I have been a Democrat all of my life. As a young man I remained faithful to my party despite the disgusting antics of Senators Bilbo, Rankin, Thurman and their like. These scurvy fools were larger than life -- perhaps they all seemed that way before television shrunk them -- but they stood out starkly from the general run of congressional Democrats like lipstick on a donkey, the symbol of our party. Their diseased minds didn't seem to have infected our Democrat body politic. And so I could remain a solid, often prideful Democrat.
I find myself struggling to feel that way today. I worry that my party could be coming down with a kind of political swine flu. It's new to our politicos and spin doctors but known to be lethal; resembles what we've experienced, yet we are totally unprepared for it. Its symptoms among congressional Democrats are a failing strength of conviction; a sudden shift in attitude; capricious and/or unpredictable voting patterns and feverish explanations for same.
I am not identifying the congressional pol swine flu carriers as I see them so as to concentrate on the disease. Pick the carriers as you see them before this illness becomes systemic in our progressive body politic.
The only known antidote is WE, the people who continue to call ourselves Democrats.
(by the way, it's called the "Smithfield Swine Flu" everyone...BOYCOTT SMITHFIELD FOODS!)
Just like the Smithfield H1N1 Swine Flu, the GOP now is suffering from a constant, violent, completely toxic diarrhea of ideas so completely disorganized that all they are doing is dirtying up the halls of Congress with their rantings and wasting taxpayer dollars and time.
Just like the Smithfield Swine Flu, there is no vaccine predicted until at least the Fall of 2009, when I'm sure they will come up with some darkly dramatic desperate move...
...in the meantime, send your local (R) Republican Congressman a packet of Immodium (R) and tell him to shut his sphincter.
ELIMINATE THE 'DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP COUNCIL'
Biggest oxymoron EVER.
It was started under CLINTON and is DINO/Republican Lite in the WORST possible way.
GET RID OF THEM.
(Yeah, that means you, Rahm)
The fights between Archie Bunker and Michael Stivic still live on in the partisan bickering that still pervades our society.
Same issues they fought about, we are STILL fighting about, Norman Lear was very in tune with the political pulse of our country.
The Democrats in office are hearing about these bad deals from their constituents. Not the elitists and the easily led, but the people who listen to all sides and make up their own minds. That's trouble for any extremist group.
Actions taken By Obama and Emanuel, Pelosi and Reid, are proving what
Ralph Nader has been saying for decades. That is there may be two parties but
there is only one reality - that of the special interests. Right now we are seeing the
Chicago pols - Obama and Emanuel, water down all the campaign promises.
The priority of the Democrats is to consoldate their power in Washington by
garnering the money and favor of the Banksters, the health insurance mob,
the Paris Hilton tax bracket elites, and the kill campaign finance reform gang.
We must acknowledge that Democrats have taken single payer off the table,
that they have no interest in returning to Pre Bush tax rates let alone
pre-Reagan rates, that marijuana will NEVER be legalized to alleviate expensive
prison costs and to raise tax revenue, that banks will NOT see usury credit card
rates capped at 18% let alone 15%. The evidence of Democrats abandoning the
left is everywhere. Obama is no FDR, no LBJ. He's a Chicago pol and the first
order of business is consolidate power - even if that means NOT making the
tough and obvious choices.
A majority of Americans want some critical changes made which the Democrats have promised - fundamental changes to the healthcare system, moving away from fossil fuels to cleaner alternatives, and a return to cooperative, diplomatic, and moral international policies. Americans don't want these changes because they're "nice" or make them "feel better" about our government, but because such changes will fundamentally alter the course our nation has been on for the past 30-40 years - a course which many of us see pointing towards a not-so-wonderful future (which is putting it mildly).