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Stay paranoid for a little while longer. We need to get through the next two years. Hopefully without invading Iran. But recognize that you are paranoid.
If the Bush presidency reminds us of anything, it is how fragile democracy is, and how vigilant we must remain. It also teaches us that even our system of government can fail if any of the branches fails to check the others.
Still, you are missing the big picture. Our country was knocked off balance by 9/11. It could be knocked off balance again in the future. But the ship is righting itself.
* Democrats are in the majority.
* George Bush has negotiated a deal with North Korea.
* George Bush is negotiating with Syria and Iran.
* It is likely that our troops will begin withdrawing from Iraq within the next 12 months.
* By all accounts, Dick Cheney has been marginalized within the administration. His muscle, Scooter Libby, is gone.
* Don Rumsfeld is gone. Most of his generals are gone. The new defense secretary is not considered a neocon.
* Doug Feith is gone.
* The neocon movement is in tatters.
* The leading candidate for the Republican nomination is Rudy Giuliani. Despite his best conservative impression, he is a liberal. He nominated liberal judges. He was for gay marriage. He was for public funding of abortions. He was strongly for gun control.
We still have work to do in repairing the damage to our foreign policy, reputation and Constitution. Bush could do yet more damage.
But, while it makes for good book-jacket copy, we are hardly marching toward authoritarianism. You should have more faith in America, red and blue. Some Bush dead-enders remain, but they are in the minority.
Your scare-mongering about the right is no different than the neocons' scare-mongering about the terrorist hordes on our doorstep.
War radicalizes people. It polarizes. It divides. So why declare war on conservatives? They've already lost. Find common ground with the moderates and move on.
