It's been only a four days since I published a column on my website (www.thiscantbehappening.net) calling for Democrats to quit a party that is being misled by calculating politicians who are willing to fund a war until the next election, and who are unwilling to impeach a criminal president, all in the interest of possibly winning the White House and a few more seats in Congress in 2008.
And already, over 158 longtime Democrats (112 counting me) have responded by sending a note, announcing that they are leaving in disgust, to the special address I've set up: I_Quit_This_Party. That's not bad. If each of those who quit do as they're supposed to and convince several friends to quit, we could have several hundred Democratic defectors by next week, and from there it could snowball quickly and, as Arlo Guthrie once powerfully sang, "become a movement."
It is clear that no amount of street protesting alone is going to get the leadership of this corrupted party of Roosevelt to take a stand of principle.
I'm convinced that the only thing that will drag them kicking and screaming to a genuinely progressive stance on the two key issues facing this nation--ending the war now and defending the Constitution by impeaching the president--is showing them that we progressives can no longer be taken for granted
And the only way to show them that we won't be taken for granted is to quit the party.
To those who say that you don't want to be frozen out of the primaries--local this spring and national next spring--I have to say you won't be missing anything. We've seen too many times how these same leaders will rig the system to make sure that the safe, approved DLC candidate ends up winning. Rahm Emanuel and Chuck Schumer, respective campaign chairs for the Democratic House and Senate campaigns in 2006, managed to undermine a whole slew of good progressive candidates in the last congressional election by running their favored hacks against them in the primaries. If they hadn't engaged in that effort at sabotage, today's Congress would not be Democratic by a hair; it would be overwhelmingly Democratic, and a hell of a lot more progressive.
If the Democratic leadership hadn't gone and arm-twisted state legislators in the state senates of New Mexico and Washington state last month, we'd already have two state legislatures passing impeachment resolutions demanding that the House of Representatives initiate impeachment hearings. Three really, because that same unconscionable pressure from the leadership has slowed down a similar effort to pass a bi-cameral resolution in the legislature of Vermont.
So join this new "I Quit!" movement. It's easy. Just send a message to the above address, and send copies to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the DNC and your local Congressional representatives. Let them all know you're quitting until they initiate impeachment of President Bush and vote to cut off funding for the war.
It is unacceptable for the Democrats to play for political advantage with the blood of American troops and of innocent Iraqis. It is equally unacceptable to allow Bush to finish out his term unimpeached, thus effectively sanctioning his abuses of power, his violation of the laws of the land, and his trashing of the Constitution for continuation by whoever replaces him in 2009.
Dave Lindorff, a columnist for Counterpunch, is author of several recent books ("This Can't Be Happening! Resisting the Disintegration of American Democracy" and "Killing Time: An Investigation into the Death Penalty Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal"). His latest book, coauthored with Barbara Olshanshky, is "The Case for Impeachment: The Legal Argument for Removing President George W. Bush from Office (St. Martin's Press, May 2006). His writing is available at http://www.thiscantbehappening.net
I didn't need a special email address. I got a mailing from the Democrats and went to the web site and unsubscribed. They asked why on the form, and I told them! I also told them I was now actively working *against* the Democrats. I see no hope for them -- they have already stabbed us (anti-war, peace, proConstitution and law, pro-truth people) in the back too many times -- it's an established pattern.
There's one or two I may forgive for being Democrats but the rest, and the party itself, can go pound salt. They don't care about what is right, but about beating the rival gang. We have to break up the two-party system -- period. If we don't, we lose the country, and maybe the world. There's nothing else for it: the dems are not a real choice.
by
Blue Pilgrim (0 articles, 3 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 997 comments)
on Tuesday, April 3, 2007 at 2:34:50 PM
I quit 4 years ago, & have worked tirelessly to get others
to quit ever since. (Does that count?)
It's very hard for the typical Democrat to stop seeing the political world as a choice between "two evils." Cognitive dissonance & family traditions are part of it. It's a serious political problem, but its roots are deeply psychological.
