As I've mentioned a few times, I'm still registered as a republican. It's been several years since I last voted for a republican in a national or statewide race, since my brand of "Eisenhower republican" has pretty much died out in the GOP. That flavor may never return, since the "reformers" in the party are sick of Bush and the neocons but anxious to move even farther to the right. So, I guess I'm unlikely to return to the fold before I die.
As an out-of-the-closet turncoat republican, I listen mostly to NPR and the popular liberal radio personalities. Stephanie Miller, Rachel Maddow, Ed Schultz , and Ron Kuby are all pretty smart and entertaining despite being repetitive as the hours pass. They beat heck out of Rush and all the other idiots on pseudo-conservative radio. My travel minutes each day are devoted to hearing the latest in left-wing news and commentary, which brings me to the point of this post: liberal democrats are suicidal when it comes to politics.
During the past week Jesse Jackson has expressed interest in "cutting Obama's nuts out" because he feels Obama talks down to black people. Hordes of outraged hard core liberals have been foaming at the mouth over Obama's FISA vote. The Clintonista's still can't get over their primary loss to Obama, some of them even threatening defection to McCain! And, there's all kinds of loose talk about prosecuting current and past members of the Bush administration. This kind of craziness is enough to make me wonder if a filibuster-proof congress and a White House controlled by democrats will result in sane governance. Obama will need to get out the whip in order to keep these folks in line.
If you look closely at the four examples I've given above, each of them is about revenge. Jackson for being marginalized. The FISA radicals about punishing phone company executives and stockholders. The Clintonista's for being outfoxed by Obamamania. The anti-war crowd for being run over by the Bush crowd's fear-mongering and flag-waving. Maybe each of these has some legitimate bitch, but it's time for them to shut up and get on the bandwagon for fixing the big problems America faces. Revenge will fix none of them.
Maybe these hard core liberals will always be outside the tent, content only when they are in opposition to something. I, for one, would like to hear a lot more from democrats who have something constructive to add to the debate. Enough is enough. The democrats need a lot of independents and people like me if they are going to stay in power for more than one term, and their incessant back-biting and hate speech is not something that draws people in. If the majority of Americans ultimately want revenge on the neocons, it will come in due time. In the meantime, a more pro-active outlook would go a long way.
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3 comments:
I think the reason Obama's supporters are so upset about the FISA vote is that he's already breaking campaign promises, even though the election is still five months away. We don't really know a whole lot about him, but we've just learned something important: he's a liar.
And personally, I *do* want justice for the lawbreakers in the Bush administration. I would love to have a full accounting of all the corruption and lying, even if nobody goes to jail. I think the survival of our democracy depends upon it.
But it's never going to happen- because the Democrats are up to their armpits in filth, too, and they have their own asses to cover.
The other fishy bit about the whole FISA thing is that the act authorizes an Inspectors General investigation into what happened and also grants immunity to phone companies before anyone knows what happened. Wouldn't it be better to find out first?
Eusebius, it may be that prominent democrats knew what was going on or even acquiesed. In any event, it's over.
I'm a big picture kind of guy. I want to see the democrats win big in the fall, and I don't want them to get sidetracked. 80% of Americans don't have a clue what FISA means, so making a big issue of it is a loser. If we got down to a big debate on it, most people might even conclude that their security is more important than their rights. I don't agree, but I'm in the 20%.
And if prominent democrats were somehow involved, that's even worse. In the end, the truth will probably come out.
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