Even Helen Thomas believes Democrats need to get a spine and stand up to the "Republican lite" DLC conservatives in our own party. Sounding like one of our own, here at Daily Kos, Helen says
Democrats need a new script:"
When are the Democrats going to get their act together?Surely, they are not going to let President Bush's political guru, Karl Rove, snooker them in the mid-term November election campaign as he did in the past two presidential elections.
What is he going to pull out of the hat? Soft on terrorism? Gay marriage? Flag burning? 9/11?
Are the Democrats going to be such easy prey again, neutralized by phony wedge issues and neglectful of the real issue, which is the administration's flagrant use of falsehoods to justify a war of choice?
The leaderless Democrats, speaking in a cacophony, are being outgunned by the conservatives and members of their own party representing the Democratic Leadership Council who are at heart "Republican lite."
Helen Reminds Karl Rove That It Was GOP President Ford Who 'Cut and Run" in Vietnam
We need to take lessons from Helen Thomas who reminds everyone of how disingenuous Karl Rove's spinning actually is. From someone who was there.
There are a handful, including Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., a Vietnam veteran who is calling for a speedy U.S. pullout from Iraq. He also took a swipe at Rove on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday for pushing the war while "sitting in his big air-conditioned office on his big, fat backside, saying 'Stay the course.' "
He was responding to Rove's speech in New Hampshire last week in which Rove attacked Democrats for what he called "that party's old pattern of cutting and running."
Rove -- who prides himself on being a history buff -- obviously did not remember when President Ford ordered U.S. troops out of Vietnam in April 1975. They departed -- some clinging by their fingertips to helicopters -- as North Vietnamese forces advanced on Saigon.
Polls show that the American people -- including many Republicans -- are beginning to turn against the war.
Helen Gives Democrats A List Of Other Strong Issues
Helen reminds us of the Bill of Rights, illegal wire taps, secret prision, health care, insurance, the cost of prescriptions drugs.
In addition to an endless war for no known U.S. objective, there are a host of other issues Democrats should embrace to hit home to every American
They could shout from the rooftops against the chipping away at the Bill of Rights and expansion of presidential power.
Bush has asserted the right to wiretap and eavesdrop on any American without a warrant in the name of fighting terrorism. He has asserted presidential power beyond stated constitutional rights and there is no Republican gutsy enough to call his hand.
The administration also has detained hundreds of suspected terrorists in limbo without charges or trials.
And then there are the shameful alleged secret prisons abroad where prisoners may be subjected to torture under interrogation.
The fact that millions of Americans lack health insurance is a theme Democrats should campaign on. The Democrats should support universal health care. When the administration lays down the law in the prescription drug program that drug prices are not negotiable, who is it working for?
And What About The Class Issues That "Divide the Rich And Poor
This is the one are the Democratic leadership is getting it right with the New Directions theme. Democrats have mentioned minimum wages, measures to reduce health care costs, and giving the goverment the power to negotiate better prices for prescription drugs.
Another rich target for Democrats: Bush and the Republican Congress cut taxes for the richest people in the country while fighting to keep the 10-year-old minimum wage at $5.15.
Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., said last week that the "divide between rich and poor in this country has reached outrageous proportions." He urged passage of Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy's bill to raise the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour in three stages.
And how about the cuts in homeland security funding for vulnerable New York and Washington?
The Democrats also could hit upon our diminished image around the world and loss of credibility.
As Bush prepared to visit Europe this week, Die Zeit, a German weekly, declared that Americans have "lost their moral credibility in Iraq."
The newspaper also said "America's entire Iraq policy is out of control."
That's what the Democrats should be saying.
Amen, Helen Thomas.
And, this is what a lot of us here have been saying as well.
It's time to give the Republican hell. With these harder cutting real issues that differentiate the two parties. The problem our leadership has been felled with, is that too many Joe Lieberman Democrats have supported the same GOP Neocon positions we should be attacking they do not want to risk collatoral damage.
But, I agree with Helen Thomas. We must stick to our principles and to our guns. Say what needs to be said and let the chips fall where they may. Let's elect Lamont so we can save this seat. But lets not neuter our parties most powerful election winning themes because the DLC Democrats don't get it.
They and other Democrats who "miss the boat" can try to catch up later. The battle lines and election themes should be drawn in ways that highlight the most critical distinctions.
This historical opportunity will allow a new generation of real leaders to rise to replace those who only are in positions of leadership due to seniority.