Letters to the Editor
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Let Repug public and moral record speak for itself
Since I started using Salon and blogging a few months ago, I have been amazed at the number and volume of very troubling facts listed by bloggers that reveal the sorry record of Repug presidential administrations and the sad human costs that the Repugs have compiled. While I agree that Gore and Kerry lost primarily because they worried too much about polls and advice from political advisors and did not John Wayne junior when they had a chance during debates, they lost on an emotional level for two reasons. They buried their true character and could not make the moral choice that embodies the mean right wing of the Repug party- that any means justifies the end. They refused to step into the Rovian win at any cost gutter.
Junior took advantage of his bumbling ways by conveying that he is just like Joe Public, not perfect, but his awakening to the wonders of the Lord wiped out all his weaknesses and gave him the strength to defend America against those foreign destroyers of America and weak kneed, nice Dems who would let them walk all over us. “I am a uniter, not a divider or a lying sexual miscreant.”
Junior has proven to be the all time American divider and at least 70% of the public knows it. That is why Barack Obama shot to the top of the political world because not only Democrats but also the American public has grown sick of divisiveness and the sorry state of affairs inside junior’s administration and the Beltway. Viewers of Obama’s great no blue states and red states convention speech thought they saw authentic character and it stirred their emotional desire to see and end to the meanness in politics and government. Pundits and especially Hillary’s political team jump on Obama when he confronts opponents by saying; see he doesn’t believe in his so-called positive only message of bringing people together. They are trying to put him in a catch 22 position to muffle his attack voice and claim he is a hypocrite.
He can escape that trap using the same strategy that all Democratic candidates could be using, compare in vivid, emotional words the record of Repug and Dem governments. “I don’t believe in an America where its government to justify an unjust war, lies its citizens, spurns its potential world allies and sends not one but two sons of Mrs. Smith’s sons off to Iraq to die along with hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and 3-4 million who are homeless or have fled their country. I believe in the kind of government like that of Bill Clinton who rallied the world and stopped the killing of Muslims in Croatia. I believe in an America that honors civil liberties and human rights like Jimmy Carter exemplified during his presidency unlike this administration that has trampled citizen rights, politicized a justice department and has let only 200 Iraqi refugees enter our country when tens of thousands are at risk of their life because they helped Americans in Iraq.”
The Dems have all kinds of successes to point to and the Repugs in any of their administrations since Ike, are replete with failures. Just providing a list of comparison would make it difficult for any non single-issue voter to not vote Democratic this time around. The mantra should be, with this kind record, why do you want to give them any more chances to wreck America?
Al Gore would not have had to worry about his connection to Bill Clinton, if he would have simply kept listing the myriad of Clinton administration successes. John Kerry could have compared himself to Clinton who pulled together economic experts of a all parties and views in a conference before he decided on the best course instead of letting a few cronies and corporate chieftains run the entire government and increase our national debt many fold.
Any Dem candidate can compare the character of past presidents by looking at what Carter and Clinton have done since leaving the presidency and how Reagan, Ford and Bush basically retired or spent time building museums to themselves. Yes, daddy Bush did help on the Tsunami but that was at Clinton’s urging. Dems have many things to be proud of and we simply don’t talk about it like we should.
Character and authenticity is what voters will look for the most in 2008. Every Repug candidate has problems with character and flip-flopping compared to the Dems. This election could be a cake-walk by simply reinforcing what many voters are already thinking and letting the Repugs sink in their own quagmire.
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Cynical as hell
does anything matter but winning elections? As long as Dems play the Republicans' game they will lose at it. did you notice how 8 years of Clinton's Triangulation made the party weaker not stronger? Did you see how unsuccessful the nomination of Lieberman as VP in 2000 was?
The Dems fear of being branded as weak on Foreign Policy brought us the Vietnam, as well as probably the Iraq, in so far as Dems were afraid to stand up then although they were not obviously in charge of the white house (documents show that LBJ new from the Beginning that Vietnam would be a disaster, but he was afraid of being branded as soft on communism).
Democrats should try to develop a rational Foreign Policy, not one based on fear of Republicans on bellicosity towards the entire world.
The further Democrats move to the right, they will actually lose the base and their ability to be the majority party. It's clear from their strategy so far in Congress, and for the most part in Pres. Campaign that they actually agree with this Centrist.....
so not only is it unethical and cynical to take positions purely because you think they are popular (especially when they could hasten armageddon), in this case it will not work. liberals like me will again make the quite rational decision not to vote for either of the major party.
you want to have indistinguishable parties, with war every 10 years (or more) this is a great way for Democrats to go.