Bothered
I know this blog has been overly focused on politics lately, but I’m really bothered and I need to vent yet again.
I’m not bothered that the President failed to disclose a serious medical condition to the American people for a year. If that was the worst thing he did as President, he’d be Jed Bartlet.
I’m not bothered when right-wing commentators call for another 9/11 to “save America” from spirited debate over policy issues and return to a more unified time when everyone was crazed with fear and ready to do whatever the President wanted. Fear is what these people do best.
I’m not bothered by a member of the current administration’s Civil Rights Commission pondering a return to Korematsu. It’s not like he was advocating it, after all.
I’m not bothered that the Secretary of Education would rather read Harry Potter than Shakespeare. Shakespeare can be difficult, and I’ve heard good things about the Harry Potter books. Even the Shakespeare Teacher likes to relax with some lighter fare every now and then.
No, gentle readers, the Republicans aren’t bothering me so much anymore. I think by now we all pretty much know what to expect from them.
It’s the Democrats who totally caved on warrantless wiretapping that are bothering me:
Buckling in the face of familiar scare tactics – and looking to go on vacation – Congress caved on domestic surveillance this past weekend. It handed the White House temporary authority to monitor, without warrants, Americans’ international phone calls and e-mail.
Which brings me to Al Gore. In my opinion, Al Gore is the only person in the country who 1) gets it, and 2) has a strong chance of winning the Presidency.
Because of this, he has a moral obligation to run. He has laid out the most serious challenges facing us today and we have listened. But he may be the only person who can be the change he wants to see in the world. He can’t honestly think that giving a Keynote presentation on climate change can compare to actually being the President. So what’s going on? Is he biding his time, allowing all of us to beg him to run, rather than entering the race now and becoming a target? Or is honestly not planning to run?
I’m bothered by the current state of politics in this country. I’m bothered by the abusive Republicans and the enabling Democrats. And you know what? So is he. So I’ll wrap up this post by linking to rundammit.com, because I’m sick and tired of being bothered by this sorry excuse for a government we have failing to run this country.
It’s time, Al. Step up.
August 18th, 2007 at 9:23 am
I’m bothered that we are so credulous as to believe in the good faith of these Democrats. They are not mere ‘enablers’, they are willing collaborators biding their time until they regain the Presidency. They already control both houses of Congress, why don’t they curb W’s abuses? I’m sick of pretending they are no less beholden to the special interests than the Republicans. It’s not fear that stays their hand and prevents them from acting in the national interest, it’s cynical and brazen political opportunism. We believe otherwise at our peril. These Dems await the day they can exercise the plenary power of the unitary Executive which they co-authored through their contemptuous silence and conspicuous failure to act according to their Constitutional mandate. We’re going to widen the war, and the Democratic candidates will be leading the charge in order to prove their national security bona fides. I feel a chill. Our children feel a draft.
August 18th, 2007 at 4:46 pm
Apemantus, welcome to the blog!
I think what you say is certainly true of many Democrats, and I’m sorry to say that Hillary is the leader of that pack, but I’m reluctant to paint every Democrat with that brush. If W has taught us anything, it’s that it really matters who the president is. There really was a difference between Al Gore and George W. Bush in 2000, and the Nader voters who thought otherwise were proven wrong.
If we’re going to actually move the country in the right direction, instead of just dreaming about our perfect society, we need to do it through the Democratic party. The left needs to reclaim the party the same way the neocons took over the Republican party. And I think Al Gore is the man to do it.
Otherwise, the liberals and the moderate Democrats split the vote and we have President Fred Thompson with his finger on the button. Then let’s see what kind of a chill you feel.