though that is.

And in the comments, you wrote:

Things aren't going to get better, in the big picture, any more rapidly than at the tectonic drift-pace at which they have heretofore, until conservatism is basically ended as a significant influence in political, economic, and social policy-making.  To that end, I think there needs to be a much more aggressive progressivism.  That relates to your point about "directly challenging."  Certainly not including appeals to bigotry, straw men, and the shameless falsehood and distortion that are the stock in trade of the right, but a much greater willingness to point out, long, loud, and relentlessly, the failures and corruption of the right.  One reason, in my opinion perhaps the biggest, that Dayton damn near lost, is that he went into good guy, safe mode, the last two weeks of the campaign.  We have to quit that s**t.

The only other point I'll make now - I have lots more, too - is that people would do well to be a bit more mentally nimble. Once it's obvious that "The Plan," however attractive it may have looked in theory, isn't working, it's time to discard any excess of hubris and pigheadedness, and move on. (That's not a reference to your plan, just a general remark.)

Soooo -- what is "The Plan" you refer to?? Sorry, but I'm new here, just trying to get up to speed. 

In addition, I would like to understand some of those "other points" you mention.

To be continued (I Hope)

Doug Skoglund - skoglund@pdmsb.com

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