The Dems Cave Again

A friend of my sister writes this email:

Subject: an opinion from the Democratic Underground

I tend to look at these things in context, and the context is just as crappy as this one vote.

We watched the Dems cave time and time again, even when we were SURE that the stakes were too high to back down.

We got Alito this way
We got Roberts this way
We got the Patriot Act this way
We got the Iraq War this way
We got those three right wing freako judges this way
We lost the torture bill this way
We let Rice, Gonzales, Ashcroft, etc. get into office this way
We gave tax cuts to the rich this way

And it looks like many of these investigations are just going to result in meaningless reports. Plus we seem to have given the WH carte blanche to ignore our subpeonas.

So this capitulation is emblematic of years and years of capitulations....and it seems to me that a reasonable person in the context of all of the examples above (plus this incident) would presume that the next year and a half will be the same. That is what irks me the most.

And I agree that this will surely embolden the boy emperor. Today NPR announced that he thanked Congress for the bill as he signed it....he THANKED them?

In my final analysis, I know exactly why we have a big problem, and it is always why we have a problem. We have a big tent...so big that a significant portion of our tent votes with the other party while marginalizing the other side of the tent. As long as we have no discipline in the party and tolerance for turncoats, then this scenario will continue to happen no matter what majority we have. Nearly 50% of our Senators are DLC, and a significant portion of the House is DLC or blue dog. They are to the right of party supporters and they are to the right of the American people on this issue, and because we tolerate them, they hold all of the cards.

How would I stop the war? (because that is what the inevitable next question will be) By fighting, of course. Sound off like they have a pair (of something). Invite the American people into Democratically-sponsored protest marches and vociferously demand airtime to get the message out. Cut off the funds for the war and only release earmarked funds for a withdrawal. If he vetos it, fine....proceed further with the investigations and start impeachment proceedings on Gonzales and Cheney with impeachment for Bush "on the table". Send out bulldog Democratic pundits and fire the entire Democratic punditry (and campaign advisors) that is in place.

Send out packets describing the fight within the Democratic party to our ardent supporters. Inform them as to what their party truly consists of and why there "never is a plan".

But for god sakes....no more lying down. No more capitaulting, and no more treating Bush like he is our President or would ever act in good faith. Adhering to his rigged system is a fool's game.

At least the writer has more fight left in him than I do. I myself have given up hope. Not just for the Dems, but in general, as a principle. There are good reasons for doing so. I encourage you to read this bit of original, counter intuitive thinking called Beyond Hope.