’It’s empirically untrue.’ Fo shizzle, Matt. How do you deal with people who cannot perceive, well, reality? It’s a tough nut to crack. Matt says:

Building a different set of incentives for decision-makers is going to take a lot of work. The problem is a mixture of conventional wisdom, poor judgment, bad values, a lack of coordination with activists by progressive members, and inertia.

and I agree. Just off the top of my head:

-“conventional wisdom” is another way of saying intellectually lazy. If there is one thing we do in the blogosphere, it’s the not-so-complex ’research’ behind assertions of fact. I resist it, but if there is value in the project of correcting the SCLM, it’s here. Congresscritters get too much (unreal) information from the TV, and that has to stop. Wondering out loud, does that mean I should be sending Pelosi and the rest of them links to our posts? Hmmm.

-“poor judgement” is also another way of saying that some of our Reps just aren’t thinking too hard. I suspect the remedy to this is carrot-and-stick historical posting. Reminding Reps on the verge of bad decisions with what happened to others in similar situations, both those who made the right and wrong decisions. The ultimate punishment for poor judgement must be primary challenges, which it’s up to us to make happen.

-“bad values” have to be cut out of the herd altogether, because those are the ones who will fuck you over in times when it matters most. It will be hard to “force” progressive Reps on purple and redder areas of the country, but it can be done. I know this because of the Ron Paul trolls we get here, as wrong as many of his values are, his supporters often seem to be considerably more progressive than he is. The right progressives, speaking in the “local” language, could win. The problem is funding- the Powers That Be go out of their way to shit on actual progressives trying to move up in the party. It’s our job to change that.

-“lack of coordination” is too kind, if you ask me. I would’ve said, “utter cluelessness” when it comes to working together. I don’t want to feel inclined to be this harsh, but I remember that my elders had the same problem, and we all belong to “no organized party, because we’re Democrats.” I have no idea how to get elected Reps to work together, as a Little Person I feel that all I can do is shout from a distance on this one. But for Christ’s sake, you’d think progressive folks would realize that a time of Constitutional crisis is no time for petty, Beltway jealousies and inter-office bickering. It’s a small comfort that in truth the Republicans are hardly better, and only have true Authoritarian leadership to hold them in line (and not so well at that).

-“intertia” is a problem all of us suffer from, and I think the best answer is Leadership. I think of how people fantasize about Al Gore running, and the emotions that daydreaming evokes. There are many reasons and few excuses why Progressives suffer from the funk of being down and unsure what to do next. But at the same time, if you’re a progressive Congresscritter, the opportunities for advancement through leadership have never been greater. I suppose this is more of my “magical thinking” posting, to exprect such Noble Purpose to infect the minds of the people in question. But a grrl can dream…

I’ll go read Shy’s take on it, again.
But to end on a cynical note: does money have anything to do with what Matt is complaining about? That is, as we ask ourselves why the Bush and Blue Dogs act as they act, should we be developing a record of their money trails? That is one thing I didn’t see in his post. “Cowardly and stupid” can also be cover for “greedy and corrupt.”