Rachel, I think that you hit it on the head when discussing the “threat” of decreasing funding to PBS. That’s the magic of waving one hand while doing something else with the other. You can distract people from what is really going on and/or is important. However, when will our Democratic congressional leaders catch on? Let the Republicans say and do what they’re going to do. Call on Americans to respond… keep the public informed… but stop flinching, backing off, blanching, and just plain being weak on what and where we stand. The Republicans threaten to change house rules, then say go right ahead. Remind the public that the Republicans are breaking “national tradition,” which is something they state they prize. Then let them go ahead and attempt to change the rules. I honestly doubt the Republican congressional leaders would have been so stupid as to not think that the shoe might be on the other foot some day and gone ahead and changed the rules. I don’t need to reiterate the folly this strategy created in the sense that the Republicans were given a beautiful little tool to bully and blackmail Democrats into “keeping their word”. We need a change in social strategy in the party and FAST. The Republicans have placed themselves in the bully pulpit and successfully convinced a good portion of the public that what they say is the definition of true and good. We, as Liberals, need to go for the jugular pointing out the republican’s personal, political, and spiritual dishonesty and then providing indisputable proof that what we’ve said is true. The American public may be slow and unaware… but it isn’t stupid.