Censure, For Starters
The amazing lack of support by Democrats of Senator Russ Feingold’s bill to censure George Bush for his administration’s lawlessness is even harder to understand than their support of “Patriot� Act, the illegal occupation of Iraq, the continued operation of torture camps, or even (in the case of Hillary Clinton) Jack Abramoff. What are they thinking of?
Starting with the use of an act of terrorism by a group of Saudi Arabians to excuse the invasion of a totally innocent sovereign country (however mismanaged) to take their oil, killing tens of thousands of its citizens, killing or maiming thousands of Americans (Cheney’s score of murdered Americans is rapidly approaching Bin Laden’s), abrogation of international treaties, moving on to the illegal assaults on whistle-blowers acting on their consciences, the wholesale attacks on the rights of Americans protected from wiretaps and other illegal searches and seizures. . .all this has happened with the collusion of many Democrats from backing the invasion of Iraq to the signing away of Americans’ rights over and over again in the “Patriot� Act.
Somebody recently coined the acronym “DINO� for “Democrats In Name Only�, and I’m afraid it applies to many of those in elected office, including our own Dianne Feinstein. After this many years of incredible criminality, I find it hard to understand why any elected person, especially Democrats, can deal with them and pretend everything is business as usual. They treat the NSA wiretaps as something to negotiate, but then really put their foot down when one country sells its interests in America’s ports to another country. After what the Cheney gang has done for five years, the Dubai ports deal is where you draw the line?
In my struggle to understand Democratic complicity in all this, I can only assume that our elected officials are convinced their constituents are stuck in reaction mode to 9/11. That after a few guys crashed planes into buildings, all the laws on the books can be suspended. . .forever. That we are stuck in support of an illegal war that we obviously are losing, pumping unbelievable amounts of money and American blood into an ill-conceived, ill-managed attempt to make a few rich people richer. And that, after the loathing and monkey-wrenching the Republicans imposed on the last Democratic president (we’re not the only ones to “hate� and “bash� a president), the Democrats owe civility (remember Cheney’s “Go f--- yourself� remark on the floor of the Senate?) to Republicans?
I think it’s high time we had a series of litmus tests for Democrats before nominating or re-nominating them: demand they stop giving aid and comfort to the un-American Cheney-Bush Administration, end the illegal and futile war NOW, close all the torture camps NOW, stop spying on Americans NOW, return ALL the money they get from creatures like Jack Abramoff, and start representing the people who elected them rather than large corporations.
Maybe the first step in taking back the government should be taking back the Democratic Party.
Comments
Well, I'm a registered Green now, although I don't participate in any Green activities. Yet I come from a family of lifelong Democrats and am thoroughly appalled at how venal, lackluster and downright stupid the party leadership has become. Yet there are Democrats like Feingold,Kucinich and the entire Black and Progressive caucas, so there is a Democratic wing to the party. They just don't seem to have any power and are constantly shoved aside by the DLC and the Republican-lites, like Feinstein and Leiberman. The whole tenor of political discussion these days is more fitting to gossip columns than actual news.
Posted by: Mary | March 17, 2006 08:42 PM