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Among Dems, blame-game rages
Will they blame Michael Moore? Play "Smear-The-Queer" ? For liberal view, please attend Forum at U-U center, 7 Nov. (today), 10am; free.
CAL-SF: Sunday morning, 7 November:
10am: forum with REESE ERLICH,
on outcome and meaning of Nov. 2 election;
at Unitarian-Universalist center,
1187 Franklin (near Geary), SF.
FREE.
[Take any Van Ness bus to Geary, then walk to Franklin.]
.........................................................................................
Sunday, 7 November 2004
SF Chronicle
In postmortem on Kerry bid,
Dems seek clues to new life
Carla Marinucci, Chronicle Political Writer
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/11/07/DEMOCRATS.TMP
Even before Sen. John Kerry took the stage of Fanueil Hall in Boston to give his concession speech, Democrats had begun soul-searching.
"We need new talent ... it's time for a new team," said Democratic volunteer Bruce Wiljanen, who was sitting on the second-floor balcony waiting to see his party's 2004 candidate acknowledge defeat. A Kerry or a Hillary Clinton, he said, will not reach out to the millions of Americans in the red states in the next election. "We've got to get a new manager and trade a few players," he said.
But, "do the party leaders have it in them?" he asked, shaking his head.
In the wake of a bitter rebuff by 59 million American voters who supported the re-election of President Bush -- including many of the blue-collar workers and rural residents once the bastion of the Democratic Party -- Wiljanen's pained question echoed last week from Massachusetts to California, two of the coastal states that held fast for the Democrats.
The GOP victory, which included gains in the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, has forced Democrats to face an unpleasant dilemma: how to resurrect a battered party and retool for the future, in the face of what appears to be a cultural and religious wave to the right.
The debate focuses on two major areas: defining the party's principles, and deciding who or what type of candidates can best deliver the message.
"The Democratic Party cannot be competitive in a national race without going after that red block of states from the South to the Midwest," said former congressman and White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta, who now runs a Monterey-based think tank.
[.......]
And Democrats "have to indicate we're willing to listen to people about
the moral concerns of the country," Panetta added.
The election of 2004 may be remembered as the year the party of Roosevelt became the "party of Michael Moore and 'Fahrenheit 9/11,' " a movie that "really does look like it's making fun of people who have legitimate feelings and beliefs," he said.
[......]
With churchgoing voters of all faiths turning out by the millions to support Bush, and registering moral values as a key concern -- the soul-searching in the Democratic Party is wrapped into the issues of religion and politics.
Panetta said that the party must take a page from the playbook of its last successful presidential candidate, Clinton, who could comfortably talk politics in the halls of a Baptist church.
"John Kerry walked into black churches and talked religion -- and he never walked into white churches and talked religion," Panetta said. "The next candidate has got to let people know they have faith ... that they believe in that faith and it's part of their life. It doesn't mean you have to cross the line between church and state."
Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio -- the liberal former presidential candidate who is speaking at events in the Bay Area this weekend -- insists that even progressive Democrats must discuss moral concerns, noting they were central to the efforts of great political leaders such the Rev. Martin Luther King.
"Our Founding Fathers were very careful to separate church and state -- and appropriately so," Kucinich said. "But they never intended to mean the separation of the United States from spiritual values, from making sure people are clothed and housed."
Already, some Democrats are beginning to apply those concerns and other more practical, tactical matters toward future successes at the ballot box.
Joe Trippi, the former campaign manager for Democratic presidential hopeful Howard Dean -- and a strategist credited with awakening the Internet fund-raising revolution and a youth wave in politics this year -- argues the results last Tuesday were "a complete failure" that was predictable and preventable.
Trippi bemoaned the fact that Bush was able to attract 8.7 million more voters than he did in 2000, while Kerry managed a gain of only about half as many -- 4.6 million more than Democratic candidate Al Gore received in 2000.
"There's a larger Democratic base in this country than a Republican base, and they didn't even get to that," Trippi said.
[.....]
California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, also searching for answers, said Democrats must "begin to build a new base" through "candidates who are moderate, who carry the values of their state."
Feinstein calls it "startling" that Republicans narrowed the gender gap with Democrats, who have gained a wide margin of support among female voters in recent elections. Among women, Al Gore won by 11 percentage points over Bush in 2000, but Kerry managed a winning margin of just 3 percentage points over Bush among women.
