Shalrirorchia
21-05-2006, 04:59
I was watching television not too long ago when a Gallup poll was released by the news networks, showing what not too long ago might have been considered an impossibility: The Democratic Party leading in "moral values" by nothing less than double digits over the G.O.P.
It's not difficult to imagine why. A constantly-shifting rationale for war in Iraq, coupled with spreading CIA-leak/bribery/NSA wiretap scandals has called into serious question the ethical fortitude of the Republican Party. There have been too many video clips of George W. Bush saying one thing and then, in a later clip, saying something completely opposite.
As it is, the G.O.P. is beset on almost every side by political crisis...and they have nobody to blame but themselves. This is not the result of some vast left-wing conspiracy. It is not the fanciful product of the liberal media or the liberal college system. In short, the situation in which the Republican Party finds itself is the result of bad policy. It could have hardly ended in any other way, because when you make policies based on ideology and beliefs rather than on facts you are setting yourself up for political disaster. The Republican Party's situation, however, is nothing more than an ancillary discussion within the scope of our conversation.
The 2006 election is, at this moment, the Democratic Party's to lose. Though the election has not yet come to pass...and though anything can happen between now and then, the Democrats seem poised as of the time of this writing to capitalize on a voter backlash against both real and perceived G.O.P. failures. As a registered Democrat myself, the prospect brings at once both relief and trepidation. I am relieved because if we win, we may finally get an opportunity to DO something about the abuses of power that we have witnessed within the Bush Administration. I am afraid, however, that many voters are more inclined to vote "against" Republicans instead of voting "for" Democrats.
The Democrats must learn to be bold. They are viewed by many Americans as being weak and indecisive. They must grasp a moral imperative and present it to the American people with the same authority that Newt Gingrich once used to present his "Contract With America". They must stand against the radical, evangelical-wing of the Republican Party. If the Bush Presidency has taught us anything, it is that the modern American neoconservative is a take-no-prisoners brand of person. They believe, and in this lies their greatest strength and their greatest flaw. The past few years have changed American politics. We do not have rational discussions on issues anymore. Instead, we scream "religious zealot!" or "tree-hugging commies!". Whoever screams loudest and most often wins. This is not a healthy way to run ANY country, most especially a democracy. A democracy not only requests the involvement of its' citizens...it demands it. Without the activity of an educated and informed electorate, democracy cannot survive as the Founders intended.
The blame for this sorry mess can be parceled out to a lot of different people, because all of us make the world what it is through our actions...and our inactions. But I lay the lion's share of the blame at the feet of the neoconservative movement. I do so because of men like Rush Limbaugh, who log on to the mass media daily to whip their listeners into an angry frenzy about one social issue or another. Their positions are not well thought out, and many of them clearly don't give a damn about the consequences of whatever it is that they are saying. And most horribly of all, many neoconservatives in this country listen to them and BELIEVE, believe without applying any critical thinking skills of their own. In this we can see the moral bankruptcy of the far-Right...they sell out personal responsibility and personal morality and believe what they are told to believe. While I do not mean to impugn the importance of faith and religion in our cultural, I am tired of seeing it used as a defense for the offenses of Party and movement.
Perhaps it is time, then, for Democrats to change the political rules of the game and really fight back hard. The Republicans, after all, have not hesitated to change the rules...often in mid-game. Perhaps it is time to argue about "moral values", and why we think the way we do on abortion, on gay rights, on environmental protection, on liberty and civil rights. And when the inevitable name-calling and shouting begins, we should expose it for the base trickery that it is. We should demand that the American people expect better of their government, because the only way you'll ever improve things in Washington is if you stop accepting the status quo and start demanding responsibility and ethical behavior from your representatives.
I want Democrats to win, because I feel that their moral stands are the correct ones. But I don't want people to vote Democrat simply because they are angry at Republicans. And I don't want people to think that simply voting Democratic alone will solve the problem. If you put Democratic politicians in charge, you will have to watch them and not give them the same lax oversight that you extended to Republicans. Because, as an old saying goes, "In Democracy, everyone gets the government they deserve."
