Count me as among those who have greeted the selection of Howard Dean as the new DNC chairman as good news! He has already garnered guffaws and derision amongst the hard-core right-wingers, but what else is new? Despite protestations to the contrary, Dr. Dean was the candidate Karl Rove most feared. Why do you think the Republican attack dogs went after him so ferociously so early in the primaries, especially considering the unprecedented Internet support he gained with young voters?
However (and this is a BIG however), without OUR support and OUR hard work in the months ahead, this will ultimately amount to nothing!! Why? When Clinton was elected in 1992, too many progressives got lazy and simply basked in the glow of defeating the 12-year Reagan/Bush reign of terror. If we had pushed the Clinton administration for our agenda even HALF as hard as the neocons pushed theirs, Clinton's legacy would have been far more significant.
Let's be both honest and realistic here: The Bush administration is poised to wreak more global devastation than Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, Joseph Stalin and Adolph Hitler COMBINED! The foaming-at-the-mouth fundamentalists are jonesing big time for Armageddon and total annihilation! Corporate America thinks it has a right to TOTAL global domination. The future of not simply our country but all life on this planet hangs in the balance. That's not a message most people want to hear, but goddman it, it happens to be true!
As progressives, we need to simultaneously both learn from our enemies and agree to disagree on certain issues. How can anything be more important than the survival of our species? The Bushies are essentially taking their cues from two sources: George Orwell and Joseph Goebbels. They have mastered the techniques of double-speak and The Big Lie. Therefore, they have the advantage of being able to manipulate a slight majority of the American public. I honestly do not think that the average human brain can even begin to process the level of hypocrisy we are seeing. We have all witnessed the viciousness of the hard-right in shutting down any argument that runs counter to their sick, twisted agenda. We need to learn from this!
This is not to say we should become the enemy, but we MUST understand them! Decades of demonizing the left has paid significant dividends! Since the right controls most of the media, we need to utilize what resources ARE available. We must gear ourselves for a long-term battle wining the hearts and minds of our own citizens.
The achievements of the left in this country are very significant! Labor laws, civil rights, environmental laws, educational reform, Social Security, and more, ALL are hard-won battles that were won through generations of opposition from conservative elements. But the right has bamboozled millions into voting against their own best interests by pushing hot button emotional issues appealing to fear and hatred. This cannot be turned around in a few months since it took nearly 40 years of Republican pandering to racial fears for them to enjoy the stranglehold they now have over the south and mid-west. If gay marriage, tax increases and abortion became a rallying force for conservatives, then we must equally be determined to reach out to the so-called "red states" in that we are all in this together, and the Republican party will NEVER stand by them, push comes to shove.
We have to be both fearless and relentless in pointing out the evils of this administration. We have to convince people that they ARE NOT the "true" Christians, the "true" Americans! How can they be when their every action has desecrated every principal contained in the Bible and the Constitution? How can war and hatred be family values? The fears of global terrorism have been disgustingly exploited by this administration, and their every action in the Middle East only CREATES more terrorism! We must open every eye to how millions of Americans have become willing participants in their own executions, their children expendable fodder in countless wars to come.
We must plan and strategize NOW!! We must make certain that every Democrat in every county and state in this nation NOT back down for concern of being branded a traitor, a Communist, a terrorist! The vice-grip of fear suffocating our nation is actually worse than it was during the McCarthy era, since virtually EVERY facet of our existence is at stake! So, every bit of support, every e-mail, every letter, every website and blog is crucial to creating a living, breathing coalition, and every minute counts! Dr. Dean needs to feel the weight of our collective presence ASAP! We either live together, and work together for real change, or we will all die together, and sooner than we might think! A full appreciation and understanding of the gravity of this situation is needed in order to fully mobilize the sleeping giant of progressive change waiting to happen. There is just too much at stake to let yet another opportunity pass us by again.