"Our message didn't resound with women, and it always has in the past," she said. "We have to find out why."
And Feinstein said the party can't abandon rural communities.
"We can't run a campaign only using the big urban centers ... there's a big difference between city life and life outside the city," she said. "In California, I think we've gotten smug thinking we're an island of sanity. Some seem to think we're an island of insanity."
[......]
Panetta [...] said Democrats must also choose their issues carefully. "It's clear the gay marriage issue basically blew up in our face and was used by [....] Karl Rove to drive their
constituencies to the polls," he said.
And, Panetta said, Democrats must think more deeply about their choices for the presidential ticket.
"I frankly think that, as we've seen in the past, you're probably better off looking for someone outside of Washington who doesn't carry that baggage," he said. "It could be somebody elected in the next two years. But obviously, what we've seen is: you need to have someone who can focus on a vision for the future without having someone be attacked on the past."
[....]
---------
Copyright ©2004 SF Chronicle
........................
PS 1:
FREEDOM-SEEKERS' CALENDAR
( compiled by SUN and SaveFreedom;
plus info from HolyTitClamps, et alii ):
........
For more "queer things to do"
in the San Franhattan Gay Area,
please visit Larrybob at HTC:
[ http://www.holytitclamps.com/ ]
...........
And for arts events,
please visit the Squidlist calendar:
[ http://laughingsquid.org/squidlist/calendar/ ]
...........
Please FORWARD freely, as appropriate.
...........
CAL-SF: Sunday morning, 7 November:
10am: forum with REESE ERLICH,
on outcome and meaning of Nov. 2 election;
at Unitarian-Universalist center,
1187 Franklin (near Geary), SF.
Free.
[Take any Van Ness bus to Geary, then walk to Franklin.]
.........
CAL: Nov. 7: SF, Cable 29: "Outlook" [queer news], first Sunday, 5pm.
.........
CAL-SF: Sunday Nov 7, 7:30 pm signup, show 8 pm:
K'VETSH
queer spoken word event. Plus open mic. ...
Hosted by Lynn Breedlove and Tara Jepsen. Open mic sign-up at 7:30,
one piece of 5 minutes or less.
$1-$3 donation.
At Sadie's Flying Elephant bar, 491 Potrero (on the corner of Mariposa)
the first Sunday of every month. [-HTC]
.........
**CAL-SF, 9 Nov.:
George Davis,
author of NAKED YOGA
Will lecture on public nudity, health and fitness,
and demonstrate naked yoga.
Political, social, cultural, ethical,
philosophical, and fun issues will be uncovered.
The SF Weekly calendar ran a photo and a lengthy
listing of the event.
This event is clothing optional. Those exercising the
non-clothing option are requested to sit in the front
row(s).
Tuesday, November 9, 2004
7 to 9pm
Unitarian Universalist Church
1187 Franklin (near Geary),
San Francisco
[Take any Van Ness bus to Geary, then walk to Franklin.]
$15 includes book...
http://www.gonakedyoga.com/
(415) 722-2968
................
CAL-SF: Friday Nov 12, 7:30 to 9:30 pm:
screwup:
BDSM for trannies, genderqueers and their friends.
screwup supports the right of individuals to self-identify
instead of having labels forced upon them!
screwup is for trannies, queers, and our friends.
This event is open to all genders and will be held in the meeting space at Eros.
Folks sometimes go out for coffee or food afterwards, so come prepared...
$2-5 donation (optional!) will be accepted for a charity to be determined that evening.
Eros, 2051 Market Street, San Francisco
http://www.screwup.info
.................
CAL, northern: San Jose:
Saturday Nov 13, 6:30-8 pm:
Fierce Words Tender, women's open mic,
This Saturday, and the second Saturday of each and every fabulous month, from 6:30 - 8:00 PM, at Sisterspirit Bookstore, 938 The Alameda, San Jose. Phenomenal, firey, feminist, phat, and above all, fierce, this is a time for any woman to take the stage and strut her stuff! poetry, comedy, music, improv, storytelling, rap...any kind of performance or art is welcome!
free of charge,
any woman may perform,
men are welcomed in the audience.
http://www.angelfire.com/de/fierceness/
........
