I would like to ask every person that describes the anti-war segment of this country that now runs over 70% according to whose poll you are looking at, how can we all be “fringe leftists”?  Is it only the left that wants this President to comply with the Constitution or to obey the dictates of the Geneva Convention? If this is the case Sen. John McCain who has come out against torture and the sacking of the Geneva Conventions must be a leftist also. The only people that take the case of the Democrats pandering to their leftist base seriously are the extreme right wing of the political spectrum and the Democratic Party. The Democrats have continuously been intimidated by the charge, seeking to distance themselves from the anti-war war movement every time the specter of the “left wing fringe element” is brought up. Democrats in Congress have to ask themselves what party it is that they want to be identified with. Is it the party of Sen. Joseph Lieberman or the party of Former Senator John Edwards?

They can’t be all things to all people. The Democrats have been trying to take the path of least resistance for the last ten years. This election should have been pre-ordained to favor a Democrat for President, but the constant waffling of the Democratic leadership leaves many confused and befuddled. It seems as if every time the Democrats have a chance to overturn the administration on basic constitutional issues, or to bring relief to the middle class of this nation that are carrying the burden of higher taxes and out-sourced jobs, the party deserts them when forced to a vote on these issues. It seems as if both parties are trying to pander to the wealthy, right wing base that the Republicans have had the support of for years.

The true litmus test of any political party is to see how they voted and who they are drawing their political campaign funds from. If you were to look at most of the Democrats in Congress and how they have voted in the last two Congresses, you will find that  very few Democrats have consistently voted with their party. When you think about the administration that we have in place now, you would think that their far-right policies would galvanize Democrats and that they would present a more united front in lieu of what the ramifications of voting with the Republicans would bring. Sadly, this isn’t the case. Time and time again the Democrats sabotage their own agenda by responding to every criticism that they are “pandering to the left-wing fringe”.  It’s time that they realized that this nation has drifted so far to the right in its actions and rhetoric that what was once the center finds itself squarely on the left. This bit of commonsense hasn’t filtered up to the Democratic leadership, or maybe the people that find themselves in the leadership positions are really in the wrong party.

The attacks on 9/11 and this subsequent “War on Terror” have left a bitter hangover that the Democrats must rid themselves of. Looking at the entire world through the eyes of someone that considers themselves “under attack” isn’t a healthy way of legislating. The Democrats need to get over 9/11. They need to put themselves back in balance and stop looking at every issue through the eyes of a victim. This party is being destroyed by Republican innuendo, and the Democratic leadership falls for it every time.

That’s the way I see it.