or some such named group sent me one of many pleas for money yesterday. They are the Senate version of the Committee to raise money to elect Demo Senators. I wrote them back and said "Sorry, no more donations from me. Might go to Nelson, Landrieu or Lincoln." Will do the same for the House version next time they send me one. From now on, my money goes to an individual candidate or a group like Moveon or Firedoglake.

This is idiotic. The reason the Dems caved on the public option and Medicare expansion is because they don't have 60 votes in the Senate. They have 58 with 2 Independents. And one of those Independents is Joe Lieberman. Work to get Lieberman out in Connecticut if need be but don't claim the Democrats as a whole sold out.

Remember that when the Social Security Act was passed in 1935 it excluded agricultural workers - especially in the South. Thanks to Dixiecrats it was designed to exempt Southern blacks from receiving its benefits. Did that mean blacks - or liberals in general - should have opposed passage of the bill? Or should they have worked to have the agriculture exemption removed in the years to follow (which they did)? Thankfully they were farsighted enough in 1935 not to throw out a first chance at a major piece of social insurance legislation.

The reason the Dems caved on the public option and Medicare expansion is because they don't have 60 votes in the Senate. They have 58 with 2 Independents. And one of those Independents is Joe Lieberman.

And of those 58, I'd hardly call Landrieu, Dorgan, Bayh, Conrad, Pryor, or Specter "go-to" votes.

Guess they didn't want to count on Olympia Snowe this time. So much for bipartisanshipfulness.

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Calling to the underworld. Come out of the cupboard, you boys and girls.