The good people of ColorOfChange.org just emailed asking me to thank the candidates who did as I asked (in fact, as I intemperately, vituperatively demanded) and withdrew from the proposed FOX News-Congressional Black Caucus debate.
Thank them?
Why should the Democratic Presidential candidates who finally decided not to participate in a dog-and-pony show at FOX be thanked for doing something that is not only right and minimally decent--that is, choosing not to help legitimize the media whores of the reigning fascisti--but also for doing something (courageously?!!) that is also so obviously in their own best interest?
The Democratic Presidential hopefuls, who are at least in theory uncompromisingly opposed to the current vivid neocon brand of corporofascism, should be strong, bold, clear, decisive, unafraid leaders. They should not have to be spurred to take the most obvious baby steps, to do the most basic common-sense things, by the frantic agitation of progressive citizens who are miles and miles ahead of them. (If impeachment, for example, turns out to have been the only way to keep the multifariously criminal Bush and Cheney from attacking Iran, we will all be wondering exactly why it was "off the table.")
If the voters, making their strong feelings known through polls and blogs, have become the de facto leaders of our timid wannabe leaders, the first thing we should do is find a new set of leaders. John Edwards, who dropped out first, continues to impress. But would Al Gore have entertained for an instant the idea of meekly reporting for this debate and walking past (even figuratively) nameplates that read "O'Reilly," "Hannity," "Hume, " and "The FOX All-Stars"? Past a green room (figuratively) where pundits like Limbaugh, Coulter, and Morris perched waiting to evaluate his performance? Please.
Many of us believe that this Republican administration and its media henchmen constitute the true primary axis of evil for our imperiled nation, and, in fact, for the world. (Are there other axes of evil? Sure. Do we want to defeat them? Sure. Perhaps even by actually making war on them--the real ones--and hunting them down and bringing them to justice. Don't be sidetracked by the shrill hectoring of the now-beleaguered liars across the aisle, who ought to be wearing sackcloth and smearing their Halloween faces with ashes, instead of repeating the exploded phrases of their murderous foolishness.)
Democrats who won't stand up to the evil empire here at home--stand up to them immediately, with deep, heartfelt, eloquent passion, are entirely useless to us; and if they hang back, compromise, or worse, coddle and fraternize and enable these enemies, we will truly have to move on. Really move on. What else can we do?