There was once a time when it was perhaps understandable that the Democrats cowered in fear of George W. Bush.
That would have been during the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, when Bush's approval rating soared into the stratosphere. Any Democrat who dared speak out against Bush then would have been flayed alive---not just by the right-wing propaganda attack machine, but by the mainstream media, as well.
Over five years later, how times have changed. But you wouldn't know that by taking a look at how many Democrats today still cower in fear of Bush.
Here's a memo to all the Dems who do so: you are no longer Bush's bitch.
You are no longer facing the swaggering flight-suit-wearing "warrior" who strutted across the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, with such confidence and aplomb in May 2003.
Today, you are facing the lamest of lame duck presidents. A politician whose approval ratings are in the toilet.
Dems: you have the power these days. You control the House and Senate. What's more, America's voters sent you to Washington with a clear mandate. To end this fiasco of a war. Now.
What, exactly, are you afraid of these days, Democrats?
Bush has been exposed for what he is. A liar and a crook. A chickensh*t coward who refused to go to combat when his nation was at war in Vietnam. A spoiled, trust-fund-collecting frat boy who used his rich family's connections to get ahead.
To be sure, Bush still has appeal to the Kool-Aid drinking diehards who adore their hero and consider him a "warrior" president, bravely guiding America in the War on Terror. But the fact is, Bush really has more in common with Paris Hilton than he does with any real soldiers like John Murtha or Max Cleland.
In fact, it's not really any wonder that Bush has cut veterans' benefits, even as he's fought hard to give wealthy people like Hilton yet more tax cuts.
I really can't understand why the Dems still cower in fear of Bush these days. Maybe they're afraid of the Great Republican Slime Machine and how right-wing talk radio and Fox News will savage them if they attempt to stand up to Bush.
If that's the case, here's another memo for the Dems: the GOP propaganda machine is already attacking you, and will continue to do so, regardless of what you do. However, this isn't quite the threat that it once was. The GOP propaganda machine's diehard, fanatical base is starting to wither away these days, as ratings at Fox News continue to plummet.
Not only should you Dems stand up to Bush and end this war now, you have a duty to do so. The American people, who voted Democrats into power in November, could not have been clearer in their message.
Democrats: you have a mandate. By ending this war, not only are you doing the will of the people, you're doing the right thing for America.
Please, Dems: stop being afraid of a spoiled frat boy. Stop fearing a coward who was waving pompons as a cheerleader at Andover prep school while true heroes like John Murtha and Wesley Clark were getting shot at in the jungle by the Viet Cong.
The creator of the progressive site, BeggarsCanBeChoosers.com, Marc McDonald is an award-winning journalist who worked for 15 years for several Texas newspapers, including the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, before he quit his day job and set up shop in cyberspace in 1995. McDonald's articles have appeared in a number of popular progressive Web sites, including OpEdNews.com, BuzzFlash.com, Crooks and Liars, Salon.com, Progressive Daily Beacon, The Neil Rogers Show and The Raw Story. McDonald's Web articles have also been featured and reviewed by various national and international media, including CNN Headline News, the BBC, the Washington Post, USA Today and many more.
Here's why you "can't understand why the Dems cower in fear
of Bush these days," as you put it. It's because you don't have an accurate model for understanding what the Democrats really are. Like most liberals, you have accepted the Dems at face value; as representing what they purport to represent -- ie, something like "the party of the people," or the "lesser evil."
But that's not what they really are. More accurately, they should be regarded as one part of a two-part system. The system is an integrated whole, and it functions to control the US population on behalf of a tiny layer of society -- a financial oligarchy. The Dems' role is to posture cynically as "friends of the people," while the Republicans make no bones about mainly being friends of the rich.
There is a difference between occasionally throwing a few crumbs to the bottom 98% of the population, and really being their staunch "friend" or advocate. This is particularly so, when the crumbs are only thrown, not so much to defend the interests of the broad mass of the population, as to strengthen the hand of the financial oligarchy. That is, the Dems believe in being a bit gentler to the masses, not so much to help them, but rather because they think in the longterm, this policy leads to more stable rule, by the present rulers.
In short, BOTH parties act on behalf of the ruling oligarchy. The only difference is that the Dems think occasionally tossing a few crumbs to the masses is the best way to control them, while the Republicans believe it isn't even necessary to throw any crumbs at all.
Thus the Dems don't really "oppose" Bush. They share his goals of strengthening the control of the ruling elite; but fear that he may kill the goose that laid the golden egg, through his cruelty, greed and recklessness. They truly hope Bush "succeeds" in Iraq, despite the mayhem & immorality of the entire project. They are Bush's allies, not his opponents. Their objections to his policies are limited and tactical, not principled.
People like Murtha & Wes Clark are not "heroes." True, they are not pathetic chickenhawk-cowards like Bush & Cheney. But they too are ferocious advocates FOR the military-industrial complex, and for US imperialism. They both think the Vietnam war was a "noble" endeavor, on the part of the US. Clark himself could easily be considered a war criminal for bombing civilians & civilian infrastructure in the former Yugoslavia.
by
Richard Mynick (2 articles, 3 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 1120 comments)
on Monday, January 15, 2007 at 2:40:19 PM
