Years ago, in my rural, conservative county, we decided to try to move just an inch towards some zoning regulations, of which we have none.  Just a little move.  We wanted to regulate polluting industries--preventing them from setting up against the banks of our rivers and requiring some buffers between them and the homsteads of those of us living here.

Next thing you know, the word got out:  we were planning to tell people what color to paint their houses, we were not going to allow you to work on your tractor in the front yard, and you could only graze 5 cows to an acre.

Of course all of these things were not only silly, but also untrue.  We worked hard to get the truth out there.  The newspapers published the truth, we ran radio ads, we held press conferences, we went door-to-door, and we sent out mailers.  All to no avail.  Why?  Because folks' neighbors told them one thing at the Ruritan fish fry, and we told them another.  They believed the person they knew, not the person they didn't.

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As Kos recently pointed out, a number of old stale Democrats were responsible for the passage of FISA, and he proposed mounting a slate of netroots challengers to take them on in the 2010 primaries. Yesterday I made the case for Kos taking on Speaker Nancy Pelosi (CA-08) in her San Francisco district, personally.

Here, in the Washington, D.C. metro area, Rep. Steny Hoyer (MD-05) has been taking up space in Congress since 1981.  In the heavily Democratic fifth district of Maryland, it is unlikely that a GOP challenger can dislodge him.  Any effort to remove FISA Champion Hoyer from Congress will depend on the strength of a Democratic primary challenger.

In November, following the general election, will be an effort to recruit a suitable challenger for Mr. Hoyer, one with a robust familiarity with the digital environment and other emerging tech, who can appeal to Progressive, Libertarian, and Constitutionalist sentiments alike. An 'Agent of Change' - from the netroots to Congress.

Please add your input and participation in such an effort. (more)

I realize Senator Obama has asked his supporters (I'm one of them) to help retire Senator Hillary Clinton's campaign debts, but I'm not so sure I understand why it's our duty to help her do that.

Most candidates when they run out of money, stop campaigning;  Hillary on the other hand insisted on digging herself more into a hole by continuing to campaign.  Why is this bad judgement Obama supporter's responsibility?  Why must we reimburse her for doing something some would say was 'stupid'.  

In Derry, N.H. in January of this year, John McCain cut off a questioner who talked about the Bush administration's willingness to keep troops in Iraq for 50 years and said "Make it a hundred."

So that's one person's vision of America over the next 100 years.

In 2004, Wes Clark described his own 100 year vision for our country while running for president.  Clark's become a better speechwriter and debater since he wrote this --- we've all seen this in his recent attack on McCain's perceived strengths and in the way he made fools of people like Hannity and O'Reilly the past few years in their attempts at creating "gotcha" interviews. I think we all know that Clark has national security, military, and diplomatic experience beyond anyone else in this country, even as he continues to study and expand his understanding of the troubled regions of the world.  But his 100-year vision isn't about all that.  So here's a look at the challenges Clark, in 2004, thought we needed to start addressing with a 100-year plan for our nation.

More and more I am getting the feeling that McCain is BLOWING it. Even the Republicans know it.
Every day it is something more idiotic.
First the infamous lime-green background. And then today, the comment that the troop levels not important.

McCain may be an adequate Republican senator from Arizona. Personally likable guy, with long history of service. But he just isn't the right candidate for the modern Presidential election.

So here's the question: will the Republicans pull the plug on McCain before the convention?

What we should all remember when the MSM tries to convince us that this is going to be a tough fight

After last night's victory, I feel a sense of relief.

I know we're not there yet, but we're that much closer to having real leadership in this country again. I believe that when America needs a great leader, there's always someone who steps up to the challenge. History has proven this out time and time again.

In 2008, that person is you, Senator Obama.

As an African American (with Native American lineage), I'm very proud of you and all you have accomplished. However, more importantly, as an American, I'm extremely happy that our country has the potential to be led by a man with genuine integrity, grace, intelligence, charisma and much needed honesty.

Friends, Romans, Countrymen, Kossaks ... lend me your ears.

In reviewing my ballot I noticed that CA Assembly District 04, which covers Placer, El Dorado and Alpine counties and has been in Republican control for decades. This year looks to be no different.

It seems life long political hack Ted Gaines is running unapposed for this highly coveted prize.

To this I say ... not anymore.

Who am I? I'm your kind of candidate.

The primary race is wrapping up... Well, the primary race is hopefully wrapping up, and the time comes for candidates to focus on the general election campaign. One of the first steps is obviously picking a running mate to strengthen the ticket. However, in this task, there is an endless amount of hypothesizing and speculation. There are two options that Barack Obama has to qualify his running mate.

