My selection of points from the piece.

The organizational stuff suggests Dean is on the right track - the infamous Voter File has already had successes (such as mayors of Mobile and Tulsa, apparently). And Ickes (in the nicest possible way) is welcome to his.

Dean's reference to

this 30-year process of the day after the presidential election the DNC goes into hibernation -- unless we win -- and then we emerge three and a half years later.

may or may not explain a lot!

And his

Now we have a great relationship with the state parties for the first time in about 30 years...

may also cause the non-initiated Dem loyalist to scratch his head.

There's more...

In one of their more productive pieces, Kossacks guffaw at Feingold's choice of witnesses for his censure res hearing in Judiciary tomorrow: Reagan's Bruce Fein and Nixon's John Dean.

Love that dry WI funning!

[For one of DKos's less productive pieces (no fault of the diarist), go here. If that's what a million hits a day gets you, I'm thankful we only manage 25,000!]

There's more...

There's a touchingly childlike tone to this piece over at FDL on the exploits of three Bay Staters going to the Senate to try and find out where their senators stood on the Feingold res.

Needless to say, they got no joy. As would have been entirely predictable.

Don't get me wrong - I think the more the pampered denizens of the Capitol are confronted by the folks who pay their salaries, the better. (Not that the three got to see an actual senator.)

Just as long as these meetings are seen for what they are.

There's more...

The boys and girls of the Senate are taking this week off, of course.

I wonder, though, whether Brer Reid is using his leisure to contemplate what the Dem response will be if (more likely, when) the GOP decide to get the Feingold res back onto the floor.

I can understand why they didn't try before the break: corporate welfare comes before partisan games! But I'm pretty sure they'll be able to find a slot in their schedule when they get back.

There's more...

American political history is one of the most outright fascinating subjects in the world. (At least for English speakers with no science!)

Characters, institutions, events, writings - all full of intrinsic interest, as well as valuable for the perspective they give on current events.

(Always taking care with those analogies, mark you!)

So much of today's political commentary, it seems to me, rather assumes that the historical US started with Clinton. With Reagan, Nixon, LBJ and earlier being like Greek myths - snippets of fairy tales.

There's more...