A Week of Big Victories

Last week was a great week for Democrats and progressives. Let's count them:

Policy Victories

1. We temporarily stopped the House from spending another $163B on the disastrous occupation of Iraq. What was amazing was that 149 Democrats "Just Said No," defying George Bush, Speaker Pelosi, the Pentagon, and the Corporate Media. But this fight has just begun, because Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid are desperate to give Bush his money, even though 68% of Americans want our troops home in 6 months.

2. We passed Jim Webb's GI education bill by 256-166 in the House, and it's likely to pass the Senate over the objections of John McCain, who doesn't believe soldiers returning from Iraq deserve a college education. If George Bush and John McCain block the bill, veterans will punish Republicans in November.

3. We forced Bush to withdraw the nomination of Democratic vote suppression mastermind Hans Von Spakovsky to the Federal Elections Commission.

4. We stopped the Missouri Senate from disenfranchising up to 240,000 voters by requiring passports or birth certificates for voting.

5. We moved a step closer to using Congress' power of "Inherent Contempt" to force Karl Rove to testify about the corrupt prosecution of Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman. Watch NBC's Catherine Crier explain how Rove could be locked up in the basement of Congress.

6. We persuaded the Senate to cast a near-unanimous vote to reverse the Federal Communication Commission's December 2007 decision to let media companies own both a major TV or radio station and a major daily newspaper in the same city.

7. We won equal marriage rights for gays and lesbians in California after a long legal struggle in the courts. Ellen DeGeneres announced she would marry Portia de Rossi, and her national audience cheered.

Political Victories

1. Travis Childers (D) won the R+10 open seat in Mississippi's 1st Congressional District by 54%-46%, despite a typically vicious campaign by the Republicans and illegally-coordinating rightwing 527's.

2. After Childers' win, GOP leaders published a 20-page memo predicting disaster for Republicans in November. “The political atmosphere facing House Republicans this November is the worst since Watergate and is far more toxic than it was in 2006,” said retiring Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA).

3. Rep. Vito Fossella (NY13) stubbornly refused to resign despite a DUI arrest with blood alcohol of .17 (8 drinks) and the revelation that he has a secret second family in DC. This guarantees the failure of any attempt by Republicans to re-claim "family values" after the Foley-Craig-Vitter scandals.

4. George Bush's unprecedented and despicable attack on Barack Obama from Israel on behalf of John McCain backfired massively. The Democratic response was immediate and devastating - from Obama and Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden and the rest of the Democrats.

5. McCain was exposed as a liar and a fool after a 2006 clip was broadcast of McCain saying of Hamas, "They're the government; sooner or later we are going to have to deal with them, one way or another."

6. Bush's attack even reminded bloggers of grandpa Prescott Bush's well-documented financing of the Nazi's, which the Corporate Media adamantly refuses to report.

7. Mike Huckabee revealed the despicable character behind his phony smiling face by joking about an assassination attempt against Barack Obama at the NRA convention - a place where some rightwing gun fanatics were no doubt dreaming about that very act. He apologized on Meet the Press, but undercut his apology by saying of John McCain's outrageous joke "bomb bomb Iran," "I thought that was funny."

8. Former NRA Board Member Bob Barr announced his campaign for President as a Libertarian. By opposing the Iraq Occupation and Big Brother, Barr will appeal to Ron Paul's Republican voters, which could be just enough to cost McCain several key states.

Media Victories

1. Blogs are exploding with creative ways to defeat McCain. Moveon's "McCain in 30 Seconds" video contest produced great TV ads you can share with your friends. Also check out the humorous "Things Younger Than McCain" and Brave New Film's second "The Real McCain." 

2. When rightwing talk show host Kevin James tried to defend Bush and McCain for comparing Democrats to former British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, Chris Matthews ripped him to shreds simply by asking: what did Neville Chamberlain do in 1938? James tried to dodge the question for a TV eternity, until he finally admitted he had no clue - just like all the rightwing idiots.