DCDL

We’re excited.

We’ve already done one “Na na na na, hey hey hey” (for Santorum).

We’re All Sorts of Excited.

Did I say we’re excited? :D

Now let’s see what happens when the Democrats that have been sat on for four years and the Republicans who have been perilously close to committing seppuku over what ShrubCheneyCo has been up to have to confront what has gone before, and how to fix it. :D

I’m betting Cheney and the maniacs Bush has appointed do not go gently into that good night….

Did I mention that we’re excited. :D

I’d like to apologize for that whole gay marriage ban thing.

I’d also like to pre-emptively apologize for Allen not being ridden out of Washington on a rail. I hope I’m wrong about this one.

In the wake of the Kerry flap, the GOP is seeking to rally its base. Will Democrats and progressives be able to overcome the GOP get-out-the-vote advantage? Here’s an overview in Huffington Post of the stakes and the resources available to both Democrats and Republicans. On top of the work being done locally by DC for Democracy to aid Judy Feder and Jim Webb, Democrats have a unique at-home tool in moveon.org’s Call to Change program that allows you to call Democratic-leaning voters from home. Also, if you’ve got at least five minutes or five dollars, progressives are turning to the “Do More Than Vote” website that puts together a variety of electioneering options.

Even if there’s not much suspense about the outcome of the general election in the District (has a Democrat ever lost?), it’s still important to vote. Besides, you’ll need to vote for at least one non-Democrat in the at-large council race, and the school board and ANC races are nonpartisan.

If you’re registered to vote in DC, you can vote on November 7 for candidates for eight citywide offices, plus a councilmember for your ward if you live in Ward 1, 3, 5, or 6, plus a school board member if you live in Ward 5, 6, 7, or 8, plus an Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) member. So that’s nine to eleven decisions you need to make before Tuesday. If you don’t know your ward or ANC district, this form will tell you.

As I did for the Democratic primary, I’ve compiled a list of DC candidates with links to their websites. I’ve put the candidates in the order they appear on the ballot and marked the incumbents with an asterisk. If you know of any websites I’m missing, let me know in the comments.

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Back in March, I wrote about Glenn Reynolds’ brilliant plan for Iraq. Now Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, in a post on Redstate, has embraced the same “strategy”:

We are criticized for our lack of an exit strategy in Iraq, but our exit strategy has been clear from day one: winning.

Like Reynolds, Hastert gives no indication of what winning would look like or how it could be accomplished — maybe staying the course for another decade or two and wishing really hard that things will improve?

William Kristol joined in on this week’s Fox News Sunday (at about 32:30 in this MP3):

I propose substituting for the three words “stay the course”, how about these three words: “win the war.” Win the war. That’s what Bush should be for. That’s what the Republicans should be for.

And yesterday Bush himself ventured a variation on the theme, with a little extra pre-election nastiness:

However they put it, the Democrat approach in Iraq comes down to this: The terrorists win and America loses.

That’s what’s at stake in this election. The Democrat goal is to get out of Iraq. The Republican goal is to win in Iraq.

Fortunately he followed this with “I’m not saying these Democrats are unpatriotic.” Wouldn’t want anyone to get the wrong idea.

There are 18 days left until the election, and lots of opportunities to help the Democrats retake the House and the Senate and bring a bit of sanity to government. Things are looking good now, but we can’t afford to be complacent. I don’t want to be sitting around after the election goes badly, wishing I’d done more.

Jim Webb’s campaign to unseat Virginia’s Sen. George Allen is one of the critical races, and Generation Webb (an outreach campaign for young voters) has plenty of Metro-accessible events in the next days and weeks, starting tonight:

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On Thursday, October 19, we are proud to host Dr. Michael Stebbins discussing his work with Scientists and Engineers for America. Scientists and Engineers for America is a new organization, launched September of this year, dedicated to electing public officials who respect evidence and understand the importance of using scientific and engineering advice in making public policy.

The evening begins at 6:30 pm with $1 off all drinks, and free appetizers. Dr Stebbins will speak starting at 7:30, followed by Q&A until 8:15.