The Democrats aren't even really the "lesser evil" -- they're part of the exact same evil. In many ways, they're even worse than the R's, because their specific mission is to play the false friend of working people. So there's an added layer of deception & betrayal, in the way they present themselves to the public.
At least Bush & the other fascists are fairly open and "honest" about their contempt for the Constitution & democratic principles. The Dems are worse, because they want you to think that they actually care about these things -- but they don't.
by
Richard Mynick (2 articles, 3 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 1216 comments)
on Tuesday, April 3, 2007 at 5:12:06 PM
Seems the "lesser evil" idea turned out to be a really bad (read evil) idea. But, this is all moot, the bad guys won. Bush/Cheney will never give up the power they've created. These guys are the "fat lady singing" We might consider doing our best to ignore the hate-filled murderous racist thugs and create the community we want to live in. What else can we do-for real?
by
joed (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 49 comments)
on Tuesday, April 3, 2007 at 8:23:56 PM
Just a short note to let you know I quit the Democratic Party. I very much regret the work and funds I've supplied in the past, as it is now clear they were a total waste.
Impeachment is off the table?
Very fine. So are you.
Sincerely,
Daniel Geery
by
Daniel Geery (26 articles, 73 quicklinks, 123 diaries, 742 comments)
on Tuesday, April 3, 2007 at 11:20:29 PM
I quit the "left" wing of the Republocrat Party last year
Iraq war lies, warrantless spying, finding out 9/11 is a pack of lies and realizing the Dems will never do anything about it, because the Dem leadership is the same type of parasitic subhumans that populate the Rep leadership, they don't care about serving the public interest, only in preserving their elite position.
This shortsighted impulsive action will only do the Right a favor. So yeah, if you can't wait till we destroy the Rightwingers and when we are strong enough to fight among ourselves, then go ahead... For me, I will want to work first for the utter destruction of the Right in this country.
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Fr. Jon (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 8 comments)
on Wednesday, April 4, 2007 at 2:15:07 AM
We can't afford to wait for the dems to make real change - it's not going to happen! Who says we should fight among ourselves? It's the PEOPLE vs. a currupt government. We have to let them know NOW that they have been exposed for what they are - then maybe the few honorable legislators (whatever their affilliation) may be able to gain ground. Regardless of what our legislative branch does the responsibility to right the wrongs lies with the people - we can't hold out hope that anyone will come to our rescue, we're past that...that's why we're in this mess.
by
Ben (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 46 comments)
on Wednesday, April 4, 2007 at 9:46:49 AM
No. First, Bush hasn't won -- he has just done a lot of damage. But he was able to do that because of the Democrats and because people insisted that Democrats are the only alternative to Bush -- better to get knifed in the heart than shot in the head. But neither one will suffice.
That's the key thing to understand: the choices for surviving are not Republican or Democrat but the current two-party locked-up system or electing independents and 3rd party.
As long as people think that the only alternative to the Republicans are Democrats then the Democrats only have to be a teeny bit better -- but they can still be massively destructive. That's a false choice.
by
Blue Pilgrim (0 articles, 3 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 997 comments)
on Wednesday, April 4, 2007 at 12:27:37 PM
I wonder how these "so-called" Democrats who are no longer Democrats plan to come to power. They are about five percent of the voting public, maybe less.
Ross Perot elected Bill Clinton for eight years and the Green Party elected eight years of George W. Bush, and they are telling us that there is no difference between the Democrat Party and the Republican Party; there is no difference between Al Gore and George Bush; there is no difference between John Kerry and George W. Bush; there is not difference between Tom Delay and Nancy Pelosi; there is no difference between Harry Reid and Bill Frist; there is no difference between Bill Clinton's appointments to SCOTUS and George W. Bush's appointment to SCOTUS.
Shall I go on?
Their logic or ill-logic is simply amazing. I would suggest they need to write their comments out, leave them on for a day, look at them carefully before then posting them.