This is the twelfth and final entry in our series of profiles regarding Barack Obama's most likely candidates for the vice presidential nomination.  You can view our previous entires here.  Come back next week as we take a detailed look at the possible candidates for an Obama cabinet.  Your favorite candidates that did not appear in our two week long series here, may very well show up in our cabinet profiles.  Tomorrow I will boil down all that we have learned and make my predictions.  Don't forget to vote in our poll.

Hillary Clinton: former first lady and current senator from New York.  Is she on Obama's short list? Frankly, none of us know, but given how close she managed to keep this primary season, and the fervency of her supporters, no list of possible vice presidential candidates is complete without her. George Stephanopoulos described an Obama/Clinton pairing as "a dream ticket." But many Obama supporters consider it a nightmare.  Before we render judgment, let's look at the strengths she brings to an Obama campaign, as well as those qualities which cause us deep concern.

Cross-posted from The Left Anchor

Today we continue our week-long series of vice presidential profiles with a look at both Tim Kaine and Wesley Clark.  We've previously looked at Sen. Jim Webb, Gov. Ted Strickland, and Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.

Tim Kaine, Governor of Virginia, is another likely candidate for Obama's short list.  Gov. Kaine was one of the first Democrats outside of Illinois to endorse Barack Obama during the earliest days of his candidacy.  Kaine was first elected governor in 2005, by a very narrow margin, and his term is set to expire in 2010.

More news and analysis can be found at The Left Anchor

Yesterday we took a look at Sen. Jim Webb.  Today we continue our profile series of Obama's most likely VP choices.

A man bound to be on the short list for Obama's vice president is Ohio governor Ted Strickland.  Not only is Strickland the governor of one of the most important swing states, but Ohio is also a state whose demographics don't immediately favor Obama.  Certainly Sen. Obama will pick up the lion's share of Clinton supporters in the state, but he's going to have to fight tooth and nail for conservative Democrats and independents against the so-called maverick, John McCain.

I read an article over at Realclearpolitics.com that was talking about Hillary Clinton staying in the race to run for VP and if she wants it, the party will almost have to give it to her.  

OMIGOD, my jaw about dropped to the floor of the car as I heard this choice McCain sound bite YESTERDAY on NPR's "All Things Considered"!!!! Check out the link:

Mike Shuster's Report yesterday

This morning former candidate John Edwards made his endorsement all but official. He admitted during questioning that he will be endorsing the candidate that he voted for in the Carolina primary.

When speaking about the person he voted for, he gives away their gender - pretty much sealing the deal:

A Mahatma Gandhi quote sums up Barack Obamas' campaign for POTUS in a very unique way, at least I find it intriguing. Anyway, the quote goes like this;

"First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you and then you win".

I think this illustrates just how Barack came from being a virtual unknown to a legitimate contender and now the eventual nominee.

It’s great to be back here at Daily Kos with all of you.  I always enjoy stopping by, sharing my thoughts, and answering your questions.  I’ll be around until about 4:30pm ET / 2:30pm MT today, and I look forward to our dialogue about the U.S. Senate race developments here in Idaho.

Just to get our conversation started today, I wanted to post about something I care about a great deal:  the Bill of Rights.

Our Founding Fathers created the Bill of Rights to protect American citizens from their own government, not to make it easier for the government to spy on its own citizens or torture prisoners.  Sometimes I feel as though politicians say they'll support the Bill of Rights -- until they get in office and become part of that government.  You can see where that's gotten us over the past 7 years.

Whomever he or she is, know your candidate!

Sometime during the Summer of 2004, my cousin, who lives in the Ohio, and I "got into it" over the then-upcoming presidential  election.  He was (and still is) supporting George W. Bush; something I didn't know until that point while we were watching George speaking at a campaign stop.  I was a clueless supporter of John Kerry.  I say clueless because I  believed any candidate other than President Bush could not be worse.  That's about all I knew.  The thing is, I didn't really know enough about Senator Kerry to argue in favor for him, which aggravated me more than anything, sitting next to my cousin as W continued flatulating to a captive audience.  Everything my cousin was saying could easily have been regurgitated from Rush Limbaugh's ass--Which is not a pleasant visual.

Since I had flown in from Hawaii and was staying at his parents house, my auntie was close by to act as referee.  (I can still  remember her saying in Chinese don't talk about politics.  No one ever agrees.) My cousin and I, both jackass-stubborn, didn't  speak for the rest of the day, which was supposed to be a eventful day full of quality family time.