The Netroots Legislative Agenda: A Challenge to Matt Stoller and the Progressive Blogs
Matt Stoller of MyDD and his colleagues did incredible work promoting "the 50-state strategy" and educating and mobilizing the Netroots. So when they asked for some coin today I was happy to send some.
But then I read this description of the Netroots:
we have no legislative agenda except for net neutrality
WTF??
Does Stoller really think the millions who read progressive blogs have no legislative agenda except net neutrality??
Does he think we have collectively donated millions of dollars and millions of volunteer hours (not to mention millions of hours reading blogs and praying for change) for net neutrality??
C'mon Matt, you can't possibly be so clueless.
Personally, my legislative agenda is about a mile long. In order try to set priorities in a rational fashion, I boiled my agenda down to 140 items, which included many items suggested by our readers. Then I asked all of our readers to pick the top 20 items for the Democrats' first 100 days.
http://democrats.com/change
It's a really tough homework assignment but 446 of you have racked your brains and made the tough choices, and I take off my hat to all of you.
Your choices are obviously of interest to a broader audience, because over 14,000 visitors have looked over your shoulders to see what you chose (raw data here - sorted as of 11/12 here).
For Stoller's edification, Net Neutrality is #14 on the list:
| Habeas Corpus: restore access to courts for all prisoners of the U.S. | 61% |
| Minimum Wage: increase to "living wage" above the poverty line and index to inflation | 59% |
| Impeachment of George Bush and Dick Cheney: for Iraq War lies, Illegal Wiretapping, Torture, and other High Crimes | 50% |
| Iraq: end U.S. occupation as quickly as possible | 49% |
| Taxes: shift burden from working families to wealthy and corporations | 48% |
| Wiretapping: enforce laws prohibiting warrantless wiretapping inside U.S. | 42% |
| Voting Machines: use paper ballots counted by citizens until machines are open-source and unhackable | 42% |
| Torture: outlaw all internationally-recognized torture by the U.S. military and the CIA and ban outsourcing of torture to | 36% |
| Global Warming: sign Kyoto Treaty to reduce emissions, then set more ambitious goals | 35% |
| Jobs: eliminate subsidies for exporting jobs overseas | 33% |
| Alternative Energy: invest in wind, solar, and geothermal power | 33% |
| Health Care: single-payer health care for all citizens | 33% |
| Religion: restore separation of Church and State | 30% |
| Internet: preserve net neutrality | 30% |
So let me issue a challenge to Stoller and the rest of the progressive blogosphere: copy our poll onto your sites (or send them to http://democrats.com/change) and let's find out the real legislative agenda of the Netroots!
And when we learn the results, let's approach Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid collectively as The Netroots Lobby and offer to work with them to enact the changes we want!
p.s. If MyDD isn't interested in identifying and promoting the netroots legislative agenda, can I get my coin back?
- Bob Fertik's blog
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#1 on the list might not be too hard...
Moonie UPI reports...
Imagine my surprise...
That the big boy bloggers don't have a clue what we've all been working for. You really should get your money back.
Awww, c'mon. That's just a disclaimer
IMHO, there's a reason why My DD limited it to only one cause and that's because they didn't want to have their cause denigrated by opponents who would like nothing better than to convince everyone else that they fight for impeachment, and therefore, they're nutcases.
Yes, folks. You're a nut if you believe Thomas Jefferson knew what he was doing and when bloggers like My DD allow that perception they're nothing in the world but complicit.
Don't you just love it when the 'role model' these days is something spineless that's flopping in the street, calling itself mainstream? I wouldn't look for those blogs to put the list Democrats.com has compiled onto their websites. It might wrinkle their dresses.
Conservative. A statesman who is enamored of existing evils, as distinguished from a Liberal, who wishes to replace them with others.
~Ambrose Bierce, 1842-1914, American Author, Editor, Journalist.
Or put a twist in their ladies underwear...
ROTFLMAO, LootieMaye! Wrinkle their dresses indeed!
Fertik's made a serious commitment in time and energy, along with the democrats.com community's full input, to put forth a progressive legislative agenda. That's something NONE of the "BigBoy" bloggers have done, let alone the Party elite.
The Repugnants never made any bones about their agenda, and rammed it down the country's throat for the past twelve years.
It's time to return the favor....
CP ;>)