Update [2005-5-18 17:59:42 by Bob Johnson]:
A number of you have made the point that why does it have to be an "either/or" scenario? And I agree that it doesn't. My point is that we as a party need a big picture theme for 2006 and beyond and I don't think picking on the religious right is big enough... though it may be the most effective way to take on the filibuster debate.
While I appreciate Schumer's comments (outlined in Armando's front-pager) about the Republican Party being hijacked by the hardcore religious right, I keep wondering...
Are we fixating on the religious zealots at the expense of developing a more holistic and coherent message for the Democratic Party that takes on every aspect of Republican/Rovian policy, from judges to taxes to energy to education to Iraq to the environment?
In particular, I was struck by this passage from Armando's post:
Senator Schumer expressed amazement at the total control that the Extremists have over the WHOLE Republican Party. He stated that is has never been like this before.
(more)
Many of us here are jumping on this "extremists-control-the-Republicans" bandwagon, and, in the short run, this message may or may not prove to be an effective way to turn back the nuclear option.
But what does it do for us in the long run?
The real issue isn't abortion or gay marriage or religious nuts controlling the Republican Party. And we better pull our heads out of our behinds and get the big picture or we risk losing a lot more than just the filibuster fight.
The battle over judges is about MONEY. Greed. Exploitive capitalism. What all battles are over with the Cheneys and Roves and DeLays of the world.
Rove and Cheney don't care about abortion. And, I suspect, they don't care about the religious right, either, except as these zealots serve to further their own Rovian Republican goals.
And those goals invariably revolve around doing favors for their corporate friends.
That's what this filibuster fight is all about. It is what every fight with the current regime is all about.
Rove and Cheney want to stack the courts with pro-corporatist judges. Period.
Just like they want pro-corporatist environmental regulations, workplace rules, wars, taxes... you name it.
Rove has played the religious right the same way he has played every other interest group that might lean his way. But his purpose is singular: line the pockets of his corporatist buddies at the expense of the average Joe.
That's our Big Picture. The stiffing of the average Joe. Because it applies to every issue, not just the filibuster or the inane non-issues of abortion and gay marriage.
We have much more at stake here. We have forests open to the exploitation of the paper giants and energy policies that favor fossil fuels at a time when we threaten to tank our own economy by doing so. We have tax policies, including the elimination of the Estate Tax, that threaten the very existence of America's middle class. We have a healthcare crisis of epic proportions. A retirement security issue that is growing larger every day, looming over baby boomers (and, by extension, everyone behind us who will have to foot the bill) like a massive hurricane ready to roll ashore.
So while I appreciate the use of the religious nuts to make our case on the filibuster, I think we're missing an opportunity to weave this issue into the much larger picture of just how much the current power elite is fucking the average citizen.
That's the theme. That's the real story.
We need a bigger story to tell, not only for the filibuster fight, but for 2006 and beyond.
And that story is not about the religious right. It's about you and you and you and you and you and me and everyone else not in the top 1% of income earners in this nation.
Please, oh please, someone in leadership speak to the bigger picture...