The bible says that the truth will set you free. While that truth is the Word of God, in general this rule applies everywhere. The problem is that most people are afraid of the truth or have a problem identifying it in an age where media is bought and sold and the truth is massaged and packaged to be sold to you by people who don't believe what they are saying to you, as they say it.
Awhile back the Democrats seemed to find their moxie by threatening to finally pretend they had rights too and were poised to block several judicial nominees appointed by the Bush administration. One of these justices who eventually would be confirmed had an Appeals Court record of 177-0 in siding with corporations versus human beings. Nonetheless, before the spinal transfusion was complete, the Democrats caved in to a horrendous deal to prevent what had been dubbed the "nuclear option." This option consists of the Republicans doing away with the Senate tradition of the filibuster. The truth is that the offer delaying the so called "nuclear option" was disingenuous from the beginning. The Senators involved knew very well that any future filibuster directed at any significant nominee would result in the nuclear option threat being renewed instantaneously, as we now see with Samuel Alito.
The truth is the Democrats sold their party and constituents out when they cut this deal and now are faced with the exact scenario they had back then, only with more judges already confirmed who will undermine individual rights and freedoms to the benefit of corporate America. The truth is though that they can stem the tide now again if they can just find the spine they lost five years ago. The solution is the same as it was the first time:
That is right; the truth is that it is at best and empty threat and at worst the stupidest move the Republican Party could possibly make. Here is why. The level of distrust for the GOP is at an all time high while the overall dissatisfaction with the Republican Party is at an all time low, under 40%. America is finally catching on that while corruption and problems may exist in both parties, only one is in control. The Republicans tried to say the Democrats are obstructionists, but people realize that they have no real power to stop anything except by way of the filibuster they have yet to exercise. No, the smoke and mirrors that has been the Republican Party is no longer blinding Americans. The truth has finally started to penetrate the American flag they wrapped themselves in.
It is not just Bush and the failed war. It is not just that we have to deal with an administration that falsifies casualty rates and uses propaganda to further its ends in Iraq. It is not just that the Vice President who received five deferments when it was his turn to fight for this country telling John McCain he is wrong on torture. It is not just the absurd notion that the economy is somehow improving while the poverty rate increases and health care is inaccessible to most. It is not just that Bush believes that the governing document this nation was founded on is just a "g*dammed piece of paper. It is not just that New Orleans has been abandoned and left to die as a city. It is the complete and unbridled arrogance that this party governs with.
It is the arrogance that thinks you can accept millions in bribes including a yacht and a Rolls Royce to hand out government contracts loaded with YOUR money. It is arrogance that thinks we cannot see Bill Frist is lying when he says he can not recall how much stock he owned now that he is under investigation for insider trading. It is arrogance that thinks we will believe the morally bankrupt Tom Delay, three-times sanctioned by his own party, when he says he is a victim because he is now under indictment. It is arrogance that thinks we will believe that organized torture is acceptable and that only a handful of bad apples are responsible for it. It is arrogance that thinks nothing of putting a political crony in a life saving position such as head of FEMA and then tell him in front of the nation that he is doing a "heck of a job" as chaos reigns. That is not loyalty; it is stupidity in its grandest terms. It is the arrogance that comes from absolute power.
The truth is that America is starting to catch on and the Republican Party is starting to worry seriously about the mid-term elections. They are starting to realize that their fearless leader may not have to run again, but they do. So, go ahead, go nuclear. Sure Alito will get in, but after that the GOP is going down for the count. America does not like the arrogant bullies they have become. They do not approve of the recess appointment of John Bolton. They do not like walking away from the Geneva Conventions and are concerned about how it may affect our soldiers. They do not like the fact that we have become the arrogant bullies of the world. Over 60% of this country finally sees what has happened to their once proud nation. They sure as hell are not going to like the party of arrogance doing away with a constitutional mainstay for over 200 years in the filibuster, the one measure that prevents absolute power from running amok absolutely. They will certainly remember in 2006 and when the GOP loses control of one or both houses and no longer has the filibuster to fall back on, they will understand the enormity of their error.
They will learn that arrogance eventually was their undoing. Arrogance leads to misunderestimation, which leads to stupidity. You start to think no one will catch you, or catch on. You start thinking no one will notice when you are driving your Rolls Royce to your yacht. You start thinking no one will notice that you are not counting all the casualties. You start thinking no one will remember that you scrapped 200 years of senate tradition for your own selfish ends. In the end the truth is all that will set you free and arrogance will only breed ignorance. Unless they drop this foolish nuclear notion, the Republican Party one day will be left with that legacy of arrogance, on the outside looking in at the results of their own stupidity.
