gangsta

Adversity doesn’t build character, it reveals it …

June 23rd seems a lifetime ago.

Many of us bruised but now awakened by the Supplemental El Foldo were wondering just when in the hell was the CPC gonna flex their largest- bloc-in-Congress muscles. It was disheartnening to see how disorganized they were and feel the weight of how much growth and development was needed for them to walk the gd walk – to truly function as an authentic progressive force . . .

Incredibly encouraging words from CPC Co Chair Grijalva today

Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), co-chairman of the House Progressive Caucus, is among those who think congressional Democrats need to arm up. In an interview with POLITICO last week, Grijalva said his 83-member caucus — the largest Democratic bloc in the House — was going to have to re-evaluate its approach toward Obama going forward.

gosh, hope Rahm was in the bathroom . . .

“I think our caucus coming through this health crisis, and going to Afghanistan, going into climate change, our posture is going to be more assertive,” he said. “I think we learned a lesson through this; just to assume that the position would be there is probably not the best way for us to approach it. We have to insist that the position is going to be there. And down the road, there are going to be some friction points.”

ooh, you sweet talker, you

Recognizing this, Grijalva says, House progressives need to organize themselves in a more formidable way.

“We have to expand the base of our faces out there,” Grijalva said, “not just one or two, but we have to multiply that.”

In addition, Grijalva thinks that the House Progressive Caucus may have to do greater outreach to base organizations and not rely as much on the grass-roots rallying efforts of the White House or the Democratic National Committee.

uh huh, learnin’ as he goes

That is different than what other caucuses do,” Grijalva said, “but we need it because our strength is sometimes not our ideas, but our ability to motivate the base. And we have got to work it, make coalitions and do whatever is necessary to strengthen our hand.”

keep your progressive hand strong !

Now I want y’all to imagine the state of this battle and the progressive mindset had there not been thousands of phone calls, Letters to the Editor, and thousands of individual contributions – what if it had been the standing regimen of scattershot phone calls, occasional buttonholing, and polite conversations with the Veal Pen ?!?!?

Despite hard earned cynicism, there is no way one can come away from the Congressman’s sentiments thinking it’s all to proceed the same as it ever was – (omg, darkest before the dawn ?!?!)

What Hath Hamsher Wrought ?

high fives ya little gangstas . . . now get back to the phones !!!