Accountability Now

By Big Tent Democrat, Section Other Politics
Posted on Fri Aug 08, 2008 at 10:35:34 AM EST
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I want to join Matt Stoller and the Better Democrats organization in supporting Glenn Greenwald and Jane Hamsher's project Accountability Now. Glenn writes:

[The] core purpose [of Accountability Now] is to change the political calculation so that there is a real price to pay for continuing to support the prevailing agenda of the rotting Beltway class. The question is not which party will control Congress. It is guaranteed that the Democrats will. The question is what they will do with that control. Accountability Now is designed, first and foremost, to change the way that control is exercised by genuinely harming the interests of those responsible for these destructive trends.

This is an activism I can fully support.

Speaking for me only

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Accountability Now | 8 comments (8 topical)

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issue challenges (5.00 / 1) (#4)
by call me Ishmael on Fri Aug 08, 2008 at 11:09:24 AM EST

My understanding is that this is about trying to open up the political process to more transparency and break the notion that only the political class can judge the political class. It got started I think because of the abuses of the administration. Both Greenwald and Hamsher do terrific work and on the constitutional issues some conservatives like Bruce Fein actually are amongst the most forceful to speak out.

I'm curious as to how this will actually work (none / 0) (#1)
by andgarden on Fri Aug 08, 2008 at 10:51:18 AM EST

are the Ron Paul supporters going to be cool with funding Democratic primary challengers? And how do you feel about your cash going to Paulbots?

As I understand it (none / 0) (#2)
by Big Tent Democrat on Fri Aug 08, 2008 at 11:01:54 AM EST

This will be issue oriented challenges.

I am comfortable with challenging both parties.


I don't think this can stand the test of time (none / 0) (#3)
by andgarden on Fri Aug 08, 2008 at 11:04:34 AM EST

because they will inevitably disagree on core issues. But I'm interested to see how it works out.


So wouldn't this mean (5.00 / 1) (#5)
by dk on Fri Aug 08, 2008 at 11:56:58 AM EST

supporting someone like McKinney (who I assume is against the FISA capitulation bill) to Obama (who voted for it)? Will any of this PAC money be used in any way to support Obama?


: It's certainly not obvious (5.00 / 2) (#6)
by frankly0 on Fri Aug 08, 2008 at 12:34:24 PM EST

why Presidential candidates should be excepted from accountability.
As much as so many "good" Democrats decry the PUMA movement, they are the one thing that really might serve as such a means of pressure on our Democratic candidate to shape up on issues ranging from sexism to democracy to FISA. They are in effect the only "Accountability Now" pressure group in Democratic Presidential politics.
If you don't threaten politicians where they really hurt -- at the polls in November -- then you're just blowing air.
The apparent mandate of Obama if he is elected is that he represents Accountability Never. And, it would seem, all "good" Democrats are supposed to enable this.

: accountability now (none / 0) (#7)
by call me Ishmael on Fri Aug 08, 2008 at 01:27:28 PM EST

As I understand it the money is being used to fund challenges to people in primaries who have been enablers of the attacks on civil liberties so that more progressive people can get elected. I think that they are trying to target places where they can either pressure someone substantially (like Harman who is less awful than before) or else actually get a more progressive democrat nominated. I don't think that it is a case of supporting Mckinley or Obama in the general.

Another PAC ... (none / 0) (#8)
by Robot Porter on Fri Aug 08, 2008 at 01:50:39 PM EST

yawn.

And the name reminds me of this.

Wake me when a bloggy "grass roots organization" has an original idea.