CAL-SF: Sunday morning, 14 November:
10am: forum on how
foster-care programs dump kids when they turn 18;
at Unitarian-Universalist center,
1187 Franklin (near Geary), SF. Free.
[Take any Van Ness bus to Geary, then walk to Franklin.]
.........
**CAL-SF: November 17:
Wednesday evening, 6pm:
Michelle Tea emcees
the Radar Reading series
at main SF public library,
downtown near Civic Center BART/Muni station.
FREE.
Tonight we hear
Liz Benefiel,
LYNN BREEDLOVE (!!!),
Ben McCoy,
Zoe Whittal.
.............
*CAL-SF: Wednesday, Nov 17, 7:30 pm signup, 8 pm show:
SMACK DAB :
an open mic hosted by Kirk Read and Larry-bob Roberts. Making the Castro safe for performance again. Featured performers: Jennifer Blowdryer and Tara Jepsen. Bring five minutes of words, music, comedy or miscellany. Bring your charm and magic and cheerful can-do attitude. Or just come and watch and cheer folks on. All ages and genders will be welcomed and adored. Please respect the five minute limit so more people have a chance to participate. Musicians, one song please. All happening at Magnet, the ... new gay men's neighborhood health center, 4122 18th Street between Castro and Collingwood. Free.
http://www.magnetsf.org
.........
CAL-SF: Thursday, November 18, 7:30 pm: Reading and Signing: Becoming a Visible Man, by Jamison Green. .... Books Inc. is proud to welcome Jamison Green, author of Becoming a Visible Man and well-known transsexual activist. Becoming a Visible Man explores the challenges of the female-to-male transsexual experience through personal experience and through critical analysis. Green is the board chair of Gender Education and Advocacy and a board member of the Transgender Law and Policy Institute. His monthly column, "Visible Man," appears on PlanetOut.com.
Free
Books Inc., 2275 Market Street near 16th, San Francisco
...............
###
10am: forum with REESE ERLICH,
on outcome and meaning of Nov. 2 election;
at Unitarian-Universalist center,
1187 Franklin (near Geary), SF.
FREE.
[Take any Van Ness bus to Geary, then walk to Franklin.]
.........................................................................................
Sunday, 7 November 2004
SF Chronicle
In postmortem on Kerry bid,
Dems seek clues to new life
Carla Marinucci, Chronicle Political Writer
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/11/07/DEMOCRATS.TMP
Even before Sen. John Kerry took the stage of Fanueil Hall in Boston to give his concession speech, Democrats had begun soul-searching.
"We need new talent ... it's time for a new team," said Democratic volunteer Bruce Wiljanen, who was sitting on the second-floor balcony waiting to see his party's 2004 candidate acknowledge defeat. A Kerry or a Hillary Clinton, he said, will not reach out to the millions of Americans in the red states in the next election. "We've got to get a new manager and trade a few players," he said.
But, "do the party leaders have it in them?" he asked, shaking his head.
In the wake of a bitter rebuff by 59 million American voters who supported the re-election of President Bush -- including many of the blue-collar workers and rural residents once the bastion of the Democratic Party -- Wiljanen's pained question echoed last week from Massachusetts to California, two of the coastal states that held fast for the Democrats.
The GOP victory, which included gains in the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, has forced Democrats to face an unpleasant dilemma: how to resurrect a battered party and retool for the future, in the face of what appears to be a cultural and religious wave to the right.
The debate focuses on two major areas: defining the party's principles, and deciding who or what type of candidates can best deliver the message.
"The Democratic Party cannot be competitive in a national race without going after that red block of states from the South to the Midwest," said former congressman and White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta, who now runs a Monterey-based think tank.
[.......]
And Democrats "have to indicate we're willing to listen to people about
the moral concerns of the country," Panetta added.
The election of 2004 may be remembered as the year the party of Roosevelt became the "party of Michael Moore and 'Fahrenheit 9/11,' " a movie that "really does look like it's making fun of people who have legitimate feelings and beliefs," he said.
[......]
With churchgoing voters of all faiths turning out by the millions to support Bush, and registering moral values as a key concern -- the soul-searching in the Democratic Party is wrapped into the issues of religion and politics.
