The Doctrine, by S.A. Lowery, aka Khephra

The Doctrine, Part Two
April 19, 2002
By S.A. Lowery aka Khephra

The Doctrine at Home

There ought to be limits to freedom" — George W. Bush, May 21, 1999.

Once again, the Bush Doctrine rears its ugly head, but this time instead of being a foreign policy, it is being applied as a subtle call to divide our citizenship into two camps - those who are with Bush in his War on Terror, and those who are against it.

What are we, the American public, afraid of post 9/11? It is not just Osama bin Laden and terrorism striking again here at home that has the American public in a constant state of paranoia. It is also Bush and his Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse -- Cheney, Rice, Rumsfeld, and Wolfowitz - along with his Grand Inquisitor, Ashcroft, who have put the fear into many of us Democrats, and non-democrats alike.

A man so afraid of justice he has to cover it up, Ashcroft is the bulldoggish Big Brother many of us feared he would be. Ashcroft dared to insult both the Senate Judiciary Committee and every patriotic American who disagrees with Bush, when he linked dissent and the questioning of the Bush's War on Terror to assisting terrorism. A few Democrats confronted him with vigor, but overall the Senate Judiciary Committee just sat there and let him do it instead of calling him on it. It was at that moment, when Ashcroft stood up to your Committee, when the right wing's new War on Dissent began in full. And it began with your quiet blessing.

Let me directly quote a legal analysis of the worst aspects of the Patriot Act for those of you who didn't have the time to read it:

"Among the USA Patriot Act's most troubling provisions, the ACLU said, are measures that: Allow for indefinite detention of non-citizens who are not terrorists on minor visa violations if they cannot be deported because they are stateless, their country of origin refuses to accept them or because they would face torture in their country of origin.

Minimize judicial supervision of federal telephone and Internet surveillance by law enforcement authorities.

Expand the ability of the government to conduct secret searches.

Give the Attorney General and the Secretary of State the power to designate domestic groups as terrorist organizations and deport any non-citizen who belongs to them.

Grant the FBI broad access to sensitive business records about individuals without having to show evidence of a crime.

Lead to large-scale investigations of American citizens for 'intelligence' purposes."

(Source: USA Patriot Act Boosts Government Powers While Cutting Back on Traditional Checks and Balances by The ACLU)

If these powers do not strike fear in your hearts now, months after you have signed the Act into power, then you have not been paying attention to the Bush Administration. Even in the hands of trustworthy public servants, these powers would be disturbing, but under Bush they are horrifying and a cause for alarm.

After Ashcroft's appearance, right wing pundits flooded the airwaves with venom for the left and anyone else who dared to think for themselves and question Bush's actions. Ann Coulter ranted; Bill Bennett organized; Jerry Fallwell blamed, and Pat Robertson agreed. The battle lines were drawn, and it was once again "Us versus Them" politics, but this time, instead of it being the U.S. versus terrorism, it is the conservatives versus the liberals.

These public figures are not insignificant; they influence many people, many people who vote Republican and many of the undecided. Should they be shut down, their freedom of speech restricted, like they would do to us? Of course not. But to fight hate, you have to expose it to the truth, and unless you counter their statements, they will just keep on convincing others that the conservative way is the right way. You must bring their hateful words to the attention of the public, and then you will find most Americans will be sickened by their hate. But this will only happen if the people have the chance to hear their words of hate countered by your rational arguments for sanity. You have been too quiet for far too long now.

While the likes of Coulter and Fallwell are both loud and easy to spot, it is organizations like Bennett's AVOT, hiding in the shadows, that are the most dangerous. Bennett's own statements invoke the worst of the dark ages of the Communism hunts, and send chills down the spine of anyone who understands our country's history.

Let me bring two William Bennett quotes to your attention, and let them serve as a warning of where the Republicans could take us, if left unchecked:

"The threats we face today are both external and internal: external in that there are groups and states that want to violently attack the United States; internal in that there are ideologues who are attempting to use this opportunity to promulgate their agenda of "blame America first." Both threats come in various guises, but both threats stem from a hatred for the American ideals of freedom and equality or a misunderstanding of those ideals and the implementation of them. Our goals will be aimed at addressing the present threats so as to eradicate future terrorism and ideologies that support it. The central focus of our activity is public opinion. "

And:

"Our committee will model itself on organizations such as the former Committee on the Present Danger and the Committee for a Free World. AVOT will:

-- educate the public about the nature and threat of terrorist organizations and states;

-- educate the public about the nature and threat of radical Islamism;

-- help articulate American ideals in schools and on campuses;

-- support democratic patriotism when it is questioned; and

-- take to task those groups and individuals who fundamentally misunderstand the nature of the war we are facing."

