Article: The First Step in a Very Long Walk Toward Representative Democracy

Today is my birthday, and I couldn't have asked for a better present than to see Congress slip away from Republican control. The day that Bush won his second term was one of the lowest points of my life. Today, while not one of the best days of my life, at least has given me a little more faith in American's than I had on Monday. If the Democrats would have made no gains at all, I would have either thought that Americans were either crazy, or that they had turned into neo-nazi's, and I really would have started to think about living somewhere else for awhile. There was also the thought that maybe the Republican's might have hijacked the vote...again.

I still have misgivings about the election. Lieberman managed to hang on to his Senate seat. Bill Nelson (D-Fl) has also managed to pretend he is a Democrat again. It will be interesting to see what those two do when it comes time to side with the Democrats, instead of becoming rubber stamps for George W. It will also be interesting to see if Connecticut is a Blue State or a Red State wearing Blue wrapping. Lincoln Chaffe, one of America's premier liberals was cut down by the Bush backlash, even though he was one of the "good guys". The Liberal Party of America made him our very first endorsement. We didn't survive to Election Day, and even if we did, we probably wouldn't have been much help to him.

I really wish that the party had survived. Some of the people that joined became concerned about the word 'Liberal" in the party name. The NeoCons had made Liberal a nasty word. I don't believe it is. I'm a liberal. I'm more of a liberal than I am a progressive. I believe that many folks are afraid to call themselves liberal because of people like Karl Rove and Rush Limbaugh, both men that I don't believe are worth worrying about. They are people that feed on other peoples bias and radical extremist hatreds towards people that are of a different religion or skin color. They use the label "liberal" like Hitler used the word Jew, or Bush uses the word "evildoers". There are many in this country on the extreme right that are trying to make the word 'Muslim", instead of a term describing someone that believes in Islam, but more than just a religious label; someone who is out to kill Americans, especially American Christians. This is a dangerous game they are playing. This is the kind of inflammatory rhetoric that brings out the worst traits of human beings. It brings out things like prejudice and hate crimes. Worse than that, it can lead to things like 'ethnic cleansing". Something that can and does happen in countries thought to be "civilized".

This is a time when we liberals or progressives or left of center or whatever you look at yourself as, have to keep our guard up. There are many that will take the loss of the House, and defeat in this election, as a war cry, and license to stop being coy about what their aims really are. The Senate, for all intents and purposes is Republican. The Administration is still NeoCon, and the Supreme Court leans to the Right. We may have made an inroad, but what will it get us? Liberals, Progressives and those that are left of center will be vilified as never before because we have flexed some muscle. Remember that the Democrats we put into power in the House are still, at least the majority of them, corporate lackeys. They were financed by corporate and special interest groups, and this is where their loyalties lie, whatever their rhetoric is. We still need to "beware of the military-industrial complex". These are still times that try men's souls. Just because the administration doesn't have control of both houses, doesn't mean that we have stopped living under a "Corporacracy".

Until we can get true campaign reform laws passed, so that corporate and special interest entities cannot finance the political careers of their handpicked politicians, we still don't have our representative form of government back. This is still not a government of and for the people. Remember that. We need to hold these Democrats responsible to the voters, and not just to the corporations. Remember, we can also put pressure on certain corporations also, pressure for them to get out of politics. We can boycott their products and their services until they stop supporting people who would take away the power of the people. We know who these corporations are, and whom they are financing. We will be naming names, names of corporations, amounts of money, and who gets what from whom. It is all public record, and I have taken it as my personal responsibility to let my fellow Americans know what is transpiring. I will be looking at individual politicians and letting you know who their "handlers" are. I could use all the help I can get. This election is but a first step in a long walk back to representative government