We are getting out of Iraq, thanks to the Democrats, but it is not going to happen tormorrow. We are most likely going to impeach Bush, and it is not going to happen tomorrow. If the Democrats bring up impeach without building a case, it will be soundly rejected by
by
pratliff94 (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 969 comments)
on Thursday, April 5, 2007 at 11:45:46 AM
full of oxygen, that's the effect this kind of topic has on me. And I feel sad about not being able to quit an affiliation I never belonged to. Quitting would make me feel better....a kind of retaliation or a slap in the face for dem Dems. I have no pity for them or their followers whatsoever. Take for example this one reply on dKos ;
"So I guess getting people to leave the Dem party will really stick it to those Repubs."
Why on earth should I waste another minute on idiots llike this one who are still living in the bubble, unable to see the bubble for what it is, unwilling to learn to see outside the bubble and who can get really really vicious when their bubble is poked at with a sharp object such as the truth ?
How many times do we have to spell it out for these people ? How often do we have to draw the figure in the sand before they get it through their goddamn thick skulls ;
the 2 party system in the USA is a scam, a hoax, a royal lie and in NO way democratic.
Eat that, Dems.
by
Tony Forest (7 articles, 18 quicklinks, 166 diaries, 1429 comments)
on Wednesday, April 4, 2007 at 2:49:46 AM
In four months we've seen indictment after indictment of corrupt policies and people. We've seen a pattern corruption slowly but surely being shown in the press. We've seen attempt after attempt to get our men and women out of Iraq. We've seen the Dems make attempts to ensure that the Bush administration abides by the Constitution. It is only the beggining of a long and tough road to weed out this virus that was set upon us in 2000 and, yet, you bunch of hypocritical pussies want to cop out now??? Boohoohoo, it's not going 100% my way so i'm going to quit...
Y'all ought to be ashamed of yourselves. We need to give these people our support thru the victories as well as the defeats. From what I have seen from the Dems so far is that any defeat they suffer is only a temporary setback as more and more info comes out concerning the current corruption. And, yes, there are a few bad Dems who have copped out just as you pussies are, but as long as the majority of the Dems are fighting (or even trying to fight) the good fight then they need our support. The alternative is continued Republican rule, which I am beginning to think that that is what the posters on this article are anyways...
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denvan (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 28 comments)
on Wednesday, April 4, 2007 at 9:41:19 AM
Pussies? Who the hell are you? If you choose to lie there, ignorant, and wait for the democrats to fix this mess your in for a rude awakening. Are you saying that it's the dems who have exposed all the curruption? They have to be drug, kicking and screaming to uphold justice on every front - and when they do act, it's in half-measures. If you choose to buy into the idea that the dems are your buddy - go ahead. I suppose you probably think Pelosi's photo-op in Syria is really sticking it to Bush? No, it's to pacify first level thinkers like you. If the dems do make real change, it will be because the people bend them to their will...period.
by
Ben (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 46 comments)
on Wednesday, April 4, 2007 at 9:58:17 AM
Looks like I pissed off Ben BooHoo. Go ahead, stick your head in the sand and pray for change while offering little alternatives. It took Bush 6 years to get us into this and the Dems are supposed to right it all in 3 months???
At least they are trying instead of bitching like you. Whats your alternative plan? Anarchy? We need to get Bush and Co. out and then we can pave the way for maybe a third party or massive protests or whatever, but if the repubs win again it will take an armed revolution to enact change. I would prefer giving the Dems a shot at controlling all branches first... FYI- I am not a Democrat or a Republican, I'm an American citizen.
by
denvan (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 28 comments)
on Wednesday, April 4, 2007 at 11:38:12 AM
You also pissed of me, devan. You call names and rant on like an idiot, as if you understod anything: you don't; if you did you wouldn't have to resort to spouting off like a little kid in the playground.
Ask youself this: how did we get into this mess -- before Bush, even before Regan, and before Nixon, even? Rermember a guy named Johnson who also screwed the country with a phony war? Remember the sanctions and over 1/2 million dead Iraqis under Clinton -- and the death of FCC regulation of the media under both Reagan AND Clinton? Remember Nafta?
