How to fix the "left" when we don't even understand the problem?

I've had a lot of conversations lately with a lot of friends about how to "fix" the left. The interesting thing is that depending on who you talk to, the "broken" part of the puzzle is either the Democratic party, the gay rights movement, the enviros, the women's groups, the gun control crowd, the civil rights movement at large, or poverty-fighting groups, to name a few. Which has led me to believe, and worry, that the problem is much bigger than one particular gay group, or the gay movement, or any one movement. The problem is liberalism more generally.

Having said that, I'm still trying to figure out what the problem is. I know the symptoms:

1. No clear message.
2. An inability or unwillingness to play hardball.
3. Once they fail, blame the failure on being too liberal and too tough.

Any "solution" has got to encompass more than just focusing on one part of the problem.

Now to the specifics of the recent news surrounding the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the largest gay rights lobby in the US. As you may have read on this blog, the NYT wrote a scathing piece yesterday about how HRC had, in the wake of the recent disastrous election results, supposedly decided to moderate its goals and scale-back its efforts over the coming year(s). If true, the article made many think that HRC had given up and decided - like a few Democratic leaders - to become "Republicans."

Now, I have no idea if the article was correct. I've dealt with enough media to know that they do get the story wrong from time to time. And HRC quickly issued a response to the article, saying the reporter got it wrong, that they aren't retrenching, etc. Both the article and the response are printed on this blog. I suspect that the truth lies somewhere between the NYT article and HRC's response.

HRC has never been known for its edginess. It's an inside-the-beltway organization that focuses on passing national legislation (or blocking hateful national legislation). Per se, one could argue, they need to play nice in order to play with the big boys here in town, and to play with both sides, Dem and Repub. Having said that, a friend I trust told me, in response to that theory, that it was bs. Look at the Jewish groups and the NRA and the religious right, he said. Do you think they play nice in order to get respect from Dems and Repubs? No. They kick you in the balls when you get out of line, and you don't make that mistake twice. So there is a good argument for even groups like HRC to consider adopting a gutsier, rather than a tamer, approach.

But we all make a big mistake by only focusing on HRC.

As I said in my intro to this entry, we have a problem across the entire gay movement and across all liberalism. Very few of "the groups" are doing what they should. Did the enviros talk about "arsenic in the drinking water" this election cycle? No. Did the anti-gun folks take full advantage of the assault weapons ban expiration? No. And the women's groups - they just had a march of 1m people in DC. Did they impact the election at all? I'm not so sure they did.

An in specific, just for a moment, let's talk about the other gay groups. They issued a letter to Congress yesterday declaring that, unlike HRC, they weren't backing down in the face of defeat. Well bully for them. But where the hell were they over the past year? The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the gay group that organized the HRC-bashing letter, boldly "declared war" on George Bush a year ago in response to his support for the constitutional amendment. Great. But where exactly was NGLTF's war? They were no more on the radar screen than HRC this past year. They talked tough, but who was playing hardball with the GOP on marriage? A bunch of individuals and groups in the states, many on them working for free - NOT the million-dollar national groups who were supposedly the key players working on the issue. Yes, they were all WORKING on the issue, but effectively and boldly and wisely and strategically? Hardly.

As for the other groups that signed NGLTF's letter, many of them have just as much to answer for - where were their big successes this past year? How often did we see their names in the paper taking on some bad guy in a bold effective way? What gutsy smart thing did they do over the past 12 months to make a difference on our issues? I just want to know where they earned the right to criticize HRC when most of us have been wondering where the hell the rest of THEM have been as well.

My point is that, in my view, that letter to Congress was more about being gratuitous and self-serving than it was about helping the movement. It was about taking a jab at HRC for jab's sake and about stealing HRC's territory. Criticism is necessary as we have some big problems. And HRC deserves criticism along with the rest. But let's not forget that the other groups, gay and otherwise, have just as much explaining to do as HRC, and we shouldn't lose sight of that by solely focusing on HRC or solely focusing on how "the gays" supposedly lost the election. And rather than point fingers, I'd like to hear what all of these groups have to say for themselves. Because the last year really sucked, and a lot of us aren't very impressed with any of them. Read the rest of this post...

Friday Orchid Blogging

Paphiopedilum Gloriosum "Hallelujah" x Paph Black Currants "Tar Baby"

A surprisingly easy-to-grow plant. I'd posted a photo of this one last week, only partly opened. Now it's fully open, and will probably remain in pristine condition for a good month or more. The stem (or spike, as we call it) is over 14 inches high. For one of the more "ordinary" orchid crosses, this one is probably one of my most beautiful. Enjoy. Read the rest of this post...

Afternoon open thread

Chat away. Orchids coming later :-) Read the rest of this post...

