One might quibble with my use of these sculptures to make a point, but it is not possible to deny the pro-Republican power bias in Washington, DC. And it is not just some in the media who have this bias. It is all over town. The Blue Dogs have this bias. Harry Reid has this bias. Lobbyists have this bias. Conservatives have this bias and yes, so do quite a few liberals and progressives.
This willingness to assume that Republicans are always more powerful than they really are makes everything harder. It means we are in for a long struggle with some victories and some defeats. It means that we need to learn to shake off this assumption of Republican power and learn to assume, accept and use the power that we have. The CPC took a solid step in that direction today when the stood up to the Blue Dogs. We need more of that.
And as we fight we need to know that we start every round of every battle at a disadvantage. If you are a liberal or a progressive you are always a dirty f*cking hippie""always a weak-ass panda in this Bourgeois Town. And Conservatives are always the voice of power with access to any media outlet they wish to use. Grover Norquist can get on any show he wants to be booked on and he will always be treated as a serious player. Al Gore, Howard Dean or Jimmy Carter will never be given the respect that the inside-the-beltway crowd gives Norquist and the rest of his merry band of conservative think tank thieves. The gap is big.
Fortunately, I think we are turning the tide and that we have a President who understands this power gap and how to over come it. He knows the bias that we face and how much work and time it will take to close the gap. He has been organizing to overcome these gaps of power all his life. He calls on us to organize and to fight""to support him and just as importantly to hold him accountable. He challenges us to discover and use our power as connected citizens. We are called to reject the cynicism of Washington that accepts the beltway power bias myths as a fact of life. We are challenged to be the change that we seek. The good news is that we are stepping up to the plate.
We are now engaged in the first rounds of an epic struggle to take back this Country. In recent years we have had some success at the ballot box. There have been a handful of legislative victories as well. And there have been many, many disappointments, delays and a few defeats. There will be more. It is important to remember that we are just at the beginning. We are nowhere near a lasting victory yet.
This will not be easy. It will not be fast. Every victory will meet pushback. There is not a quick fix for anything. We need to be prepared to be engaged for the long haul. Ready to realize and use the power we have and ready to bust the myth of conservative power as a birthright that has poisoned our politics since the days of Reagan.
A few blocks away from the WP there is another pair of these Donkey/Elephant sculptures over on 16th Street NW. I do not have a photo to share, but in this pair the Elephant is wrapped in the American Flag in a bold claim of patriotism. The Donkey is a patchwork of all the State Flags working together to create a pattern that defines the sculpture. It is another interesting artistic reflection on power in Washington.
The GOP is wrapped in cheap, easy and symbolic patriotism.
The Democratic Party is defined by all 50 States working together in harmony to create a whole. Now that is a fine illustration of our power""our ability to work together across issues, passions and State lines for the common good. We are powerful because of and when we work together. We are powerful when we realize that we can organize and use the power that we share. We are powerful when we organize our community for change.
I'm glad that we have a community organizer in the White House who gets this.
It will be interesting to see if and when the power base in DC realizes that the ground is shifting. The cracks are starting here and there and one day the Republican Party will lose the auto-assumption of power they've enjoyed for the last thirty years.
Perhaps on that day the Washington Post can commission an artist to repaint their elephant with images of Abramoff, Enron, Iraq, Iran-Contra, torture, Foley, Vitter and the many other scandals that truly define Republican power.
That would improve the view I have on my way to work.
Cheers