SEA is a new organization with more than than 4000 members. It is led by a Board of Advisors comprised of a number of America’s leading scientists.

From sefora.org:

“We ask every American who values scientific integrity in decision-making to join us in endorsing a basic Bill of Rights for Scientists and Engineers. Together we will elect new leadership beginning in 2006, and we will continue to work to elect reasonable leadership in federal, state and local elections for years to come.”

Yesterday the Washington Post endorsed Frank Wolf, the Republican Congressman representing Virginia’s 10th District (which encompasses McLean and Manassas and areas to the west). I didn’t get a chance to respond immediately, since I was out most of the day volunteering for Wolf’s opponent, Judy Feder, but today I sent this letter to the editor:

I was disappointed to see the Post endorse Rep. Frank Wolf for reelection [”Mr. Wolf’s Diligence,” Oct. 14], especially since the editorial described him as someone who is “more than a party-line Republican” and has a “zeal for human rights.”

Rep. Wolf’s political independence and concern for human rights were nowhere in evidence on Sept. 29 when he voted for the Military Commissions Act, which gives the president free rein to define “torture” however he wishes; allows use of evidence obtained through cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment; and immunizes senior U.S. officials from prosecution for war crimes committed before passage of the act. In addition, any prohibitions of prisoner abuse contained in the act are made meaningless by its elimination of habeas corpus rights for detainees. If detainees are unable to bring their cases to court, then even innocent prisoners can be held indefinitely and subjected to outrageous treatment with no means of bringing the abuses to light or remedying them.

Seven House Republicans chose to break with the president and their party and oppose this shameful legislation because they cared about human rights and the principles the United States stands for. Rep. Wolf was not among them. What does that say about his commitment to human rights?

If you share my feelings about the Post’s endorsement, please write your own letter to the editor right away (e-mail to letters@washpost.com and include your name, home address, and home and work phone). The more letters (different letters, not copies of mine) they get on the subject, the more likely it is they’ll publish one. Letters from people in the 10th District would be especially good. If you need some ideas, try the New York Times editorial on the Military Commissions Act, which calls it “a tyrannical law that will be ranked with the low points in American democracy, our generation’s version of the Alien and Sedition Acts”, or Amnesty International’s analysis.

Update (17 Oct): Not that it matters much, but the Washington Times joins in with an endorsement titled “Frank Wolf, defender of human rights”.

Just found this over at BlogActive:

This is what happens when you hire an internet consultant who used his website to dupe people into investing in stock he artificially pumped up the price on:

     Political Radar: “Two Democratic sources confirm to ABC News
     that former Gov. Mark Warner (D-VA) will announce today
     that he will not be a candidate for president in 2008.”

From the comments:

AmberCat — It’s a reference to Jerome Armstrong of MyDD who co-wrote “Crashing the Gates” with Markos, was a consultant for Warner and in the relatively distant past during the dot.com boom earned his money by hawking questionable stocks in an early version of “blogs-for-hire”.

Now it’s a GOP strategy.

Somehow I don’t think Armstrong’s past has anything major to do with Warner’s decision, but it definitely helps clear the picture up a touch. Funny, I thought Armstrong was mostly involved with the Big Creamsicle. Shows what I know(?).

After taking a couple of months off, DC Drinking Liberally Wednesdays is back, at a new location. Starting tonight, 7–9pm, they’ll be meeting in Capitol Hill, at the 18th Amendment, 613 Pennsylvania Ave SE (near the Eastern Market Metro).

The speaker tonight is Mark Cohen, host and producer of Coffeehouse TV, a monthly public access show that covers politics, public affairs, and the arts. He is also the director of the Food and Drug Safety Program at the Government Accountability Project, a nonprofit that defends corporate and governmental whistleblowers.

With this move, the two DC chapters are officially changing their names from Dupont Circle Wednesdays and Dupont Circle Thursdays to Capitol Hill and Dupont Circle. To keep informed about our events, subscribe to the Capitol Hill or Dupont Circle e-mail announcement list, or both. For information on chapters elsewhere, see the national Drinking Liberally site.