We're at war, folks. And I don't mean in Iraq and Afghanistan. We're fighting the first battles of a political civil war right here at home.
This war isn't about liberal vs. conservative. It isn't about Democrats vs. Republicans. It isn't about fundamentalist Christians vs. all of us infidels. It isn't about any of the squabbling factions we've come to know and hate.
This civil war is simple, and it's been going on since the dawn of civilization: it's about the people vs. the power.
The latest iteration of this epic struggle is beginning to play out in the "netroots vs. DLC" contests that are popping up all across the country. We all know the storyline - the reasons why these races matter so much, the motivation driving the challengers, and what is at stake - so I'll skip the background and get right to the point:
Our government, whether presided over by Republicans or Democrats, is not run by or for the voting public.
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First of all, it's run by power-brokers. They're nothing more than negotiators and lobbyists hired by the various players in the American aristocracy (which I'll get to later...). These are people for whom power is a right and elections are just speedbumps to be managed and overcome. They're the Joe Liebermans and Hillary Clintons of the world - the DLC in a nutshell.
They think it's their right to rule over us, and that their seat in Congress is no different from a seat on a corporate board. Like a CEO who thinks nothing of firing 10,000 workers in order to improve the bottom line, our Senators and Representatives would outlaw marriage for millions of Americans or prevent a life-saving vaccine from coming to market in order to please their employers.
We are not voting citizens to these people; not constituents whose service is their employ; not worthy of consideration. They have no more responsibility to the voters than a CEO does to his employees - which is to say, only that responsibility which is theorized about in textbooks, but tossed aside as ridiculous in the real world.
These power-brokers are employed by an ever-more-obscure group of wealthy aristocrats. Some of them inherited their money, some earned it - either way they have created for themselves a class above all others. They're beyond the responsibilities and concerns of the rest of us. Not bound by the same laws, not manipulated by the same advertisers, not pushed around by the same corporatocracy that has crushed the spirits of so many working men and women in this country.
These are the people who are commonly referred to as "fundraisers." They attend the $1000 a plate dinners where George Bush raises millions of dollars at a time. They invest money into candidates like new factories or new store locations. They understand that their campaign contribution is a downpayment on the levers of power: like purchasing a time-share in the force of government.
Merrily they swim along, buying off Congressmen and employing them as executives in a large company whose only product is greater wealth for themselves. One works his way up the ranks of this company, of course - from lowly Representative to mid-level Senator, and for those most willing to do anything to serve their masters, the office of the Presidency is the ultimate CEO gig.
These are the people for whom our government is run.
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It's a cycle of power that has been building momentum for nearly a century. There was a time when it could pass as respectable - before the stench of its corruption was so overwhelming. But it's no longer possible to ignore that we're being hustled by this political machinery.
And that's why we're engaged in the first battles of this civil war. It's a fight to take back our country. It's a fight to wrest control of the force of government from the hands of those who would use it to enrich themselves (and by god have they EVER enriched themselves!), and deliver it to those who would improve the lives of everyone.
We've done this before. When the corruption of the gilded age, with its robber-barrons and monopolists who ruled business and politics with iron fists, was finally brought to heel, a generation of prosperity followed.
We advanced labour rights 10-fold. We expanded civil rights. We improved the condition of the average American 100 times over. We destroyed monopolies and banished their corrupting influence for decades. Poverty was drastically reduced; healthcare saw advances never dreamed of before; electricity became commonplace instead of a luxury for the rich; and the working people of this country finally reaped the fruits of the labour they had spent so many years doing for the benefit of others.
We returned power to the people, and the people used it wisely. We did it before, and we can do it again. THIS is why you should support netroots candidates - not because it's cool to have more feathers in our cap, but because we can set this country back on track, get it moving in the right direction so that once against we can all prosper in proportion to our efforts.
Make no mistake - the DLC and the aristocracy it serves will not take this lying down. This is a civil war we're fighting in the Democratic party, but we have a responsibility to all Americans to win it.