Where to begin?
We could start with the hanging chads and the Supremes pre-empting Florida state law in 2000. Or we could rake up the muck about the systematic destruction of Democratic voter registration forms in 2004. Or how about the electronic voting machine irregularities in Ohio and elsewhere in 2008? And then there is ALEC, which stands for the harmless-sounding American Legislative Exchange Council, a Republican legislative boilerplate sausage-making contraption. And when folks began to shine some light on ALEC, there was a lot of scurrying to safety. To date, about 24 corporations and non-profits have dumped their ALEC memberships, including some heavy hitters, like Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Proctor and Gamble, Amazon, Wal-Mart, Dell and the Gates Foundation. Now Rick Scott, the Governor of Florida is keen on declaring a couple hundred thousand voters ineligible to vote in Florida, so he can throw the 2012 election to Romney.
These are just a FEW data points on the GOP death spiral of democracy curve. Let's continue below the gnoccho d'oro.
Who can blame the Republicans for using any scheme or scam in the book to make up for their numerical and constructive public policy deficit? Well, I can, for one. Actually, every person who has lived in North America for the last decade or two has enough political acumen to know that "Republican governance" is the best definition of oxymoron.
Everyone on the progressive team is delighted that John Roberts was moved to vote against type and support Obamacare [I have to say, this is the first time I have typed that word; having always considered it a pejorative coinage, I have been loathe to give it currency. Perhaps the SCOTUS decision will mark the beginning of its semantic melioration.] But it does not repair the damage caused by the Citizens United decision, or whatever lies around the corner. (I like the idea of enlarging the size of the court, but what a fight that would be.)
When one starts to tally all the Republican misdeeds, skullduggery, and mendacity, it is seriously possible to imagine some kind of RICO indictment. It is still maddening for supposedly competent journalists to observe the asymmetric behavior of the political parties and toss off one of those "both-sides-do-it" lines. (Granted, there have been times in the history of American politics that the Democrats did some pretty skanky things--but it's been a LONG time.)
Hey, Aaron Sorkin, how about a new West Wing kind of miniseries with a political fantasy about the takedown of the morally bankrupt modern conservative machine? Let your imagination rip. I'm seeing someone who looks like Karl Rove being waterboarded by someone who looks like John McCain.
Oh, I know there's hardly any justice any more, especially when whistle-blowers go to jail while the real perps continue to make billions in bonuses. But there is always HOPE for better times, better government, better Democrats in Congress. There is one thing for certain--it won't happen by accident.
Think.
Strategize.
Organize.
Give.
Write.
Call.
Act.