[Update Thursday morning from Sandra Vanderven at the protest: There are more people who are willing to keep the occupation going tonight, and it isn’t unreasonable to think you’ll get away with it as we did.  I would be very happy if you wanted to join up with the various organizations that are making things…

Republican US Congressman Dave Reichert (WA, 8th CD) has signed a letter calling on President Obama to acknowledge the primacy of God in America. The following pdf file http://truthsite.org/politics/Letterto0bamaAboutGodFromUSCongressmen.pdf contains an image of the letter, which was signed by 42 US members of Congress. In a November, 2010 speech Obama said that e pluribus unum —…

A letter to a Democratic activist who called for a go-slow approach to eliminating tax preferences. (For background, see Failed KCDCC Resolution a Good Idea and Fair School Funding Coalition.) Thank you for your well-written and thoughtful analysis.  I admire your commitment to the cause of justness and fairness.  The real “enemy” is conservatives, not…

Washington Community Action Network is holding a Week of Action to demand that our legislators and the governor do the right thing.  Close corporate tax giveaways and stop balancing the budget on the backs of the poor and the middle class. APRIL 5-8 we will take back our dignity and our State. On April 5-8th,…

The Washington State Democrats have sent out a fund-raising appeal so that it can place an ad critical of Rob McKenna in the Seattle Times.  (See http://www.wa-democrats.org/content/our-newspaper-ad.) This ad calling out Rob McKenna for his attacks on public employee unions is running in today’s issue of The Olympian. GOAL: We need to raise $6,935 to…

Democrats fear that voter turnout will be low in 2012 due to dissatisfaction with President Obama’s policies and due to a feeling that change is hopeless. If Democrats want progressives’ votes and help, they should stand up to the corrupt, corporatist Democrats by openly criticizing centrists such as President Obama and Governor Gregoire, and by…

Sunday afternoon I attended the King County Dems’ Legislative Action Committee meeting in Renton, where Rep. Bob Hasegawa was the guest speaker. He is awesome: a strong progressive and an unpretentious, nice guy.  The meeting was riveting, for political junkies like me anyway, and well attended.  I guess the attendees all felt like fellow comrades…

Our leaders don’t lead. Governor Gregoire and the legislators have punted on the issue of raising revenue. If you ask legislators, they say “the people” have to demand fair taxation and an end to corporate tax giveaways. Though the Democrats control the governor’s mansion and both houses in Olympia, they don’t use their positions of…

Millions of progressive activists give time, money, and energy to advocacy groups, because they don’t trust the Democratic Party. Shouldn’t progressives take over the Democratic Party the way religious conservatives and Teabaggers took over the GOP? The Republican Party is united behind a hard right agenda that keeps becoming more extreme. Often GOP lawmakers vote…

At the 41st LD Dems’ meeting, Goldy (David Goldstein) spoke about the REAL Rob McKenna and about how progressives can win. State Attorney General Rob McKenna is a personable guy who presents himself as a moderate and who attends civic events everywhere. But his speeches and actions show that McKenna is deeply anti-union and anti-choice.…