As bad as things seem to us now, as harshly as we feel the reactionary theologic forces crushing the life from our quest to expand human knowledge, this is something that was inevitable.

Think of the incredible advances achieved by the human race during the last 100 years. The ignorant rabble was bound to eventually rise in challange to our progress. The backlash has been building for decades. It's just that we who are forward looking didn't see it coming from behind.

So, we have been blindsided by the ill-informed, propagandized, narrow-minded masses, who we had somehow assumed got a clue to the progression of humanity.

OK, we were wrong about 50%(actually less than 50%) of the people in this country. Anyway, time is up for them, and for us. We must stop thinking about them. They have had their chance (many of them grew up in the 60's and 70's). If they didn't get it then, and don't get it now, they never will. Apparenltly they have taught their children to be fascists. We can't hope to reach them either.

So, it is up to us to do what the Republicans have done so well. Solidify our base. Tell all the right-wingers to go to hell and thumb our noses at moderates (the moderates seem to love it).

Well, it felt good to get that off my chest.

I agree we would do well to solidify our base, but who exactly are our base? One problem with the left is that we think for ourselves--therefore come out with very different ideas and desires.

Rs are like a herd of sheep--following whomever is in front of them.

The left is like trying to herd cats--every individual having his/her own idea of what is right, what is best.

Any ideas on how to herd cats?

LOL, you are right dori. We can't do as the Republicans and fool 50 million Americans with a simplistic bumper sticker campaign, and we don't want to. However, the individualistic thinking of liberals can be our greatest strength. We have to do as Howard Dean did, and take off the kid gloves. Tell the whole hard truth, no matter what the mainstream "news" media says. They will tell us that any Democrat who comes out swinging and sounds off on controversial issues is "unelectable", or a "conspiracy theorist", just as they did to Howard Dean, and Gen. Wesley Clark. But it doesn't matter. We aren't going to win with wimpy "getalongist" candidates anyway. The Repubs, chew them up and spit them out. They were scared to death of both Dean and Clark. The "unelectable" mantra repeated endlessly by the right-wing owned news media came straight from the office of Karl Rove.We need to find the hard edged candidates, and stick by them. Indiviual thinking liberals and moderates will eventually come to see the truth, and the fascist Republicans will be done.

My point is, we liberal cats don't have to be herded. We just need tough, no nonsense leaders, and enough people with their own minds will follow.