If the American people refuse to engage their representatives and refuse to educate themselves about the issues, then they have no excuse for the results and no right to complain. The choice is ours, as it has always been.
-Americans For Truth
It's not difficult to imagine why. A constantly-shifting rationale for war in Iraq, coupled with spreading CIA-leak/bribery/NSA wiretap scandals has called into serious question the ethical fortitude of the Republican Party. There have been too many video clips of George W. Bush saying one thing and then, in a later clip, saying something completely opposite.
As it is, the G.O.P. is beset on almost every side by political crisis...and they have nobody to blame but themselves. This is not the result of some vast left-wing conspiracy. It is not the fanciful product of the liberal media or the liberal college system. In short, the situation in which the Republican Party finds itself is the result of bad policy. It could have hardly ended in any other way, because when you make policies based on ideology and beliefs rather than on facts you are setting yourself up for political disaster. The Republican Party's situation, however, is nothing more than an ancillary discussion within the scope of our conversation.
The 2006 election is, at this moment, the Democratic Party's to lose. Though the election has not yet come to pass...and though anything can happen between now and then, the Democrats seem poised as of the time of this writing to capitalize on a voter backlash against both real and perceived G.O.P. failures. As a registered Democrat myself, the prospect brings at once both relief and trepidation. I am relieved because if we win, we may finally get an opportunity to DO something about the abuses of power that we have witnessed within the Bush Administration. I am afraid, however, that many voters are more inclined to vote "against" Republicans instead of voting "for" Democrats.
The Democrats must learn to be bold. They are viewed by many Americans as being weak and indecisive. They must grasp a moral imperative and present it to the American people with the same authority that Newt Gingrich once used to present his "Contract With America". They must stand against the radical, evangelical-wing of the Republican Party. If the Bush Presidency has taught us anything, it is that the modern American neoconservative is a take-no-prisoners brand of person. They believe, and in this lies their greatest strength and their greatest flaw. The past few years have changed American politics. We do not have rational discussions on issues anymore. Instead, we scream "religious zealot!" or "tree-hugging commies!". Whoever screams loudest and most often wins. This is not a healthy way to run ANY country, most especially a democracy. A democracy not only requests the involvement of its' citizens...it demands it. Without the activity of an educated and informed electorate, democracy cannot survive as the Founders intended.
The blame for this sorry mess can be parceled out to a lot of different people, because all of us make the world what it is through our actions...and our inactions. But I lay the lion's share of the blame at the feet of the neoconservative movement. I do so because of men like Rush Limbaugh, who log on to the mass media daily to whip their listeners into an angry frenzy about one social issue or another. Their positions are not well thought out, and many of them clearly don't give a damn about the consequences of whatever it is that they are saying. And most horribly of all, many neoconservatives in this country listen to them and BELIEVE, believe without applying any critical thinking skills of their own. In this we can see the moral bankruptcy of the far-Right...they sell out personal responsibility and personal morality and believe what they are told to believe. While I do not mean to impugn the importance of faith and religion in our cultural, I am tired of seeing it used as a defense for the offenses of Party and movement.
Perhaps it is time, then, for Democrats to change the political rules of the game and really fight back hard. The Republicans, after all, have not hesitated to change the rules...often in mid-game. Perhaps it is time to argue about "moral values", and why we think the way we do on abortion, on gay rights, on environmental protection, on liberty and civil rights. And when the inevitable name-calling and shouting begins, we should expose it for the base trickery that it is. We should demand that the American people expect better of their government, because the only way you'll ever improve things in Washington is if you stop accepting the status quo and start demanding responsibility and ethical behavior from your representatives.
I want Democrats to win, because I feel that their moral stands are the correct ones. But I don't want people to vote Democrat simply because they are angry at Republicans. And I don't want people to think that simply voting Democratic alone will solve the problem. If you put Democratic politicians in charge, you will have to watch them and not give them the same lax oversight that you extended to Republicans. Because, as an old saying goes, "In Democracy, everyone gets the government they deserve."
If the American people refuse to engage their representatives and refuse to educate themselves about the issues, then they have no excuse for the results and no right to complain. The choice is ours, as it has always been.
-Americans For Truth