The problem is not the Republicans or the Democrats, as such, but politicans from both parties who in the pockets of the fascists and stupid American sheep who let it happen -- who couldn't even find Iraq on a map before the invasion (and who for for many are still unable to).
So what's your solution? Put in a different bunch of gangsters and go back to sleep. And call people names. sure -- that'll work...
by
Blue Pilgrim (0 articles, 3 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 997 comments)
on Wednesday, April 4, 2007 at 12:40:14 PM
Contemporary U.S. politics resembles a baseball game where the home team (we the people), a host of little leaguers, have the misfortune of having to compete against major league talent (the special interests and the media). Needless to say, the home team never wins! In fact, it's become an on-going masacre! Completely at the mercy of crafty media screwball pitchers, the people see "two parties" where there is actually only one! The people's political activity, if it can be called that, remains an exercise in futility at best! The very least people can do is to avoid party picked candidates like the plague, in favor of candidates of their own choosing, who'll look out for their interests. It would be far wiser however, to dump both the GOP and the Democrats entirely! Unfortunately for most voters, the two party habit, like drug addiction, is awfully tough to kick! Hopelessly bamboozled by the self fulfilling prophesy, that only GOP or Democratic candidates are "electable", American voters foolishly elect one annointed GOP or Democratic crook, after another, to high public office. Once in power of course, these crooks do what crooks always do: work against the public interest! Due to this dismal state of affairs, it's safe to predict, that American voters will continue to strike out in the game of politics, as long as they insist on playing like "Little Leaguers"!
by
Rasoul Acheh (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 122 comments)
on Wednesday, April 4, 2007 at 10:08:40 AM
denvan - Your huff is unintentionally hilarious! You presume
to admonish others on what they "should be ashamed of," while you yourself are totally in the dark about the real nature of the US political system.
You have swallowed the clever propaganda device hook, line & sinker. The system was designed, praying to find gullible victims like you.
The Dems don't "fight the good fight" -- ever. You may be taken in by their shallow gestures of "opposition" to Bush, but if you'd look beneath the surface, you'd recognize that these things are no more than deceptive gestures.
For instance, the latest $100 billion for the war. The main feature of it is that it funds the continuation of the war. Yet they stuffed that in a package, & gift-wrapped it with a little "end-the-war" rhetoric on the outside. The restrictions they put on it are non-binding, have giant loopholes anyway, & don't even kick in for 17 months. If they were the slightest bit serious, they would have just cut off the money immediately.
You're the one who should be ashamed -- for being so easily deceived & manipulated.
by
Richard Mynick (2 articles, 3 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 1216 comments)
on Wednesday, April 4, 2007 at 11:36:45 AM
Hmmmm.... calls me naive.... offers no alternatives.... Must be some chump who thinks they are an intellectual who sits behind a computer thinking that what he espouses actually changes things, as opposed to going out and doing something about it! The sad thing is we all want the same thing, except I am being relaistic in be willing to work with what we have right now and you sit back hoping and dreaming of a revolution that may or may not ever happen. Now thats political reality...
I make no apologies for the current political situation in America, it sucks! good people become corrupted, bad people become worse. There will be a time when it all collapses on itself, but not until each and every person becomes personally affected by what is happening. Awareness is growing, but we ain't there yet... in the meantime I will support anyone who openly opposes Bush and Company and I will continue to write and e-mail the Dems to let them know we are watching every move they make 'cause I ain't no quitter. I'd rather be dumb and naive with a good heart than an intellectual who can give you thousands of reasons why things aren't working and bloviate on it incessently, but do nothing...
by
denvan (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 28 comments)
on Wednesday, April 4, 2007 at 11:56:03 AM
what you fail to understand is what we have right now
You think it's Democrats and Republicans? They didn't even exist when this country was founded -- they are the artificial configuration put in place by the wealthy and powerful. What we HAVE is people. What we can do is organize and elect other people -- not just robots of the empire.
I don't know who think is doing nothing, but it sure as hell isn't me. I've been working my ass off over the years, but it's hard to get anywhere when people refuse to wake up and just buy into the propaganda.