(Both quotes from "An Open Letter From William Bennett, TO: Interested Parties FR: William J. Bennett, Chairman RE: Americans for Victory Over Terrorism (AVOT), a project of EMPOWER.org DATE: March 12, 2002")

If the Democratic Party does not recognize the echoes of infamous history in Bennett's words, then there is no hope for us all. There was another time when people hid behind flags and accused others of being unpatriotic, and many on the right wing look back on that period as a Golden Age. But it was not a Golden Age by any means, despite how the right wing might like to eulogize. It was one of the darkest periods of our country's history, and we would be wise to prevent it from ever happening again.

Additionally, if the Democratic Party was willing to strike back against the perpetrators of 9/11 because we, as a country, were attacked first and it was a just cause, then how can we do no less when our patriotism and our party is attacked and dissent is under siege from the right?

Currently the Democratic Party is under attack by people who would push their extreme right-wing agenda through at all costs, whether the American people want it or not. Many of you have sat silent while the right wing has attacked the left wing without mercy and without any sense of fairness or concern for the truth. So I ask you all this question: Is the Democratic Party's survival and the liberal way of life not a just cause as well?

With the Patriot Act in place, there will be little defense for those of us who dare to speak out against the Bush Administration's policies, should organizations like Americans for Victory Over Terrorism ever receive any special help from those in power. The Bush Administration has already shown a love for power, partisanship, and pressure, so this is not an unreasonable situation to ponder. So I ask you, what will happen to us Angry Democrats when Bush's numbers finally go south -- as they are starting to do -- and the protests start getting louder and louder, if the Democratic Party is still on the sidelines? I think you already know the answer to that question.

Are we, as a party, going to allow such groups as Americans for Victory Over Terrorism to control the direction of discourse on today's campuses and in the media without a Democratic alternative? I say to you all, your answer should be a resounding NO! Those who hide behind the flag are often the worst offenders of Freedom, and they must be countered by truth and rational discourse, never censorship.

So far no one is speaking out on our side except for some of the old standby organizations such as NOW and the NAACP, and I would like to personally thank all the groups on the left that have stood up to the Bush agenda so far. However, it is time for the membership in the Democratic Party to organize new grassroots organizations specifically formed to counter the right-wing Think Tank blitzkrieg every where it appears. You will find us Angry Democrats who refuse to "get over it" willing to help you in your fights as well. The assistance will not be one-sided. The right wing feverishly supports their organizations, and I ask you to do the same. Please read our letters, emails, and answer our calls for help. Assist us in our fight against the incompetent Bush Regime before it is too late.

Groups like Americans for Victory Over Terrorism will be controlling the future direction of the country, unless you step up to the plate and form similar groups. Send forth skilled spokesmen and women to counter them with the truth that it is American to keep an open mind, to disagree with one's leaders, and that patriotism is not defined by having a flag in your front yard or stuck to your bumper.

These days when I look at the flag, I don't see the freedom for which it once stood, instead I see a jingoistic symbol being pushed to sell products on TV, some of them even enhanced by Bush's image and voice. The war is even being pushed with the same crass commercialism. The flag is being used, or rather abused, as being the badge of a "Real American." Don't you dare be caught without one, people might talk, and who knows what they might say behind your back. It is easy to wave a flag and yell "freedom" at the top of your lungs, but it is a bit harder to actually understand the real meaning of the word.

Was it hard to take those flag pins off your chest? My mistake, some of you are still wearing them. Did the Republicans guilt you into wearing a cheap pin to prove your patriotism? Did they also make you say a loyalty oath before you could put one on, just to prove you were a "Real American"? Oh well - maybe next time they will. I am sure there will be some Democrats who would not argue. Maybe if you ask them nicely, they will give you a uniform to wear, as well, so everyone can know which side of the war you are on.

The Bush Administration is not sacred, and Bush is not the "chosen one," despite what some of his supporters and staff members are now whispering to reporters in the background. There is no need to be "with him or against him" as a member of Congress, and to think it might even be implied by the daily spin issuing from Ari Fleischer's mouth is a true sign of the depth to which this Administration has sunk.

Why are so many of you Senators and Representatives afraid to question Bush? I'll tell you why. The reason is because the Bush Administration is pushing every political action and item on their unmandated agenda as an action supporting Bush's War on Terrorism, and you are afraid of losing in the coming elections because of being viewed as being unpatriotic or weak on terror. They've attacked any questioning of Bush's policies with a McCarthyistic scolding of one's loyalty to this country, and you've sat silent and let them do it instead of calling them on it.

