?Mr. President,? says the General, ?our boys will go if they can follow you into Iran. So put on your flyboy suit, climb into the cockpit, and do your wild-blue-yonder thing, just like that President-Dude in ?Independence Day.'?
?But you know I can?t do that! I?ll crash and burn!?
?The thought has crossed our mind.?
The ?step too far? may have desirable consequences, most significantly a restoration of our democracy. But it could be cruel and bloody, and the ?winners,? the CIA or the military, just might not share our loyalty to democratic ideals. We could end up trading one autocracy for another. Just consider what followed the Russian counter-revolution of 1991.
Best case ? A Velvet Revolution, November, 2006. This is the outcome that we should work toward.
Due to constant pressure from law suits, the progressive internet, citizen organizations, and the demands of ordinary citizens, the Democratic Party finally wakes up and actively demands action on voting fraud. The issue becomes too big for the mainstream media to ignore. While e-voting is not banished all at once, it is barred from enough key races that the Democrats take control of both houses of Congress. The e-voting fraud is finally exposed and then, following Congressional investigation, exposure and legislation, all unverifiable voting methods are outlawed.
Public repudiation of the mainstream media becomes so widespread that the media conglomerates face the choice: responsible journalism or bankruptcy. Congressional investigation exposes the political corruption of the mass media. In 2008, a Democratic administration initiates anti-trust action against the media conglomerates which are then broken up, and the FCC institutes and enforces regulations against market concentration.
The new Congress cuts funding for military operations and for base construction in Iraq. Chairman Henry Waxman of Government Reform Committee convenes hearings on corruption in government contracts in Iraq and military procurement. These are followed by criminal indictments and convictions of numerous members of the Bush/Cheney Administration.
The House of Representatives votes bills of Impeachment against both George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. Conviction by the Senate fails when the Republican Minority votes in a block. However, the political power of the Bush Administration is effectively ended. In the 2008 election, the Republicans in Congress pay a heavy price for their support of Bush and Cheney.
In 2009, the new Democratic president repudiates the doctrine of pre-emptive war and the precepts of ?The Project of the New American Century.? He then takes active steps to repair international alliances, and to restore the reputation of the United States in the World community.
And what about the Democratic Party? I began this essay with a condemnation of the Party, and yet end with the hope that the same Party will act aggressively to regain power, and responsibly as they apply that power. How is it possible for the same Party to be impotent and irresponsible now, and aggressive and responsible in the near future?
Answer: it must not be the same party.
Today, many life-long Democrats are justifiably disgusted with their Party. I am one of them. The Party today is ?Republican Lite,? staffed with comfortable DC regulars, many of whom are accomplices (if only through their passivity) to the corruption in Washington.
This disillusionment with the Party has led many progressives to leave and join The Green Party, and other minor parties. One result was the loss of Florida in 2000 and the "selection" of George W. Bush.
So this is my advice to the disaffected Democrats: Don?t abandon the Party, take it over. This is what the Religious Right did to the Republicans. Had they instead formed a minor party, they would have been insignificant, and the United States would now be a very different, and much better, country. On the other hand, a major party that is ?taken over? by its grass roots, will have an organizational structure, an institutional memory, and financial resources ? essential assets that are hopelessly out of reach of minor parties.
If you hate what the Democratic Party has become, I?m with you. Together we can make it a party that we can be proud of and support with enthusiasm. And also, a party that can win ? as it must.
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