Shalrirorchia
05-08-2006, 01:32
THE FLYING RAT: Political Commentary
Aug. 04, 2006
As we approach the 2006 midterm elections, those of us on the Democratic side of the aisle are beginning to feel the presence of an emotion that we have been deprived of for quite some time.
Hope.
Ironically, we in the Democratic community cannot claim responsibility for the G.O.P.'s current political woes. The truth is that the Republican Party is in trouble because their policies are not working. Their economic reforms have not enriched the average American. Their foreign policy has not brought order to Iraq, nor has it empowered us to catch Osama Bin Laden or his confederates. Their actions have weakened America abroad by sundering the close relations between America and American allies. Without the support of these allies, we cannot prosecute the global war on terror. Nor has the Bush Administration taken concrete steps to save the United States from its' crippling dependency on foreign oil. A great deal of America's oil is shipped from the very region (the Middle East) that is currently inflamed by war. Every time I fill up the gas tank of my car, I idly wonder how much of my money is going to end up in the hands of fundamentalists who in turn will give it to organizations like Hezbollah. Americans are indirectly supporting terrorism by putting money in the pockets of those who fund terrorism. As long as the United States relies on fossil fuels to run its' economy, American foreign policy will be hamstrung by our need to keep the oil barrels coming.
Democrats are not weak on national security by nature. They possess no inherent genetic flaw that makes them less likely to defend the nation. A Democratic President guided America through the horror of World War Two, when democracy and freedom were in far greater danger than they are today. Republicans do not have a monopoly on national security. And yet all the G.O.P. has left to run on is national security. They cannot go to the voters and tell them how well the economy is doing. They cannot claim to be architects of some grand political or social unity that has brought Americans closer together. They certainly cannot claim that they have brought morality to the government, as evidenced by scandals such as Abramoff's K-Street and Noe's Coingate scandals demonstrate. No, the only strategy left to the national Republicans is to accuse Democrats of being soft on terrorism...and pray that the voters do not make this a national referendum by drawing parallels between the scandals in Washington and the Republican politicians back home.
The effectiveness of this strategy is open to interpretation, but one thing is clear; Democrats have a better chance to shatter the Republican majority this year than they have had in many years prior. Many moderate Republicans, disgusted with the behavior of their party, may telegraph their displeasure on election day. Many Democrats, discouraged after John Kerry's defeat in 2004, have found their backbones again. It is about time...one should always speak his or her mind, even if one's voice shakes while doing it. For far too long Democrats have played the role of "silent minority".
Enough of that.
In some ways, this election is a second referendum on George W. Bush's presidency. Some who voted for him in 2004 have since voiced their concerns and even regrets. Bush has become the poster child for a Party that has swung hard-right, ignoring its' centrist wing in favor of playing the game of power politics. The Party itself has become a poster child for everything that an American political party should strive to avoid...the perception (or presence) of unwarranted priviledge, the exercising of unfettered political power, the use of the levers of government to silence opposition and reward allies. It is no coincidence that so many top Republican officers in Washington...from Randy Duke Cunningham and Scooter Libby, to Tom DeLay and David Safavian...have become targets of criminal probes. There is something deeply rotten at the core of the Party's culture, something that definitely needs to be fixed.
This is the year for the Democrats. Ultimately, the election is the Democrats' to lose or win. Democrats who were put down in 2004 must stand up, dust themselves off, and insist on participating in the political process again. They must argue, debate, contribute time or money, and most of all they must VOTE. If the past six years have demostrated anything, it is the capability of a group of highly motivated individuals to change the direction of our country (for good or ill). We need a strong statement from Democrats of all flavors and from Republicans of the moderate rank; "This is OUR country too. We demand accountablity in our government. We demand equality under the law. We demand protection...not only from the enemies without but also those within. We demand ethical standards and practices of our elected representatives...and if they refuse to comply, we'll vote them out of office."
The time has come for Americans to vote for and work for change. Electing honest Democrats and then making sure they STAY honest represents the hope of a fresh beginning after so many years of nothing but more of the same. It's a lot of work, but I think the American people are up to it...the price of freedom, after all, is eternal vigilance.