Yes it could all collapse -- but that's the hard way. You would rather be dumb and naive? Not good enough! Yes, awareness is growing, but you have to become more aware also. You have to search for other alternatives which provide real possibilities, and get down to the root reality -- and that's not what the politicians and the pundits want you to believe. Realistic means seeing what is real, and the Democrat's games are not real -- they are just games -- just a rival gang trying to get power back in their own hands, not the people's hands. The numbers the Democrats now have are more than enough to filibuster anything which supports the war -- but they refuse to do that. That's the reality.
by
Blue Pilgrim (0 articles, 3 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 997 comments)
on Wednesday, April 4, 2007 at 12:54:02 PM
denvan - you say you will "support anyone who openly
opposes Bush & Co." The question you should examine is whether the Democrats really fit that description. You can choose to believe that they do -- but whether it's true or not is something else again.
If the Dems are objectively pseudo-opponents of Bush -- a "Trojan Horse" group, so to speak -- your support of them would mean you're working against your own declared interests. This is the question which should occupy your attention.
When Dem Party loyalists are told that their party is a fraud, they often accuse the person who sees the fraud of being just "an intellectual bloviator who just sits behind a computer" (unlike the loyalist, who, naturally, is out there "really doing something in the real world"). This is a very common defense mechanism.
You can only understand the real nature of the Democrats by analyzing whether their opposition is genuine. Analyzing that question is one thing; playing smart-ass insult games on the Internet is something else.
by
Richard Mynick (2 articles, 3 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 1216 comments)
on Wednesday, April 4, 2007 at 12:58:14 PM
In 2004 Ruben Zamora ran against Haster in Illinois 14, a fairly Republican district. Speaker Hastert spent $4.8 million. Ruben, the Democrat, asked the party for some help to kick off his campaign but they refused, telling him had to first raise $300,000 on his own (what kind of contributions, from who, can that kind of money come from?). He ended up raising and spending just shy of $20,000, including over $2,000 of his own, and STILL got 31% of the vote. On a lousy $20K! But Zamora wasn't 'corporate', of course, and wasn't part of the club.
And then there was Lamont vs Lieberman ... What great support from the party for Lamont, huh?
So just who are the Democrat's really supporting? The fascists, of course.
by
Blue Pilgrim (0 articles, 3 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 997 comments)
on Wednesday, April 4, 2007 at 1:42:21 PM
WOW.. this is amazing. Y'all hate the repubs as much as me and yet, in the end you will be doing more to help them get re-elected than I will. No matter how knowledgeable, no matter how dense, no matter how politically naive you are, things will get far worse if Bush and Co are re-elected.
As far as name calling y'all are doing a fairly good job on me as well! At least I'm not in denial and think that choosing "none of the above" will actually help anything.
for the record:
I totally agree with you that the current political situation sucks. I totally empathize with you on that! I'd love to throw them all out, but that is being unrealistic (for now). We are all Americans first and foremost.
I totally agree that the Dems are a part of the problem, but, until something better comes along, it is my belief that we support them. If they don't get results, "fire" them and "hire" someone different. And if we do stack the deck and the Dems win the House the Senate and the Executive branches, do you really think that will be as bad? Do you think that they will re-enact Habeus corpus? I think they will. Do you think the Patriot Act will be re-written under the Dems? Absolutely. Will some of the horrible economic decisions be overturned? They fricken' better. Do you think the Dems will put a forest company executive in charge of protecting the nations forests? NO. Do you think that an ex-Exxon executive would be put in charge of the environment or the countries energy policy? Doubtful. Would they bring the troops home from Iraq? The scary thing is I don't know, Bush has set some things in motion over in the Middle East that will not be "made right" by withdrawing the troops, although I personally hope they do.
Thats the hope I have. I wish some of you had it too, because without it nothying will change. Now, continue on with the politically naive, ignorant comments....
by
denvan (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 28 comments)
on Wednesday, April 4, 2007 at 2:01:17 PM
