Cowardly Democrats Choose Politics Over America

Most of us are under no illusion about politicians-from either party. We eye them cynically even as we hope that they will do the right things. We know they manipulate the facts, yet we still chance to believe in the things they promise. We want to believe even when experience tells us we shouldn’t. After all, politicians just aren’t like the rest of us regular folks.

Democracy was supposed to change all that. Government by the people and so on. Maybe once-not anymore. The average citizen-politician died out when the major parties came to be, way back in the 19th century. National politics became a new elite class, with the rich funding their lapdogs and the lapdogs delivering to the rich, all so the lapdogs could feel powerful and the rich could keep getting richer. This is the rule, even though the exception of an average Joe breaking in isn’t unusual. Once inside though, Joe gets a new collar, and a new lapdog is born.

That’s not to say that populist revolts haven’t turned the reins of power over from one party to another. They have. Often. That’s the part of democracy that hasn’t really changed. Just because the politicians decided to warp the concept didn’t mean the people gave up their stake in the game. When one party goes too far, the public gives them a nudge out of first chair for a while. And when that happens, the people expect to be heard and for changes to be made.

In November 2006, American voters had another of their revolts, although this one was somewhat timid in scope. In turning the Congress over to the Democrats after a 12 year Republican leadership cycle, a majority of Americans said that the War in Iraq was their main concern. In clear voices, they told the Democrats that they could steer the ship, so long as they steered it out of Iraq. Democrats campaigned strongly on doing just that and were rewarded with an opportunity to prove themselves.

P.T. Barnum (or whomever really said it) is proved right again. In spades.

Six months into their new terms, Congressional Democrats have apparently thrown in the towel on Iraq. After talking tough about “no more blank checks for the president on Iraq” and saying that any more troop funding would have to include specific targets for ending the war, the Democrats in the Senate have caved in to a spoiled man-child who thinks negotiations consist of him stomping his feet and plugging his ears until everyone gets so fed up they say “Fine! Have it your way!” and leave the room.

First they sent a war funding bill that mandated troop withdrawal dates. The Crybaby in Chief vetoed it and the veto held. The Democrats should have simply stopped there and told the American people the truth-that the president would rather leave troops without funding than agree to take steps to end the war. Instead they once again got caught up in politics, playing themselves as defenders of the troops while backing away from anything that would demand for the war to end. What happened to the Democrats who said they’d end the war on the electin trail? Oh yeah…they got elected.

So now the Democrats have tossed out any restrictions on the president and offered him the funding he wants anyway. After only six months, they’ve waved the white flag. What a bunch of cowards.

And what is it they are afraid of? A president with an approval rating lower than liver and onions? An administration so wracked with scandal that people are tripping over themselves to plead the 5th? A public so tired of politicians and their bullshit that they’re actually giving up on the system? Or are they afraid of being unpopular, losing a few financiers, or maybe even getting called names on a blog somewhere? Or are they just afraid of losing their precious closeness to the ring of power?

In giving in to Bush on Iraq, Democrats have proven where their interests lie. With themselves. They are more afraid of having to defend against right-wing namecalling than do what is right, what they promised.

And all this in only six months. Shameful. So now they’re complicit too. By falling away so early in the game, the ruling Democrats are now accomplices in Bush’s futile war, willing partners you might say.

And if that isn’t enough to make you abandon the parties completely, I guess democracy really isn’t such a vibrant form of government after all.

(cross posted at Bring It On! )

Hey Mr. Carter! Don't Apologize For Giving Gravity To What Most Americans Already Think

I always liked Jimmy Carter, even more so after he left the White House. Modern historians look at the Carter presidency as being not the best or the worst, but rather somewhere in the middle. Carter assumed the helm at a low point in American confidence. The national psyche suffered from PTSD brought on by over a decade of turmoil- from the JFK assassination to Vietnam to Watergate- and Jimmy Carter, with his honest smile and his downhome goodness, seemed like a good shot at boosting the happy meter, if nothing else. Embroiled domestically by surging energy prices and heavy inflation, Carter, the political outsider, had a hard time of putting any constraints on the ruling Democratic party, who after decades of control were heading towards their own implosion of sorts. But in foreign affairs, Carter proved his endurance and commitment to peace through the Camp David accords, the SALT II treaty, and a commitment to human rights. The Carter presidency is surely a mixed bag, but when compared to the current administration, America in 1978 was in a much better place- internationally, politically, and morally.

If Jimmy Carter never did another thing after his presidency, he would still be a good and honorable man. But he didn’t kick up his heels and retire. Partly out of need and partly out of desire, Jimmy Carter took hold of those things which mattered most to him in life- helping people and working for peace- and continues to this day to press for the betterment of humanity. Part of that includes building homes for those who need them through his Habitat for Humanity foundation. He even uses tools. This is a man who walks the walk.

So it’s even more knowing when he chooses to advance the human conversation through his books or words. Because of his own personal gravity, when Jimmy Carter speaks, people listen. As well they should. Which is why I was so proud of him the other day in his interview with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette when he had the cajones to say with some decorum what the rest of us say more robustly- that basically, Bush is an incompetant buffoon who has denigrated American prestige back to the mid 1800’s.

Naturally, the Dittohead Brigade went on a rampage, with the White House calling him irrelevent and the talking heads and pundits calling him other things-less than kind things. They belittled his adminsitration as a failure too, but they neglected to highlight some finer points. Like the fact that Carter didn’t go out declaring war on anyone. And Carter didn’t assert for torture. And he didn’t try to spy on the whole country. And he didn’t run the country into massive, overbearing debt. They can blame him for the rise of radical Islam- he helped arm and fund Islamic ‘radicals’ in Afghanistan against the USSR- but you could also blame the moon for the tides. Both have existed for a long time and Carter didn’t create Islamic radicalism, he just stirred the ashes up again. Apparently it seemed a good idea at the time.

But then Carter offered a retraction of sorts. And this, I think, is a mistake. And for that, I am somewhat disappointed in Jimmy Carter. So I have a few words I’d like to share with him…

Dear President Carter,

When you termed the Bush administration as the worst in American history, you were right. Even the Nixon administration pales in comparison to this cabal running our institutions of law and justice into the ground. Many of us on the left (Democrats, liberals, progressives) have been saying this for years now, but with the particularly partisan divide in this country, we’ve faced mute reaction for the last half decade or so. Finally, the presidents own failures and shortcomings are becoming so apparent that even his own party members are jumping ship. But like a man who buys unseen land in Florida, Republicans are fearful of admitting to being wrong, and I think your comments could have helped ease the ‘buyer’s remorse’ so many on the right have these days. And buyer’s remorse it is indeed. It’s guys like Bush that they made “Lemon Laws” for.

That said, you should not have retracted, rephrased, or repaired your comments in any way, shape or form. The truth sometimes isn’t pretty, but it has to be said anyway. To hear it from the mouth of a man of peace and a former president only solidifies how far down the ladder we’ve slipped. You never apologized for criticizing President Clinton when he pardoned that sleazy Marc Rich guy. And you shouldn’t have. (That really pissed me off too. I really liked BC, but that little stunt took him down a notch or two in my book.) And you shouldn’t be doing it now either.

Forget about what the 25 percenters say- America is with you on this one. And your words seem to carry a little more weight than ours do- after all, the White House actually responds to you. They pretty much ignore the rest of the country when we speak.

Sincerely,

Ken Grandlund

Who knows? Could be I’ll actually send this one off to him.

(cross posted at Bring It On!)