Part I: Boy, I Hope This Doesn't Suck

I made a comment last weekend that Joe, gulfgal, and JtC asked me to turn into an essay. The gist of the comment is that arguing about whether we should be focused on electoral politics or not misses the point of where we are, politically, right now. It's been a hell of a slog trying to make it into an essay, because I'm trying to sum up where I think we are politically without writing a 6-book series and boring you all to tears! So, I hope this doesn't suck--and I beg your indulgence.