They've got nothing - Democratic Underground

BobcatJH

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Mon Feb-12-07 04:51 PM
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They've got nothing

More often than not, the fallback Republican response to criticism is something along the lines of "The Democrats have no ideas." Expressed in myriad ways and by myriad Republicans and Republican apologists, this critique does two things: It deflects attention from the matter at hand and transfers the ownership of (and blame for) the sorry state of affairs for which the Bush administration and Republican Party is responsible to anyone or anything but them. Reality, however, is a cruel mistress, and what has happened since last November's Democratic landslide paints a much different picture. Democrats, promising a new direction, have already accomplished many goals and have changed the way of doing business in Washington for the better, returning the government to the people. The Republicans, on the other hand, have proven to the American people something that needs repeating - over and over again: They've got nothing.

Consider, then, the following to be a public service announcement.

Here, in as concise a list as possible, and in no particular order, is a brief look at what the Republican Party and its allies in the media have deemed important since last November's elections: Lying about who actually controls the Senate, hovering like vultures over Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson, asking a Muslim congressman if he's working with our enemies, complaining about said congressman's plan to use a Koran in a meaningless swearing-in photo op, suggesting abolishing the Congressional Black Caucus, complaining about a beefed-up congressional work week, blaming the Democrats for Iraq, blaming Iraq for the president's poor economic approval ratings, blaming the media for the president's poor approval ratings, blaming the media for promoting climate change "alarmism", blaming "dinosaur flatulence" for global warming, blaming liberals for the September 11 attacks, calling bloggers a "mob", blaming bloggers for the "ugly political climate", worrying generally about bloggers, saying things like "The Iranian people are more pro American than any American university faculty", saying thing like "I don't want my 17-year-old son to have to pick tomatoes or make beds in Las Vegas", questioning the seriousness of those whose opinions on Iraq were considered by the author to be correct, suggesting putting Keith Olbermann and Matt Damon in a detention camp, picking a fight with Olbermann, suggesting an assassination schedule for members of Congress, calling Ted Kennedy a hostile enemy "right here on the home front", complaining about an innocuous Barbara Boxer comment directed toward Condoleeza Rice, complaining about a questionable spitting "incident" at a massive anti-war protest, likening a presidential hopeful's attire to that of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, discussing said hopeful's shirtless body, calling said hopeful a "Halfrican American", accusing said hopeful of attending a militant Muslim training school, saying said hopeful would have been pro-slavery, complaining about another presidential hopeful's hiring of two outspoken progressive bloggers, discussing said hopeful's housing portfolio, complaining about Nancy Pelosi's travel arrangements, accusing Pelosi of discriminating against women, discussing Pelosi's State of the Union attire, diverting funding from raising and armoring levees, slashing middle-class assistance from the budget and trying to eliminate the minimum wage.

By contrast, here's what the Republican Party has not deemed worthy of discussion since becoming the minority: Iraq.

While 3,000-plus Americans and countless thousands of Iraqis have died, the Republicans have done everything in their power to avoid serious debate on the most serious and pressing of issues facing us today. Prominent conservatives have suggested Congress "do nothing" about Iraq and, for the time being, it appears their Republican friends in the House and Senate are listening. Despite repeated anti-escalation rhetoric, when push came to shove in the Senate, conservatives - ever the champions of the up-or-down-vote - denied America such a vote on a measure expressing disagreement with the president's escalation. In fact, seven Republican Senators who had each expressed strong opposition to the plan (including Chuck Hagel and Gordon Smith), voted to protect the president. Republican John Warner, who had introduced the anti-escalation resolution in question, voted to block debate on his own measure. Meanwhile, every indication coming from the White House is that the president plans to ignore the will of Congress (and of the people) and do whatever the hell he wants. And what he wants, if the latest news is any indication, is to not only escalate the U.S. presence in Iraq, but also provoke a confrontation with Iran.

Madness, to be sure, but apparently not an idea crazy enough to sway the Republicans and their friends in the servile press corps from the most pressing matters of the day, those mentioned above and, when time permits, the passing of Anna Nicole Smith. Smith, of course, didn't add anything to the political debate in this country. That said, for quite some time, neither has the Republican Party. If their post-election agenda has been any indication, I wouldn't expect that trend to change for a long, long time. They've got nothing, people. Absolutely nothing. The aforementioned list is all the evidence anyone needs to believe this assertion. Think of it anytime a conservative challenges our alleged lack of ideas. And those doing so, the spiteful morons still willing only to listen to the conservative echo chamber, would know better, but they've got nothing, either. Don't ever forget that.

Thank you for your time. The preceding has been another public service announcement on behalf of the progressive movement, the only ones who can - and will - rescue America from this mess.