Panetta said that the party must take a page from the playbook of its last successful presidential candidate, Clinton, who could comfortably talk politics in the halls of a Baptist church.
"John Kerry walked into black churches and talked religion -- and he never walked into white churches and talked religion," Panetta said. "The next candidate has got to let people know they have faith ... that they believe in that faith and it's part of their life. It doesn't mean you have to cross the line between church and state."
Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio -- the liberal former presidential candidate who is speaking at events in the Bay Area this weekend -- insists that even progressive Democrats must discuss moral concerns, noting they were central to the efforts of great political leaders such the Rev. Martin Luther King.
"Our Founding Fathers were very careful to separate church and state -- and appropriately so," Kucinich said. "But they never intended to mean the separation of the United States from spiritual values, from making sure people are clothed and housed."
Already, some Democrats are beginning to apply those concerns and other more practical, tactical matters toward future successes at the ballot box.
Joe Trippi, the former campaign manager for Democratic presidential hopeful Howard Dean -- and a strategist credited with awakening the Internet fund-raising revolution and a youth wave in politics this year -- argues the results last Tuesday were "a complete failure" that was predictable and preventable.
Trippi bemoaned the fact that Bush was able to attract 8.7 million more voters than he did in 2000, while Kerry managed a gain of only about half as many -- 4.6 million more than Democratic candidate Al Gore received in 2000.
"There's a larger Democratic base in this country than a Republican base, and they didn't even get to that," Trippi said.
[.....]
California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, also searching for answers, said Democrats must "begin to build a new base" through "candidates who are moderate, who carry the values of their state."
Feinstein calls it "startling" that Republicans narrowed the gender gap with Democrats, who have gained a wide margin of support among female voters in recent elections. Among women, Al Gore won by 11 percentage points over Bush in 2000, but Kerry managed a winning margin of just 3 percentage points over Bush among women.
"Our message didn't resound with women, and it always has in the past," she said. "We have to find out why."
And Feinstein said the party can't abandon rural communities.
"We can't run a campaign only using the big urban centers ... there's a big difference between city life and life outside the city," she said. "In California, I think we've gotten smug thinking we're an island of sanity. Some seem to think we're an island of insanity."
[......]
Panetta [...] said Democrats must also choose their issues carefully. "It's clear the gay marriage issue basically blew up in our face and was used by [....] Karl Rove to drive their
constituencies to the polls," he said.
And, Panetta said, Democrats must think more deeply about their choices for the presidential ticket.
"I frankly think that, as we've seen in the past, you're probably better off looking for someone outside of Washington who doesn't carry that baggage," he said. "It could be somebody elected in the next two years. But obviously, what we've seen is: you need to have someone who can focus on a vision for the future without having someone be attacked on the past."
[....]
---------
Copyright ©2004 SF Chronicle
........................
PS 1:
FREEDOM-SEEKERS' CALENDAR
( compiled by SUN and SaveFreedom;
plus info from HolyTitClamps, et alii ):
........
For more "queer things to do"
in the San Franhattan Gay Area,
please visit Larrybob at HTC:
[ http://www.holytitclamps.com/ ]
...........
And for arts events,
please visit the Squidlist calendar:
[ http://laughingsquid.org/squidlist/calendar/ ]
...........
Please FORWARD freely, as appropriate.
...........
CAL-SF: Sunday morning, 7 November:
10am: forum with REESE ERLICH,
on outcome and meaning of Nov. 2 election;
at Unitarian-Universalist center,
1187 Franklin (near Geary), SF.
Free.
[Take any Van Ness bus to Geary, then walk to Franklin.]
.........
CAL: Nov. 7: SF, Cable 29: "Outlook" [queer news], first Sunday, 5pm.
.........
CAL-SF: Sunday Nov 7, 7:30 pm signup, show 8 pm:
K'VETSH
queer spoken word event. Plus open mic. ...
Hosted by Lynn Breedlove and Tara Jepsen. Open mic sign-up at 7:30,
one piece of 5 minutes or less.
$1-$3 donation.
At Sadie's Flying Elephant bar, 491 Potrero (on the corner of Mariposa)
the first Sunday of every month. [-HTC]
.........
