Over the last few days, the latest GOP scapegoat ploy - the "illegals crisis" - has been bringing my blood to a boil. At first, it was over the blatant, cyncial nature of the whole manufactured ordeal, as excellently analyzed by
Duke 1676's diary. Its quite clearly an attempt by the GOP to create an imagined crisis to take attention away from the failures of conservatism and the GOP and focus it on a supposed weak point of the Democrats. The use of poor brown immigrants as an electioneering pinata was in itself enough to infuriate me.
But its worse than that. It goes beyond just this instance and encompasses the core of the GOP and what the Democrats need to do but have consistently failed to accomplish: Courage in the face of fear.
More on the flip.
There is nothing new in the latest GOP scare tactic. Its the Southern Strategy of Nixon and his progeny repackaged for 2006. Time and time again, when the policies of conservatives fail - and fail spectacularly - they trot out the same tactic: Fear of the Other. It used to be fear of the urban "Negro" and all the race hatred that entailed. Now, its fear of brown-skinned laborers "stealing your jobs." It used to be fear of liberated women free to get divorces. Now, its fear of gays getting married. It used to be fear of Red Communists. Now its fear of Arab Muslims. Fear, fear, fear.
And the Democratic answer, the reponse we hear from Pelosi, Reid, and the rest of the DC gang?
A pamphlet on "Real Security."
My. God. When, oh when, are these Beltway Democrats going to show some real courage? Dean may have started a spine transplant, but the patient insists on dying on the operating table. And I am getting really, really tired of it. My fellow citizens are not punching bags for votes. The marriage of my close friend and his partner in Massachusetts is NOT for fucking sale. The ovaries of all my women friends are NOT for fucking sale. My grandparent's safety, shelter and health is NOT for fucking sale. My coworkers who worship Allah insted of Jesus are NOT for fucking sale. The poor kids in the public school in my neighborhood are NOT for fucking sale. My blue collar parent's livelhoods are NOT for fucking sale. And my hard working neighbors from Mexico who work two and three jobs just to feed their family ARE NOT FOR FUCKING SALE!
I want to see some courage. I want to see it in 10 foot tall letters on a party platform. Let the GOP be the party of Fear. I want to be the party of Courage. When Democrats stand for courage in the face of adversity, Democrats win.
Its the modern heritage of our party. FDR, a physically disabled man, put an entire country on his shoulders and told us: The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
Truman, when faced with a foe - a real foe with armies, navies, an air force, bombs, seemingly hellbent on world domination - drew a line in the sand and fought the Communists to a standstill.
JFK, faced again with the same foe - went eye to eye with a nuclear armed totalitarian - and the totalitarian blinked. Bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe...indeed.
LBJ, flawed as any tragic Greek hero with the sin of hubris, still managed to change the very face of the country with a veritable cleansing flood of freedom - freedom for black Americans to vote as they wished, to live where they wished, to work where they wished, to quite simply sit down and eat where they wished. A flood which also carried along the way a similar freedom in education and workplace for all women.
Carter, possibly the most Christian man to occupy the White House, is the only President to bring a lasting peace to the supposedly intractable Middle East.
What happened to these Democrats? Why are they seemingly so afeared of bearing witness, of standing tall and declaring to the GOP - this far, and no farther? Where is the courage to beat back the fear?
I want my fucking country back.