Now Is The Time...A Call To Action
Fri Feb 10, 2006 at 04:28:59 PM PDT
There is a time for diplomacy.
There are times, especially when there is an over-riding threat to the common good, where well-intentioned people of radically different ideologies can come together to set aside differances and work together for the elimination of a common foe that threatens all. These are times where a combination of situational difficulties combined with an uncommon willingness on the part of all parties to co-operate can lead to inspiring accords that transcend the (seemingly) petty issues of the day and embrace a wider perspective.
Now is not that time.
It should be clear to all that the current political regime in Washington sees a willingness for negotiation as weakness, to be crushed mercilessly. It's not enough that their aversion to negotiation has lead to a tragic incursion in a foreign land that has brought untold misery to thousands of families, both at home and abroad, one who's effects will haunt us for generations. For this they are unrepentant. Along with this, their continued drive to practice slash-and-burn politics here at home has shown that those who extend a hand in friendship and concilliation to many of them will find that their right hand may be reaching out, but their left hand holds a shiv that one will find quickly deposited between their ribs...metaphorically speaking. So now is not the time for negotiation.
There is a time for reflection.
There is a time, especially following a crushing disappointment, where it is important to pull back, and seriously reflect on past mistakes and to try and find remidies to avoid making those mistakes again in the future. Those who blunder on without contemplation risk becoming a sad characture, repeatedly striking their head against a large blunt object because it feels so good when they stop.
Now is not that time.
Following the frustration of a stolen election in 2000 and losing a real nail-biter in 2004, many of our best young, fresh minds have spent a fair amount of time navel-gazing about how we could have done things differently. After all, it's easier to steal a close election than one with a wide margin, and 2004 was closer than it should have been. Yes, the other side delt in reprehensible dirty tricks, smear campaigns, and fear-mongering, but such tactics only work if the other side mis-fires and bungles the response, as the Democrats repeatedly did in the Kerry campaign. But through blogs such as this one, as well as others, a consensus of what our errors were has become reasonably solid. Now our voices are speaking up outside of the blogosphere, books are being written, and we are demanding that the powers that be (both in the media and in Washington) listen to what we have to say. So the time for reflection is passing as well.
Now is the time for action. Bold, focused, decisive action, with our eyes on the prize that really matters, which is taking our country back from the current gang of thieves, liars, and profiteers that is running things right now. We need to get active on a local and national level, with a simple message that resonates with what people are already feeling.
How can we do this? I have one simple proposal to start with:
The Rubber-Stamp Republican Congress
It's time to shift the focus away from President Bush. The American people are already experienceing the biggest case of buyer's remorse felt about a politician in a generation. The fact that over 51% of people polled consider this to be a failed presidency shows that the rehabilitation of George W Bush is not going to be accomplished while he's in office. His approval ratings are positively Nixonian in nature, and his disapproval ratings are hardening. He supplies us with fresh outrage every week, and yet to drone on about how "this proves this" or "this shows us that..." is just beating a cold, dead horse.
Now, I'm not saying to ignore these outrages, but to use our response for a broader purpose. No matter how powerful the President tries to be, he cannot do much of anything without the consent of congress. The fact that the current Republican controlled congress has abdicated their oversight responsibility is nothing new to us, but we have to hammer this point home to people around the country. Now, Americans like slogans, and I have a good one to use for this: "The Rubber-Stamp Republican Congress."
Whenever we talk about the failures and/or crimes of the President, we need to tie this to the Rubber-Stamp Republican Congress. For example, when talking about the deficit, we shouldn't just talk about "George Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy" causing it, we need to say things like "George Bush wanted tax cuts for his millionaire friends, and the Rubber-Stamp Republican Congress gave them to him without thinking twice." When we talk about government bungling with the Katrina response, we should talk about "The Rubber-Stamp Republican Congress confirmed inept cronies into jobs of great responsibility, with deadly results."
Even things that the President has done without oversight, like the illegal wiretapping or criminal under-equipping of our troops, can be tied around the necks of congress, because George knows that they will not hold him accountable. We can say:
"Of course George felt like he could subvert the consitiution and spy on innocent Americans...we have a Rubber-Stamp Republican Congress that has abdicated their responsibility to keep an eye on the President, and abandoned our basic consitiutional values."
Or:
"We have a Rubber-Stamp Republican Congress who has abandoned our troops, has not demanded that the President equip them properly, with tragic results."
Also:
"We have a President who lied us into war, and a Rubber-Stamp Republican Congress that just doesn't care!"
Even when talking about the culture of corruption surrounding the Republican Congress right now, we can drive home the idea of a lazy, bloated, inept governing body with "The Rubber-Stamp Republican Congress":
"Republicans in The Rubber-Stamp Republican Congress are letting lobbyists write the legislation that impacts our lives."
"When lobbyists say jump, the Rubber-Stamp Republican Congress asks: how high?"
"Lobbyists have bought themselves a free pass from the Rubber-Stamp Republican Congress."
The fact that Democrats have a reputation for being "in disarray", and "without a coherant message" isn't an accident...it's the result of years of Republican repitition. That some Democrats have bought into the myth is all the more evidence that repitition works. With a phrase like "The Rubber-Stamp Republican Congress", repeated over and over, we can lay the groundwork for a decisive takeover of both the House and Senate that will last. Taking over either for just one election cycle won't give us time to affect long-standing change, nor will it help us to un-do the last 5 years of mis-rule. Remember the phrase "Tax and Spend Democrat"? We still hear it today. If we play our cards right, we can make the phrase "Rubber-Stamp Republican" just as common.
This is one step we can take to hang the failures of George W Bush around the necks of the Republicans like an albatross...and it's the kind of sound bite that the media loves. More importantly, it could force Republicans in tough races to prove that they're not a Rubber-Stamp Republican, and do the kind of things that will bring down the ire of Karl Rove and the other Re-thug enforcers, causing dissention and disarray within their ranks. Our job convincing people that Bush is a failure is done...now let's turn our attention towards the people who are running again, and who we can beat. Really, it's not all George Bush's fault...his cohorts in the Rubber-Stamp Republican Congress share a great deal of the burden. Let's make them own it.
Blessed Be,
Taliesin
Cross posted at DailyKos, Street Prophets, MyDD, & TPMCafe
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