At every opportunity, the right drills into the American public the idea that we must support Bush and to do otherwise would be unpatriotic, yet they never pulled behind Clinton when he needed them to pass anti-terror bills or to support him in his military actions. Instead he got threats from Jesse Helms and open contempt from Trent Lott. I understand we are a party of principles, but there is principle in standing up for what is right when we have an Administration that gets so much wrong.

The poll numbers have you all scared, which is an embarrassment to any Democrat that has stood by the party through thick and thin, defending its leadership against attacks from the Greens for being just as bad as the Republicans. To base your policies on an emotionally rigged game is short sighted and paints the Democrats as being men and women of no ideals, other than those popular at the moment.

Maybe I'm being too hard on the Democrats in Congress. The Democratic Party has not been totally quiet about the Bush Doctrine and the crackdown on dissent at home. Quite a few Democrats have spoken out, but I haven't caught everyone's names, so instead of possibly missing someone, I will just compliment the Angry Democrats as a group for standing up for our democratic ideals of free speech and dissent during a time of being told to shut up, lest people think you support terrorism. You shame the sleeping Democrats each time you put yourself on the line to halt this encroachment on our liberties with your words and deeds.

But the fact remains, Bush and his supporters have been playing a game with you, and it is about time you started playing your own game, or you might as well start calling yourselves Republicans. Many of you are already being called Democrats In Name Only behind your backs. In fact, some of you have been so busy complimenting Bush that you have been unable to hear the gasps of astonishment and cries of rage coming from your supporters.

From out of one side of their mouth, the Republicans spew overheated rhetoric about how we need to put aside partisan politics and support Bush during this war, while out of the other side of their mouth they dare to turn anything and everything on their partisan agenda into an item necessary to support the war effort.

There once was a popular game on the Internet called "6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon," in which the object of the game was to try to link any subject you could think of back to Kevin Bacon within six steps. Many of the players would go to ridiculously creative lengths to connect Bacon to the most outlandish subjects. Bush has been playing a similar game with the Democrats in Congress.

First everything was connected to his tax breaks, a game Bush still finds time to play in the midst of his war occasionally. These days, however, Bush is playing a game of degrees in which every policy and every item on his agenda is connected to supporting the War on Terrorism within a few steps. By the Bush Administration's own actions, the war has become a political issue, and it is about time the Democratic Party realizes this and stops pretending otherwise.

I would like you to start playing a different game, it is called "2 Degrees of Bush," and in that game you attempt to find out how every Bush policy is linked back to his interests in the energy sector, instead of terrorism. If Bush is going to attempt to link everything under the sun to his War on Terror, then the only way to counter his strategy is to link those items right back to energy. If not, you will always be on the defensive. Remember, turnabout is fair play in politics.

If you don't know all the shady connections between Bush's War and his energy interests, then I suggest you do a little digging on the Internet. The information is readily available with any of the popular Web search engines. Just enter in "Bush", "oil", and "pipeline" and run a search. When you are equipped with the facts, "1 Degree of Bush" will be easy for every Democrat to play because each and every one of his policies really does feed back to those same energy interests that put him in the White House, instead of Vice-President Gore.

But to be able to fight off the Republican Party's attacks, the Democratic Party is going to have to stand up straight and finally confront the right. And to be able to accomplish that goal, the Democratic Party is going to have to stand for something again. War was declared upon the left wing a long time ago by the right wing -- a Cultural War. The right wing has been attacking all of us on the left for the last 20 years. When will it be time to finally take off the gloves?

By letting the right walk all over the Democratic Party for the past 20 years, those of you who have placated them instead of standing up for us have helped to make the Democratic Party an embarrassment, by your refusal to argue for the party's ideals. Instead of seeing some of you fight for your party's beliefs, I've seen the Democratic Party as a whole move more and more to the right. It is time to put the breaks on more than just the Bush Doctrine, it is time to stop moving to the right or else the Democratic Party will look just like moderate Republicans, and in that case I will be voting with a third party, and so will many other Democrats I know.

You are running out of time because of the way you have been handling politics as a group since the Selection and Post-9/11. Pundits call you gutless and spineless, and it is getting harder and harder for the Democrats I know and sympathize with to defend you from their attacks. But that is not our fault. It is hard to stand up for a Democrat in Republican's clothing if you are one of the Democratic proud. Remember, Vice-President Gore won the popular vote. Remember that; it seems to have slipped some of your minds. There are a lot of Angry Democrats who voted for Gore who have been feeling ignored in your rush to embrace Bush. Please listen to them! Please listen to us!

