The new news isn't…

…well, very inspiring today, so I thought I'd dip into my stash of stuff I save to bitch about. Stuff like this (emphasis in the original)...

The GOP WILL motivate its voters come November. They'll rail on abortion and gays and scary brown people crossing the southern border and how Democrats want to take their Bibles away. And their core supporters will turn out. And Democrats, unless they realize that they need to inspire, will find those huge gains will fail to materialize...

...DC Democrats are afraid to lead. They're afraid to inspire. They're afraid to offend. They're afraid to clearly state their core principles. They're simply afraid.

Of course, if Kos still reads his own blog, he knows that there are all kinds of examples of Democrats, from Harry and Nancy to upstart challengers across the country, not to mention the most recent Presidential nominee of the Party (you know, that Kerry fella) and the Chairman hisself, taking it to the administration and the corrupt, do-nothing Republican Congress every day. They speak, they write, they rant and, umm, rail on about choice and civil liberties and corruption, well, all the stuff the proverbial 'base' is supposed to be all atwitter about.

If that's not what Kos needs for inspiration, well, maybe he's just soaked up one too many Wayne Dyer specials on PBS. The political bidness just isn't that cosmic.

Here's an idea. Instead of whining about waiting to be inspired, what if everyone who has an interest in a Democratic victory this November chose instead to be inspiring. Not to be a Pollyanna, but to find a positive message in each days rush of events, to highlight Democratic successes, marginal though minority successes may be by the exacting standards of those seeking inspiration first, or to promote the agendas of the DNC and the caucuses with at least as much attention given to their positives as to their inevitable imperfections. To accentuate the positive, at least for the next few months.

The best advice I've seen for disgruntled progressives comes from Goldy…

In short, you want to make the Democrats more progressive? Make yourself an indispensable part of Democratic success.

Choosing to be inspiring instead of waiting to be inspired is a good place to start.