Article: The Democrats Must Prove Their Mettle

The Democrats, those poor misunderstood Democrats. They believe that they, and only they, can save this country from imploding into itself like a rocket that takes off, rises to it's highest point, and then runs out of propellent, and ends up falling to the ground. They believe they can provide that rocket fuel that this country needs to soar again, but they have no substance, no chemistry.

That's a poor analogy, but it's apt. The Democrats could be the fuel that this country needs to stay afloat. They have the attention of the American people certainly, but they have no substance. The country looks to the democrats for leadership and finds that it too has been corrupted from within. Corrupted by the politics of money, by the very system they find themselves entrenched in, the corporate politics played in the backrooms of the beltway. It's called "You do this for me, and I'll give this much toward your campaign". These political gift-givers know exactly how the game is played, as do the gift receivers, the politicians that spend almost half of their waking moments in conference, or on the telephone, begging like dogs to get the money to fund their next campaign.

Don't blame them, they didn't start this game. It's been going on for years, only now, the price of getting and holding office, has become so high, that only the very wealthy, and the biggest prostitutes can maintain their grip on power. This power comes at a high cost. It comes at the price of morality and ideals, probably the very things that led most politicians to seek elective office. Every year the price gets steeper, and the abuses pile up, and this type of politics, rots the core of our democracy.

Sometimes, when you read the paper, or watch the news on TV, I'll bet you wonder why all the politicians can never come out with a straight answer? I know I do. Don't you wish that once in a while a Senator, or a Congressman, would just come out and say what he or she is thinking, instead of beating around the bush, and dodging questions with answers to things that weren't even asked? Do you ever wonder why the Democrats can't just say what it is that they want to do if they are elected? More often then they will admit, it's because they can't. If they admit what issues they will raise, if they admit those things they will try to implement, their backers will run like hell. This is because the same people and corporations, and special interest groups that back the Right, also back the Democrats. It's true. Believe me, I wish that it weren't. These funds go to both parties. The AMA might give more to the Republicans than to the Democrats, but believe me, they give to both. The Trial Lawyers Association might give more to the GOP than the Democrats, but they give to both. Blue Cross and Blue Shield, the insurance companies, the American Heart association, I could go on all day with the legal and medial PAC's and associations that give to both parties. Why do they give so much you ask? It's elementary my dear Watson, it's all about National Healthcare and who is paying off whom, so that you DON'T get it. Me? I don't need it. I'm retired military, I have Tricare. So why do I mention it? I do so because it's such a good example of how both parties have sold the American out in the same way that Judas sold out Jesus for a few lousy pieces of gold. You might think that donations from people like you or me fund these people, but our contributions don't compare with Corporate and special interest donations.

There are other issues. What about those payday lenders? The interest rates that they charge are criminal. People that use these paycheck holding stores end up in a spiral of debt. Why isn't there legislation that controls these exorbitant interest rates and predatory practices? Well, check to see how much Advance America and other payday loan outfits have given to finance your "representatives". What about the separation of church and state? Why don't the Democrats jump on that? Why are so many politicians adding Jesus to their campaign speeches? See how many faith based PAC's give to these campaigns. If the way politicians preach, was really an indication of their piety, you wouldn't see so many legal bribes being taken along the beltway. What about immigration? See how much agriculture lobbies and Pac's give. Look at how much manufacturer associations give so that the government will turn a blind eye to the hiring of illegal aliens. We will NEVER get a good immigration bill until our politicians start voting with their heads instead of their wallets

The Democrats will lose this chance to regain the House. They will lose this chance because they will not stand for anything. The issues that the people want covered are the very issues that the politicians are being paid to ignore. We will keep hearing about abortion, stem cell research, education, and family values; whatever "they" are. We will continue to hear about these issues because they are "safe". There are not as many "big spenders" that care too much about them. On the other hand, campaign reform, national healthcare, military spending, simplified legal and tax codes, and this phony "war on drugs", along with concrete proposals about solving our immigration problem that has already reached epidemic proportions because of illegal immigration is bankrupting our social systems, such as aid to dependant children, our school systems that must take in, and educate these children of non-taxpaying illegal immigrants, our healthcare systems that are raising homeowners property taxes because community hospitals MUST treat these people in their emergency rooms, and the food stamp programs and the countless social programs that enable these people to work for less than minimum wage, so the manufacturing and agricultural sectors can make huge profits from this legalized slavery.

This is some of what the American people want to hear about. These are some of the problems that we want addressed. This "War on Terrorism" is just another pork barrel give-away to the military-industrial complex. There is no way that we can police the entire world. Islamic terrorists, if you listen to the far right, are behind every tree, they fill every mosque. What are these so-called terrorists going to gain by attacking everything American? I can tell you this, if we constantly stir up a hornets nest by sending troops into every country that disagrees with us, we will certainly not be on very many countries "favorite nation list". We can secure our borders very well indeed, with the 200 MILLION dollars a day we are spending in Iraq. We can hire more air marshals and have a well trained military that isn't stretched to the limit and has it's soldiers spending their third and fourth tour in Iraq, away from home and family. How long this can go on is anyone's guess.

I have tried to lay out what I believe to be true the best way I can. I remember the Vietnam War as if it were yesterday. In 1968 I was an 18 year old sergeant in the Army. It was years after the war, when the average American citizen found out that we weren't fighting guerrillas in black pajamas and cone hats. We were fighting regular North Vietnamese regulars with artillery and tanks that had Chinese soldiers in the ranks. In the air, we were fighting MIG's with NVA, Russian and Chinese pilots. At the end of the war, American troops refused to go into the bush on patrol because they had to go to brigade level to get permission to fire back when they were fired on. At the end of that war, Richard M. Nixon was the most hated man, not only in America, but on the planet Earth. The Army was demoralized and hated by most Americans. It took decades to convince the government that Agent Orange was killing people. They knew, but didn't care. Treating these veterans was just too expensive.

Now I see our country at it again. The same type of people are pushing war in the same way dealers push dope. The manufacturing moguls, the soldier wannabe's that never spent a day in uniform. I see politicians preaching "Liberty and Democracy" for people that would rather have safe streets and food to feed their families. Everyone is a "patriot" now. Everyone that wants to "Stay the Course" has never "run the course". Our President, George W. Bush, is mentally ill. You can see it, you can hear it. He wants to change the Geneva Conventions because it doesn't support his plans. Why have we abided by The Geneva Conventions for 54 years, and why do we want to change it now? Are these Arabs the MOST dangerous foes we have ever faced? I doubt that is the case. It is because George W. Bush is torturing people, that's why. There can be no other reason. He doesn't want to be charged with war crimes. If we have to torture people, than this country is not the county that I grew up in. This is not the country that I want to live in. If the Democrats don't get a pair of balls and say what needs to be said, then they are as bad as the criminals that are running this country into the ground. Staying this course is not an option. Staying this course will destroy everything this nation has stood for; Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. This is not just an election, it is a referendum on what we want our nation to be.