I just saw about 400-500 people marching under the Code Pink banner down K St., headed for the White House.  It was enough to tie up some traffic and turn some heads on K St. at lunchtime, if nothing more.  Interestingly, they seemed to be focused on the war, instead of abortion rights, although many marchers had NOW signs.

I do wish that when we had protest marches we didn't dilute the message with a grab-bag of issues.  Still, god bless Code Pink for being out there trying.

Today's betrayal of the Democratic Party by 5 ostensibly Democratic U.S. senators should not be allowed to go unanswered.  I believe that each of the Democratic senators who voted for the confirmation of Sam Alito the the U.S. Supreme Court should be forced to defend themselves in primary challenges this year.

The four offenders are: Byrd (WV), Nelson (NB), Conrad (ND), and Johnson (SD).

Quixotic, you say?  Counter-productive?  Read on:

There is palpable glee on the left these days over the collapse of support for George W. Bush.  The left has always hated him, but with increasingly fractious republicans grumbling and openly complaining about him, well, perhaps we could be forgiven for indulging in a bit of self-congratulation.  We knew all along he was a loser bent on propping up his cronies at the expense of the country and now it appears that much of the rest of the country is waking up to that reality too.  But there is developing on the left a dangerous fallacy -- that as goes the fortunes of George Bush, Jr., so goes the fortune of the rebpublican party and conservatism generally.  I believe that is nothing more than wishful thinking that threatens to blind us to the task at hand going into 2006.

Reading MaryScott O'Conner's diary this morning (http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/9/19/2287/35284) about the 9/24 demonstration, I was struck by the utter pointlessness of what is planned.  A happy hour?  A self-congratulatory breakfast?  WTF?  This is WAR, people!  You don't win wars, or stop them, by liveblogging over drinks.  

To all those well-intentioned Kossacks who would come to DC to fight the good fight, I'm here to tell you--as planned, this demonstration is a complete waste of time.  Below the fold I explain why, and make a few suggestions for making the 9/24 demonstration worthwhile.

Many have been bemoaning the right's success in getting the "blame game" meme traction in the media.  I have a simple antidote--every journalist, every politician, every person who is confronted with the "blame game" meme needs to answer with a single voice "IT IS NOT A GAME."

When Scott McClellan says "we're not here to play the blame game" every member of the WHite House press pool should respond "Scott, the only one playing a game here is you.  The rest of us are trying to get some accountability for a very serious situation.  There's nothing funny about it."  Get THAT talking point on the air and the blame game meme will wither and die.