In a midterm election, the conservative districts are most vulnerable

[JohnnyCougar]

So if you're expecting action on DADT two weeks before an election, forget it.

It's not ethically right, but ethically right doesn't always put the good guys in charge. People are missing (and will always miss) that if you let the perfect get in the way of the practical, then you end up having impractical means to achieve the perfect.

In other words, if you stay home this election because you are mad at Obama and DADT, you're allowing the Tea Party to take control of your life and your sexuality. The time to make political statements is during the primaries. The time to unify is during the general election.

If anyone in their right minds thinks that allowing Republicans to outnumber the left at the polls is going to make progress, please explain your reasoning to me.

We have two choices this fall -- our mediocre and boring friend that has to be dragged into coming out to the party, or a vicious, bigoted bully waiting at the end of the alley with a baseball bat with a shirt on that says "Gays go to hell." If you're not going to stand against the bully, you're really just hurting the cause.

If you think staying home is going to "send a message" to Democrats -- believe me, they already have that message. They hear you loud and clear. But if you want Democrats to be able to make and pass laws, Democrats have to get re-elected in some pretty bigoted districts in the House. I know that is horrible, but that's the reality of politics in this country. Equality for people of all sexual orientations is a reality in the near future. It's just not going to happen right before a midterm. Those who are trying to discourage liberals from going to the polls right now are only serving themselves and their own ego.

Instead, people should send a message to the tea party, denying them any right to control over your life.

And if you're still not convinced, remember this:

When our days become dreary with low-hovering clouds of despair, and when our nights become darker than a thousand midnights, let us remember that there is a creative force in this universe, working to pull down the gigantic mountains of evil, a power that is able to make a way out of no way and transform dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows. Let us realize the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.

A quote from Martin Luther King.

It's only a few years away. But if you lose sight of the big picture and focus only on the instant moment, the forces of dark and evil will end up winning and triumphing over the forces of good. Deep in your hearts, you have to ask yourself, "who is on our side?" And you have to have faith in the slowly bending arc -- away from hatred and division, and towards equality and justice.

[JDPriestly]

1. K&R

It's painful, but we all have to get out and vote Democratic.

If we can keep a good number of PROGRESSIVE Democrats in the House and Senate, we can shift the party.

Voting for a Blue Dog? I don't know if I would. I would check the person's voting record. If they just never vote for a liberal or progressive bill, what is the use?

[struggle4progress]

2. As a general rule, you don't expect much of anything from Congress before an election:

they're always recessed (or something similar) so Representatives and Senators can campaign. In October of an election year, I expect many folk running will think twice before praising Mom and apple pie, lest they offend orphans or carrot cake enthusiasts

[Cal33]

3. A great post. You have given the best reasons for Dems. to come out and vote. Now

it's up to them if they can see the big picture -- or not.