Introducing a fun new AmCop feature: Annular Flashbacks.

According to Freud, a perception must be repeated in order for the conscious mind to register it as a perception. In other words, an event has to "occur" twice in order for us to perceive it as having occurred a first time. Or something like that. (Look, I'm not a Freud scholar; if you want to know what Freud really says, ask speakingcorpse.)

Anyway, the point should be clear: our American "news" culture suffers from a weird neurological disorder in which major news media seem only to report on stories (particularly scandalous stories about bad things Republicans have done) a long time after many of us have become aware of those stories, and spent some time wondering why they were being ignored. (A major recent example was the weeks-long lag of unconsciousness between David Corn's Nation column about the Wilson/Plame leak-smear, and the front page story in the Washington Post.)

Thus: in the service of fighting our national amnesia (narcolepsy? Korsakov's syndrome?) AmCop will frequently offer a little reminder of what some of us were talking about exactly one year ago. (Funny the resemblance it often bears to what we find ourselves talking about today!)

So: October 16, 2002. A sticky spot to start off in, to say the least. (Unfortunately it only gets stickier from here.) The following was an email update from MoveOn.org. Note especially the ominous/prophetic final paragraph.

Dear MoveOn Member,

In the wake of last Thursday's vote on Iraq, the Bush Administration
and the Republican far right are going on the offensive. The
President would like nothing more than to demonstrate that when
Democrats speak out against the President's endless war, they
lose.

Senator Paul Wellstone's predicament is typical. Wellstone is in the
political fight of his life -- slightly behind in the polls to a
far-right candidate flush with cash and hand-picked by Karl Rove to
remove him from office. Wellstone knew that if he voted against the
resolution, his opponent would seize on the issue, unleashing a
barrage of attack ads and accusations. But despite the enormous
pressure to capitulate, Wellstone spoke his conscience and voted
against the war: "A pre-emptive go-it-alone strategy towards Iraq is
wrong. I oppose it."

For taking a stand under the most difficult of circumstances, Senator
Wellstone is nothing less than a hero. In the House, three heroic
Representatives in tight races also did the right thing. They deserve
our strong support. You can make a contribution directly to their
campaigns at:

http://www.moveonpac.org/moveonpac/viewcandidates.phtml

After Thursday's unexpectedly divided House vote, the President must
be fuming. His political allies will do everything they can to take
revenge on the dissenters. If he can demonstrate that Representatives
and Senators who ask the hard questions don't get re-elected, Congress
will be even more equivocal when faced with hard choices in the
future.

But the electoral sword cuts both ways. Paul Wellstone, Jay Inslee,
Rick Larsen and Rush Holt are in extremely tight races. A little more
money could easily put them over the top. And Wellstone's race is
being watched very closely -- it's a key to the Republican plans to
take over the Senate. If Wellstone wins because of an outpouring of
support for his stand on Iraq, it will signal to the right that their
electoral ploy on an Iraq war backfired. And it'll demonstrate to
Democrats that when you take a stand of conscience, your constituents
will reward you.

We've worked long and hard to stop a tragic war on Iraq. After a
difficult vote, rewarding the heroes who listened to our voices is
the right thing to do. It may also be the most important next step in
our campaign. We need to show the President that if he pursues Iraq,
he and his party are going to lose.

Give whatever you can. In these tight races, every dollar makes a
difference. You can support Paul Wellstone and the other
Congresspeople who took a stand right now at:

http://www.moveonpac.org/moveonpac/viewcandidates.phtml

As strategists look back at this election over the years to come,
either they'll say, "President Bush manufactured a war and won at the
polls" or they'll say, "President Bush manufactured a war and lost at
the polls." Your gift today can make the difference.

Sincerely,

--Wes Boyd and Eli Pariser
MoveOn PAC