There are many of us Angry Democrats out there, if you just would look for us. Do not be fooled by Bush's poll numbers. Our voices are growing by the day with each hubristic action the Bush Administration makes, and countless Anti-Bush sites have been established on the Internet, despite Cheney's attempts to buy all the Anti-Bush domain names in existence. Yet, for the most part, you have ignored them. We are putting our lives on the line by speaking out under the Patriot Act, and it is time you join us. Reach out -- we are your supporters, not the Republicans.

People will not vote for pseudo-Republicans in Nov. 2002 if they are looking for a hawkish politician - they'll vote for the real thing, a Republican hawk instead of a Democrat with Republican tendencies. Why vote for half of a hawk when you can get the whole thing? It is time to stand for something else than whatever is politically safe. You will lose to them if you act like them.

Protests are taking root, and soon Bush will try to link "the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances" to terrorism. Moves have already been made to connect the Anti-Globalization Movement to terrorism, so this leap of logic is not illogical. Wherever there are protests against Bush or his war, I urge you to join them. With the Democratic Party's support, the Protest Movement will only grow.

You've shown your support for tracking down Osama bin Laden to the American people, which should still continue. However, while you have been supporting Bush's War on Terror, he has moved on and discarded the original goal and set his sights on Iraq, so he can finish his Father's work.

It is time for the Democratic Leadership to realize its base is not the middle leaning to the right, or else you will start to lose those of us who are still proud to call ourselves liberals and progressives, despite the insults thrown at us by the right wing. "Liberal" is not a scatological term and it is time the Democratic Party accepts it back into its proper place once again - in its heart and soul. It is time for the Democratic Party to reach out for its base, and that base does not love war or Bush.

In the name of world peace, I urge you to pick up a protest sign now and join us on the front lines. We have been waiting on you for a very long time now.

What is the Democratic Doctrine?

"I do know I'm ready for the job. And, if not, that's just the way it goes." — George W. Bush, Aug. 21, 2000

Ever since 9/11 -- and for some of us, since we first heard Bush announce his candidacy -- the American people have been in a state of perpetual fear and the only solution offered to them as a way out was the Bush Doctrine, a statement of such galling, school-yard bullying it has been hard to accept as being realistic from the very start. Without any life vest, the public reached out for the first thing they thought would keep them afloat. Without an alternative being offered by the Democratic Leadership, they grabbed onto the Bush Doctrine for dear life, callous to the fates of the innocent civilians of Afghanistan who would pay with their lives, simply by being born in the wrong country and at the wrong time.

But there is a way out from both the troubles abroad and at home, but it is not going to be Bush who will lead this country to sanity. It is the Democratic Party which will rise to the occasion. It is time for the Democratic Doctrine.

What is the Democratic Doctrine? Well, just like Bush's Doctrine, it is simple and easy to remember - peace and prosperity, that is the Democratic Doctrine, not death and destruction, like the Bush Doctrine. We had peace and prosperity not so long ago.

If you are having trouble remembering what peace and prosperity is like, in the midst of an illegal Bush regime, then just ask President Clinton or Vice-President Gore. I'm sure they will be happy to remind you of what it was like, and maybe, if you ask nicely, they will remind Resident Bush and the American people too.

It is now clear to me that the days of Clinton-smashing are drawing to a close before our very eyes. Everywhere I look in the media, commentators are calling the Bush Administration's Mideast policy by such unflattering terms as "failure" and "embarrassment." Bush is finally being called on his actions, or rather, his inaction in the Mideast. It is his actions people are appalled over now, not President Clinton's past actions. One day soon, Bush's Mideast policy crisis will be known as the Great Bush Failure, and that will make anything Clinton did in his private life insignificant in comparison, even to the right wing.

Bush has made an embarrassment of the U.S. on the world's stage, and by your conspicuous silence, you are helping him do it. We have all of our diplomatic credibility as a nation, and after all these years of finger pointing at President Clinton, it is now time to point right back at the man who is directly to blame for our foreign policy nightmare.

Stand up for Peace and return us to Prosperity. Reject the Bush Doctrine and the terror it brings the world, both abroad and at home. This does not mean you have to be unpatriotic or weak on terrorism, but it does mean you need to envision an alternative to the Bush Doctrine.

Close your left flank, and embrace your base again, embrace those who dare to think differently than the so-called majority the supports Bush, embrace those the right attacks. It is time to stop turning the other cheek. The Republican Party keeps on slapping you and you keep on asking for more. Stand up for the people who voted for you. Support us; we are getting tired of supporting you while you support Bush and his way of death.

George W. Bush, just like his father before him, lacks the "vision thing." Present a vision of the future to the supporters of your party, the citizens of this nation, and the people of the world. Save us with a Democratic Doctrine of Peace and Prosperity. Save us from the Bush Doctrine.

Permission freely granted to reproduce at will. Contact: hmullins612@comcast.net