Now, before the entire progressive blogosphere explodes on me, let me say a few things.
I have been a very proud Democrat all my life (only 19 years, but nonetheless very proud) and plan to have a career in helping to rebuild the Democratic Party from the grassroots up.
Lately, as you all know, the Abramoff scandals have enveloped Washington and has focused much attention on the Washington establishment. Republicans tried to pin some of the scandal on the Democrats, but these indeed were all lies, and the Abramoff scandal is indeed A COMPLETELY REPUBLICAN SCANDAL. However, for we as Democrats to engage in an honest debate about how to approach the culture of corruption and reform America, we must realize our own faults as well.
I personally won't go into all of the details. No, I'm going to let a fellow progressive do it for me. Back during the 2004 campaign, Bill Moyers on his show NOW looked at the corruption within the policial parties, especially at their conventions. To watch this video, first go to:
http://www.pbs.org/...
Then scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the first video link entitled, "Party Favors -- Convention Parties and Campaign Finance (18:15)"
I think you'll find it revealing and thought-provoking, as all of Moyers' work tends to do.
I hope after watching the video you realize that even though we should be pressing the Republicans hard on their unbearable corruption, we should still be mindful we also need to clean house.
Take it easy on me in the comments section.