I have never in my life, a long and varied existence, seen so many victims gathered in one place, determined to believe they're being further victimized.
Y'all have managed to equal the RW asshats in tortured logic, specious reasoning, and the spewing of vitriol. I can't even spot the trolls anymore.
I realize that it's been a long and painful 8 years, and that the previous 30 weren't so great either, but now that we have a chance to work together to put progressive policies in place it appears that all we can really manage is to help the Republicans block any effective change. Jeezus, we don't need an opposition party - we brought our own!
Logic, thoughtfulness and reality seem to be losing to rage, invective and paranoia. I expect to see the latter three on Free Republic and Red State, I expect it from Fox News and Rush Limbaugh. I don't expect it on DKos, and I don't find it tolerable in people who claim to be progressives, or liberals, or thinking beings.
It took 1 year to investigate Scooter Libby. IIRC, Blago was under investigation for multiple years, and they had taps on his phones to help them out. But Cheney hasn't been indicted 4 Whole Months into the Obama administration, and that means Obama is a torture proponent? WTF?
Obama is expecting the other (co-equal) branches of our government to do their jobs, and that means he's all about sweeping the abuses of the Bush administration under a very large and lumpy rug? STFU!
Bullshit. BULLSHIT! B.U.L.L.S.H.I.T.!!!!!!!!
Maybe you didn't have enough of a coffee buzz going to make you alert enough to really watch President Obama yesterday. Did you see the whole speech? Were you watching him, or were you blogging with the teevee on in the background? Or did you get your information from other diaries, or comments in diaries? Did you wait until someone else told you what to think and how to feel? Or did you already have your mind made up, so you could cherry-pick sentences and thus miss the entire point? Is it impossible to believe that our President told us the truth? Can we not accept that the mess created by the Bush Administration is so profound that there are no easy answers, quick solutions, or even answers at all in some cases?
Are we so blunted by the ugliness of the public discourse that we can't recognize anger if it isn't accompanied by yelling? Does Obama have to scream "Cut off their balls!" before we recognize the anger and disgust he feels toward the people who trashed the Constitution and undermined our democracy? Does he have to become the enemy in order to defeat the enemy?
Do you need to believe that Progressives and Liberals will ALWAYS get screwed? Is that the payoff? You're free from responsibility because the Bad Guys have all the power, and Obama is a Corporatist Stooge? That's an easy out.
If you wanted a free-wheeling, thoughtless President, you voted wrong, you donated wrong, and you worked for the wrong guy. You could have had McCain and his sidekick. You could have had your daily dose of invective delivered by Sarah. You could have had 4 more years of the "Bring it on" school if you'd supported the war hero/POW.
I worked for, donated to, and voted for someone different. I wanted thoughtfulness. I wanted someone who took the time to make decisions. I wanted someone who wouldn't sell out to the demands to react to every poll, or to those who demanded an eye for an eye, a punch for a punch, and equal opportunity dirty politics. I wanted someone who values nuance, who believes that if it's worth doing it's worth doing well. I wanted someone who had the intelligence, the stamina, and the courage to take on a monumental pile of shit without whining. I wanted someone who would learn and study and think, not react from the gut. I've pretty much had it with "gut".
I wanted, in short, what I think makes me a Democrat, a liberal - someone who accepts the fact that the real world contains many more grey areas than it does black and white. I'm a Democrat because I've learned to mistrust easy answers. I'm a Democrat because I know that complexity isn't a barrier to crash through, it's a fact of life that has to be included in my decisions and planning. I'm a Democrat because I know I might not always be right, no matter how passionate I am about my positions. I'm a Democrat because I believe that even the "not-right" have a right to their beliefs and opinions, and deserve to be treated with respect. It doesn't mean I won't argue, that I give up on making my case, but it does mean that I can't retreat to name-calling or arrogance without sinning against my own cherished values.
I will probably pay a price for writing this rant - not in fending off those who disagree with me, but in giving in to my own anger.
I just don't know what else to do - I don't want to leave this place, I love what it's given me. I guess I feel as though I have to fight for what I value about DKos, and to ask for a little less Red State and a little more thought.
*****UPDATE****
This was a rant that I expected would slip down the Recent Diaries list like a greased pig on a hot slide. Thanks for all the thoughtful comments, and the rec's, and for all the honesty. Even in full rant mode, I'm so impressed with the breadth and the depth of the people who hang here and write here and fight here.