Our lot in lifeWe've come a long way, baby. What do I mean? I am referring to the Democratic party, from the DNC on down to our precincts. And 2006 shows that we have a long way to go. And who is this 'we' I'm referring to?
We, is you and me. Those of us who, when the 2002 Iraq War Resolution vote came down, could not just forgive and forget which Democrats voted in favor of war, knowing it was all a pack of lies.
I remember when Dubya gave his 'Axis-of-Evil' speech, and how that woke me up from a corporate media induced slumber. I knew we were set up, but what did the Democrats have to offer other than 'we too are for the security of the American people, but..'. What about calling bullshit what it is? What about showing a little backbone? Pansycrats, indeed. My opinion back then was Maria Cantwell took the politically safe route, but the morally bankrupt route. I vowed not to vote for her again. But this is our lot in life - we put ourselves in this position. I say this because I did not get politically active until 2004. I sat on my ass while the corporatists took over our country. So I blame myself for where we are just as much as I blame our Republican dominated government. We allowed these politically nuanced tap dancing, flip-flopping DLC hacks to run the Democrats right into an iceberg. Since 2004 however - times they are a changin' (sorry - Bob Dylan, had to). Just look at the Washington State Dems, and you can see on a local level the magnitude of the change in the wind. I am not in love with the state party by any means. I think the leadership has atrophied the party and its influence with our legislative electeds in Olympia and Washington DC is lacking, to say the least. However, one only needed to be at the state party chair's election to see how desperate the old hacks are to hold onto their last strands of power. So, as it is on the federal level, it is on the state level. That means we got some serious work to do. Don't just e-mail your disgust for the way things are, go to your Legislative District and become a Precinct Committee Officer. Many of us have already, and the effects are just starting to reverberate throughout the party. I will no longer sit on my ass, I hope you will join me to change the ass into a fighting donkey. As far as Mark Wilson, Hong Tran, Aaron Dixon - they all know which buttons to push because of our passion about this unjust war. Don't get hung up on the rhetoric of the moment. Take a look at the bigger picture - starting with a democratic congress - and see how we can work from within to bring our troops home. 2006 can be the end of the era of the Pansycrat. We got people powered Howard to run the DNC, didn't we? We got the momentum. My hope is that we can embrace the primary, vote our conscience. Come the general election we can proudly vote for the Democrat, knowing that our voices are being heard, and work toward making the party what it ought to be - by the people, by you and me - and not by the few who wish to hold onto power with an iron grip.
Our lot in life | 14 comments (14 topical)
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