George Bush and his minions are thumbing their noses at constitutional law, as if defying anyone to stop them. Virtually every action taken by the Bush regime heaps contempt upon all that we claim to hold dear as a nation. Under the circumstances, it seems both appropriate and reasonable to ask: Where is the Democratic leadership? I would remind them that George Bush is not an emperor, even though he acts like one. He is under the employ of the people of the United States; and he must answer to them, or he must go.
During the Clinton presidency the conservatives challenged everything Clinton did. They continuously threw obstacles in his path, some of them political land mines. As horrible as they are, if there is one thing I admire about the neocons""it is their willingness to fight. They know what they want and they will fight like hell to get it, no holds barred. If only the Democratic leadership had that trait. If only they would show such tenacity of purpose.
It is embarrassing to watch the Democratic leadership cower in fear of the Republican onslaught. They have allowed the neocons to castrate them and render them powerless, with hardly a whimper of protest. Rather than standing tall and fighting for what they claim to believe in, the Democratic leadership has degenerated into a group of disorganized, woefully pathetic enablers. There is no indication that they will stand and fight any time soon.
We are facing the greatest threat we have ever confronted as a nation. We are under relentless and violent attack by terrorists. We know who the terrorists are and we know where they live. They bear names such as Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Pearle, Wolfowitz and Rice, to name a few of them. Their intent is to destroy us as a nation; to end government as we know it and to replace it with privatization. These fools abhor democracy and they loathe truth. They believe in plutocracy""rule by the rich and powerful.
Many years ago Dr. King and the civil rights movement marched in the hate filled streets of Mississippi, Alabama, and Chicago, as well as in the nation's capital. None of them wanted to go to those places where so much hate was fomented and distilled upon them. The danger was palpably real. People were going to get hurt or killed. However, the leadership knew that they had no choice but to march in those cities because that is where the cancer of racism lived and reproduced. It had to be confronted and defeated where it breeds. Confronting injustice requires courage and moral leadership. It requires commitment and vision. It demands unwavering belief in the rightness of the cause.
Evidently these are qualities that are lacking in the Democratic leadership of today. This is not an opposition party, as they pretend to be. Capitulation does not and cannot equate to opposition. Capitulation is complicity and betrayal. The threat to our freedoms must be met with unwavering conviction in the justice of our cause. It requires that we turn and face our foes and fully engage them. It means going into the belly of the beast, confronting the cancer where it breeds, and routing it.
Do we have anyone with the qualities of leadership and courage needed to lead the charge? Or does America no longer produce people of mettle? Where are those who welcome a good fight when the circumstances demand it? Where are those who stand strong, gaze into the eye of the beast, and go straight for the jugular? The times demand bold and forceful action. I am calling you out.
Let us begin by denying the confirmation of Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court. Tell your representatives to filibuster until hell freezes over, if necessary. Next, we must demand the impeachment of George Bush for high crimes and felonies(he has gone far beyond misdemeanors). Impeach him for spitting upon the constitution he swore to uphold. For lying us into a War with Iraq. I urge every one of you to coerce your representatives into initiating the impeachment process. There is nothing to fear but fear itself. Fighting for just causes is both liberating and empowering.
If lawful means do not produce results, we have two choices. We can meekly accept whatever fate the fascists bestow upon us. Every time they smack us in the chops we can say "thank you, sir. May I have another?" Or we can march in the streets and commit acts of civil disobedience. We can refuse to pay taxes. We can refuse to send our children into war. We can be a counter friction to the machine with our bodies and our spirits in the tradition of Thoreau and Dr. King.
Let us not take our hats off to any man, especially would be emperors. Let us bow down to no man. It is far better to fight and risk losing than to capitulate to fascism. Some things are worth fighting and dying for. Freedom and democracy are two of them.