Aug. 04, 2006
As we approach the 2006 midterm elections, those of us on the Democratic side of the aisle are beginning to feel the presence of an emotion that we have been deprived of for quite some time.
Hope.
Ironically, we in the Democratic community cannot claim responsibility for the G.O.P.'s current political woes. The truth is that the Republican Party is in trouble because their policies are not working. Their economic reforms have not enriched the average American. Their foreign policy has not brought order to Iraq, nor has it empowered us to catch Osama Bin Laden or his confederates. Their actions have weakened America abroad by sundering the close relations between America and American allies. Without the support of these allies, we cannot prosecute the global war on terror. Nor has the Bush Administration taken concrete steps to save the United States from its' crippling dependency on foreign oil. A great deal of America's oil is shipped from the very region (the Middle East) that is currently inflamed by war. Every time I fill up the gas tank of my car, I idly wonder how much of my money is going to end up in the hands of fundamentalists who in turn will give it to organizations like Hezbollah. Americans are indirectly supporting terrorism by putting money in the pockets of those who fund terrorism. As long as the United States relies on fossil fuels to run its' economy, American foreign policy will be hamstrung by our need to keep the oil barrels coming.
Democrats are not weak on national security by nature. They possess no inherent genetic flaw that makes them less likely to defend the nation. A Democratic President guided America through the horror of World War Two, when democracy and freedom were in far greater danger than they are today. Republicans do not have a monopoly on national security. And yet all the G.O.P. has left to run on is national security. They cannot go to the voters and tell them how well the economy is doing. They cannot claim to be architects of some grand political or social unity that has brought Americans closer together. They certainly cannot claim that they have brought morality to the government, as evidenced by scandals such as Abramoff's K-Street and Noe's Coingate scandals demonstrate. No, the only strategy left to the national Republicans is to accuse Democrats of being soft on terrorism...and pray that the voters do not make this a national referendum by drawing parallels between the scandals in Washington and the Republican politicians back home.
The effectiveness of this strategy is open to interpretation, but one thing is clear; Democrats have a better chance to shatter the Republican majority this year than they have had in many years prior. Many moderate Republicans, disgusted with the behavior of their party, may telegraph their displeasure on election day. Many Democrats, discouraged after John Kerry's defeat in 2004, have found their backbones again. It is about time...one should always speak his or her mind, even if one's voice shakes while doing it. For far too long Democrats have played the role of "silent minority".
Enough of that.
In some ways, this election is a second referendum on George W. Bush's presidency. Some who voted for him in 2004 have since voiced their concerns and even regrets. Bush has become the poster child for a Party that has swung hard-right, ignoring its' centrist wing in favor of playing the game of power politics. The Party itself has become a poster child for everything that an American political party should strive to avoid...the perception (or presence) of unwarranted priviledge, the exercising of unfettered political power, the use of the levers of government to silence opposition and reward allies. It is no coincidence that so many top Republican officers in Washington...from Randy Duke Cunningham and Scooter Libby, to Tom DeLay and David Safavian...have become targets of criminal probes. There is something deeply rotten at the core of the Party's culture, something that definitely needs to be fixed.
This is the year for the Democrats. Ultimately, the election is the Democrats' to lose or win. Democrats who were put down in 2004 must stand up, dust themselves off, and insist on participating in the political process again. They must argue, debate, contribute time or money, and most of all they must VOTE. If the past six years have demostrated anything, it is the capability of a group of highly motivated individuals to change the direction of our country (for good or ill). We need a strong statement from Democrats of all flavors and from Republicans of the moderate rank; "This is OUR country too. We demand accountablity in our government. We demand equality under the law. We demand protection...not only from the enemies without but also those within. We demand ethical standards and practices of our elected representatives...and if they refuse to comply, we'll vote them out of office."
The time has come for Americans to vote for and work for change. Electing honest Democrats and then making sure they STAY honest represents the hope of a fresh beginning after so many years of nothing but more of the same. It's a lot of work, but I think the American people are up to it...the price of freedom, after all, is eternal vigilance.