The lesson I learned then can be applied over and over and over again. Sometimes, I think folks around here represent Conservatives and Republicans with images of Limbaugh and Hannity. We as MyDDers can see an argument against late-term abortions as "ceding ground" to the bad guys, and moving to the center as a betrayal of everything good and right in policy.

I remember when I first went to volunteer for Obama, and how struck I was by how nice everyone was. One of the first Daily Kos diaries I saw was about the death of the diarist's mother, and I was struck then by the compassion and kindness from every commenter in the thread.

However, those of you who read this diary have a very different image of progressives and liberal than many do in this country. For some, what you stand for is seen every day in the work of "Code Pink," the group that got so ridiculous the Daily Show sent a correspondent out to lampoon them.

Some of you seem to embrace this polarization. You use RedState as if its a bad word, and react with fear to the idea of compromise. Some of you don't want to see religion involved in the public square at all.

You've gotten polarized.

Instead of following the ideals of our great leaders, you've embraced the lessons from 2000-2006 and the Republicans who did so much wrong. That's not going to get us anywhere.

Vengeance inspires vengeance. An eye for an eye makes everyone blind. This idea of full out war with your fellow citizens leaves politics bitter and poisonous to others who wish to get involved. The well of support that Obama brought out of the wood work were those people who, seeing the fights of the 90s, turned away.

Barack Obama's candidacy is based on the premise that there is a fundamental good - the same good that I discovered during my program - despite our fundamental differences. When you react with derision and hatred, or feel superior to another voice in this wild internet world, you do nothing to heal this divide.

This is your opportunity. The Republican brand is gone, and this is the chance to forge a new majority, this year, out of the violence that was 2004, when Kerry was evil and Bush was stupid. This if our chance to find new, real policies that can work for everyone, or at least most people.

You can continue the war, but that cause is self-defeating. It leads to foolish policies like the ones we saw in the beginnings of the Bush term, where people vote for laws that they knew were bad at the time, in the name of partisan unity.

Let Limbaugh and Hannity say what they say. We aim for the silent majority - those who will be watching this cycle. They might have voted for Bush - that doesn't make them stupid. They might have supported the war - that doesn't make them an idiot.

You can make the Progressive Club really exclusive, but you'll have a very lonely club. This is our chance, and this is why Obama is fighting in state he probably won't win. Its the time for a new majority, and you can sign up to recruit, or keep fighting the same fight that won't get us anywhere.

Your ego may not like it, but your fellow citizens will.

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