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• Monday, January 23, 2006 11:55 AM

  Reason for Political Bankruptcy of Intellectuals

  Bernard Henri-Levy points to the bankruptcy of leading intellectuals on the left, especially during and right after the 2004 elections. This is a direct result of the left's historical and ongoing support for the Democratic Party. Without a left wing or social democratic mainstream party, opposition to the Republicans for many means doing whatever it takes to defeat a party that promotes war, shreds civil liberties, shills for corporations and supports the death penalty. Unfortunately, the alternative we're given is to vote for a party, the Democrats, that promotes war, shreds civil liberties, shills for corporations and supports the death penalty. This greatly diminishes the ability of leading figures on the left to criticize these destructive policies and undermines any genuine opposition to attacks against working people and oppressed groups.

  The lesser evilists in this country use the Supreme Court as the trump card showing why stopping the Republicans by voting for Democrats should be the ultimate priority of progressives. But a look at the sorry opposition of the Democrats to the dangerous nomination of Samuel Alito should convince any objective observer that the Democrats cannot be trusted to defend our rights. It must be remembered that last year, they signed a "compromise" meant to preserve their right to filibuster only extreme judicial nominees. Apparently, they don't think that Alito, who decided that wives need the permission of their husbands to seek an abortion and who consistently has advocated for unbridled executive power at a time when rampant spying by the Bush administration has come to light, is extreme enough. Exactly whom are they waiting for Bush to nominate, Joseph Goebbels?

  —Julien Ball
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