**CAL-SF, 9 Nov.:
George Davis,
author of NAKED YOGA
Will lecture on public nudity, health and fitness,
and demonstrate naked yoga.
Political, social, cultural, ethical,
philosophical, and fun issues will be uncovered.
The SF Weekly calendar ran a photo and a lengthy
listing of the event.
This event is clothing optional. Those exercising the
non-clothing option are requested to sit in the front
row(s).
Tuesday, November 9, 2004
7 to 9pm
Unitarian Universalist Church
1187 Franklin (near Geary),
San Francisco
[Take any Van Ness bus to Geary, then walk to Franklin.]
$15 includes book...
http://www.gonakedyoga.com/
(415) 722-2968
................
CAL-SF: Friday Nov 12, 7:30 to 9:30 pm:
screwup:
BDSM for trannies, genderqueers and their friends.
screwup supports the right of individuals to self-identify
instead of having labels forced upon them!
screwup is for trannies, queers, and our friends.
This event is open to all genders and will be held in the meeting space at Eros.
Folks sometimes go out for coffee or food afterwards, so come prepared...
$2-5 donation (optional!) will be accepted for a charity to be determined that evening.
Eros, 2051 Market Street, San Francisco
http://www.screwup.info
.................
CAL, northern: San Jose:
Saturday Nov 13, 6:30-8 pm:
Fierce Words Tender, women's open mic,
This Saturday, and the second Saturday of each and every fabulous month, from 6:30 - 8:00 PM, at Sisterspirit Bookstore, 938 The Alameda, San Jose. Phenomenal, firey, feminist, phat, and above all, fierce, this is a time for any woman to take the stage and strut her stuff! poetry, comedy, music, improv, storytelling, rap...any kind of performance or art is welcome!
free of charge,
any woman may perform,
men are welcomed in the audience.
http://www.angelfire.com/de/fierceness/
........
CAL-SF: Sunday morning, 14 November:
10am: forum on how
foster-care programs dump kids when they turn 18;
at Unitarian-Universalist center,
1187 Franklin (near Geary), SF. Free.
[Take any Van Ness bus to Geary, then walk to Franklin.]
.........
**CAL-SF: November 17:
Wednesday evening, 6pm:
Michelle Tea emcees
the Radar Reading series
at main SF public library,
downtown near Civic Center BART/Muni station.
FREE.
Tonight we hear
Liz Benefiel,
LYNN BREEDLOVE (!!!),
Ben McCoy,
Zoe Whittal.
.............
*CAL-SF: Wednesday, Nov 17, 7:30 pm signup, 8 pm show:
SMACK DAB :
an open mic hosted by Kirk Read and Larry-bob Roberts. Making the Castro safe for performance again. Featured performers: Jennifer Blowdryer and Tara Jepsen. Bring five minutes of words, music, comedy or miscellany. Bring your charm and magic and cheerful can-do attitude. Or just come and watch and cheer folks on. All ages and genders will be welcomed and adored. Please respect the five minute limit so more people have a chance to participate. Musicians, one song please. All happening at Magnet, the ... new gay men's neighborhood health center, 4122 18th Street between Castro and Collingwood. Free.
http://www.magnetsf.org
.........
CAL-SF: Thursday, November 18, 7:30 pm: Reading and Signing: Becoming a Visible Man, by Jamison Green. .... Books Inc. is proud to welcome Jamison Green, author of Becoming a Visible Man and well-known transsexual activist. Becoming a Visible Man explores the challenges of the female-to-male transsexual experience through personal experience and through critical analysis. Green is the board chair of Gender Education and Advocacy and a board member of the Transgender Law and Policy Institute. His monthly column, "Visible Man," appears on PlanetOut.com.
Free
Books Inc., 2275 Market Street near 16th, San Francisco
...............
###
For more information:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?...
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TITLE
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DATE
Non-violent revolution
Mon, Nov 8, 2004 9:12PM
the dominant culture
Sun, Nov 7, 2004 5:21PM
Oh wait, I almost forgot, we're replacing it with what?
Sun, Nov 7, 2004 5:09PM
"Overthrow the U.S. government."
Sun, Nov 7, 2004 2:41PM
Reality check
Sun, Nov 7, 2004 2:37PM
Forget the Dems
Sun, Nov 7, 2004 10:12AM
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