What struck me about Baer was his age (getting to the mid 30s) and outlook.  He is what George Will dubbed a"young foagie(spelling?)."  Baer constantly carps that Democrats are unclear, stand for nothing, criticize the President, criticize this and that.  An old school method of farming in Central America is what is called slash and burn agriculture.  Cut down the bigger trees and burn the surrounding brush and grass.  The burning not only clears the land but releases nitrogen into the soil.  In the short term it produces good results but without fertilizer or a means of enriching the soil, the land loses its productivity pretty quickly.  So, one gets quick but not enduring growth and moves on to the next patch to tear down and burn up.  That is pretty symptomatic of the "consultant class."

One of Baer's phrases that had stuck, has in fact proven to be spectacularly inaccurate.  Republicans, he wrote, stand for four clear things: Smaller Government, Lower Taxes. Strong Military, and Family Values.  He dared Democrats to come up with similar succinct phrases.  The problem is, of course, that Republicans do not actually stand and deliver on those four pledges.

Smaller government?  Well, during Bush's first term he grew government spending at twice the rate of Clinton.  Bush does stand for a privatized, inefficient, overly costly looting of the government by politically connected contractors.

Lower taxes.  This one works at the federal level, particularly for corporations and the wealthy.  Not so much for most Americans and considering that the burden has been shifted to state and local taxes, for most Americans even this is a false promise.

Bush's strong military is another joke.  Should a real need arise, Bush's Iraq advebnture and his half-baked overstretching of the country's troops have left us woefully prepared around the globe.  A strong military needs to be backed with a strong economy and especially a strong industrial infrastructure.  Bush has turned this country from the arsenal of democracy to the customer of China.  The Wal-Mart economy is simply not prepared to face a major military challenge.

I still wonder what Family Values are?  FDR was clear about American values.  But FDR's Four Freedoms have been converted to Rovian politics that may cause people to forsake their actual needs for "moral" goals.  Those values seem to be mostly abnti-abortion and anti-gay rhetoric at the expense of good jobs, good housing, good education, good medical care, and even a growth in the actual number of abortions.  Whose values are touted and what values are delivered?  The values that are delivered are the exaltation of wealth and corporations over workers, children, the elderly, the sick, and those needing help.  What kind of a Christian is Jerry Falwell or James Dobson?  A lousy one.

So Baer has turned his gifts into self-promotion and a weakening of the progressive impulses and foces within our society.  Why?  For him the defining moment was the election of 1994 and the slaughtering of Clintonism and its promises by the Contract With America.  Take a look, Kenny.  The Democratic Class of 2006 is now easily the largest group within the House.  You are enthralled to the past.  Stop attacking Lakoff, Pelosi and every body else just to grab a moment of prominence.  Baer has become so enduced by the notoriety of slash and burn that he is a tool of the Republicans.  And he's not alone.

It behooves us to attack.  Through investigations at this point.  This will prove how empty Republican promises were for most and how corrupt Republican legislators and administrators have proven to be.  We need to promise real values that benefit real families and individuals and realize that increasingly the nuclear family is a nice thing but does not represent the living reality for many Americans.

Karl Rove's unwittingly released Power Point presentation shows just how close Democrats came to making the last election a 45-55 seat blowout.  Only the Republicans 72 Hour program saved them in a series of narrow wins.  In this case, GW Bush and Republican obstructionism in Congress are opening the opportunity for a re-play.  A surprising number of Republican seats are still on the chopping block.  A clear and concise attack instead of the fear-driven drivel of the consultant class and their congressional allies (Calling Steny Hoyer, Rahm Emanuel, and Joe Lieberman) should do the trick.  And Mr Baer< count House seats in 94 and today:  New York State went from 16 Democrats and 15 Republicans to 23-6 (should have been 26-3).