OMG - Christian school in south teaches 9th-graders that slavery was okayed by God

Family values, my ass:

'SOUTHERN SLAVERY, AS IT WAS'
Here are some excerpts from the booklet:

* "To say the least, it is strange that the thing the Bible condemns (slave-trading) brings very little opprobrium upon the North, yet that which the Bible allows (slave-ownership) has brought down all manner of condemnation upon the South." (page 22)

* "As we have already mentioned, the 'peculiar institution' of slavery was not perfect or sinless, but the reality was a far cry from the horrific descriptions given to us in modern histories." (page 22)

* "Slavery as it existed in the South was not an adversarial relationship with pervasive racial animosity. Because of its dominantly patriarchal character, it was a relationship based upon mutual affection and confidence." (page 24)

* "There has never been a multi-racial society which has existed with such mutual intimacy and harmony in the history of the world." (page 24)

* "Slave life was to them a life of plenty, of simple pleasures, of food, clothes, and good medical care." (page 25)

* "But many Southern blacks supported the South because of long established bonds of affection and trust that had been forged over generations with their white masters and friends." (page 27)

* "Nearly every slave in the South enjoyed a higher standard of living than the poor whites of the South -- and had a much easier existence." (page 30)

This thing reads like a Nazi tract. Read the rest of this post...

Alberto Gonzales' Hustler Magazine connection!

Who'd have thought that Alberto Gonzales and Larry Flynt had something in common?! UP UNTIL LAST MONTH, Gonzales' step-son was working for Hustler magazine, when he abruptly quit after step-daddy Alberto asked him to. Why? Because Gonzales was being nominated to be the next Attorney General, fighting porn, that kind of thing. Wouldn't be very nice to have Alberto covering up boobies of statues while his son was helping disseminate nude boobies across America.

Apparently the religious right isn't very thrilled about this, nor should they be. Gonzales apparently only JUST asked his son to quit working for Hustler last month. That suggests he was okay with boobies until he got the nomination. Wonder if Gonzales will now be soft on Hustler (no pun intended) if he gets the AG job? Will Flynt try to use his Gonzales connection to help soften the blow from any anti-porn policies the administration puts out?

Ah, family values hypocrites, how we love you. Read the rest of this post...

My latest lie was this big

Does anyone in the administration even know how to tell the truth anymore?

Despite Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld's assertion that the military is outfitting Humvees with armor as quickly as possible, the company providing the vehicles said it has been waiting since September for approval from the Pentagon to increase monthly production by as many as 100 of the all-terrain vehicles, intended to protect against roadside bombs in Iraq.

Army officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, acknowledged yesterday that they have not approved new purchase orders for armored trucks, despite the company's readiness to produce more.

It is "a matter of physics, not a matter of money," Rumsfeld said, adding that the Army was "breaking its neck." President Bush yesterday reiterated that "the concerns expressed are being addressed."

Michael Fox, a spokesman for Armor Holdings, said the company is simply waiting for the Pentagon to say how many it needs: "We have always said, 'Tell us how much you want, and we'll build them.' "

Read the rest of this post...

Delphi announces new wave of job cuts

Same plan as last year with 3,000 cuts in the US and 8,500 globally.
Read the rest of this post...

OPEC agrees to cut production

The poor guys just weren't able to make any money with such low prices.
Read the rest of this post...

Only in America: AirportFriendly.com

What I often miss the most about America is the inventiveness. People are always quick to catch on to a problem and somehow find a way to resolve the problem and make a few bucks along the way. Anyone who flies knows what a hassle it can be so now AirportFriendly.com and others are selling products that make it easier to get through airports without setting off alarms. Now I understand why so many Americans wear those slip-on shoes.
Read the rest of this post...

Remember when tomatoes used to taste like tomatoes?

I have not come across these tomatoes over here but they at least sound like they're good. I can't even remember the last time I enjoyed a really good tomato because anymore they always have that same perfect shape, with the same tough skin and lack of taste. I recall reading about New Jersey holding local competitions for tomatoes and hope that this is a new trend where our food starts to taste like food again. Naturally, the Florida Tomato Committee is upset because the UglyRipe tomatoes fail the look test though the taste apparently blows away the competition so of course, the $500M per year Florida tomato growers are fighting to ban the tasty UglyRipes.
Read the rest of this post...

Annan continues to weigh on UN

Despite all of the slaps on the back and hand clapping in public, Annan is in trouble and everyone knows it. I could care less what Bush or any other Republican think about Annan, because they're just angry because Annan was correct on the war in Iraq. The fact remains though that Annan has to go for the sake of the UN. How he continued his career after the genocide in Rwanda escapes me but his more recent tenure as Secretary General leaves much to be desired. Changes are needed at the UN and it's simply not going to happen while he is still around. Right now UN-lifers like him are part of the problem and not part of the solution.
Read the rest of this post...