NYBri with all due respect, I not just going to fall in line and be silent. No way. Ain't happening!
Let me tell you why, and it has nothing to do with Barack Obama, the DLC, Howard Dean, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, forget all of these people.
I won't shut up because I live in the city of my birth which I no longer recognize. I live in a city which has pulled away the welcome map for all but the super rich. This is an ugly metaphor for what is happening all across America. And as I said yesterday, I'm one of the lucky ones. I can tough out Mr. Bush, many Americans cannot.
We're talking about a race for survival. Remember Katrina? Our fellow citizens abandoned, another metaphor for what is happening across the length and breadth of our great country.
Read some history, look at what happens to societies that systematically destroy large swathes of population. And I speak here of the middle class. They fail.
You want to talk about the "spine" of the Democratic party? Let's first talk about the backbone of the United States of America--the middle class.
I won't shut up because people are really hurting. I'm not welcome on the Op Ed page of the New York Times so I say what I think is important on Daily Kos.
I won't shut up because I am terrified, like most Americans about our country which is veering perilously off course.
I won't shut up because many, many Americans every single day are choosing between food and driving to work. This is not right. Getting to work is a right not a privilege.
I won't shut up because Americans in the Northeast will be cold this winter and will be forced to make equally bleak decisions.
I won't shut up because as a society we have turned our backs on the most vulnerable.
I won't shut up because I shake with rage when I write these diaries. I am angry because I have to justify my legitimate concerns. I am angry because we elect people who are supposed to be fighting for us every day and they are not doing this.
I won't shut up because I read the comments people post on Kos and these people are facing awful realities every single day. Do you read these comments, NYBri?
I won't shut up because you get the feeling that the politicians are dicking with people. You get the sickening feeling that many of them have no concept in the world about the excruciating struggle faced by many Americans.
I won't shut up because, silence is not an option, nor is another failure from Democrats. And our collective success hinges not on moving a little to the left or right or abandoning anyone who dares to address the DLC, success depends on connecting the to real, excruciating and awful struggle of so many Americans.
It is our patriotic duty to speak out, particularly for the most vulnerable among us. This is no political game for many Americans.
So, I'll use a play on the words of our Commander in Chief. When the Dems stand up, I'll stand down.