Stay Active, End the Nightmare
March 20, 2001
by EarlG

Since the day that the Supreme Court installed George W. Bush as the 43rd president of the United States, we assumed that, like Bush's transition, his honeymoon would be a short one. Indeed, most of us thought that at least fifty percent of the voting public would be angry enough to ensure that Bush would have no honeymoon period whatsoever.

But as we are all by now aware, the media likes to follow a set, safe pattern laid out in its own rulebook. It is traditional for presidents have a honeymoon, and the media are trying their damnedest to make sure that this president won't be any different. In his first two months Bush removed overseas family planning funding, bombed Iraq, backed away from peace talks in South-East Asia and the Middle East, pushed through the first stage of his ridiculous tax plan (which polls indicate is unpopular with the electorate) and did a complete about-face on reducing polluting carbon dioxide emissions - one of his campaign promises. Meanwhile, the media has been content to concentrate on Bill Clinton's pardon "scandal" as a welcome diversion, a convenient distraction from Bush's first one hundred days.

But the tide will turn. A new president can only deflect attention from his own failings for a finite period of time. The public and the media will wake up one day soon and realize that the current government is responsible for its own actions, that whatever has happened from January 20th, 2001 onward has happened on Bush's watch.

When that happens, we, the active users of Democratic websites and message boards which have been striving to create a forum for our rage, will be in a unique position to provide people with the REAL story. The news that they may have missed while the nation was sleepwalking through the aftermath of one of the most disgraceful political events in modern history. We are proof positive that the anger is alive and kicking.

It has been recently reported that the Democratic party is dead. This, of course, is a gross overstatement. One only has to look at what happened in Britain in 1997 to see the true destruction of a political party. Tony Blair's Labor party swept to power in the largest British electoral landslide of the 20th century unseating a conservative government which had ruled for 18 years, pushed a right-wing agenda, and ultimately lost touch with the people. The Conservative party entered a political wilderness from which they are unlikely to escape for a very long time. Despite political failures, the Labor party is still riding high in the polls and is a dead cert to win this year's general election.

However, in the United States this is not the case, and we do not have to wait eighteen years. Despite failing to win control of the House, Senate, and White House, the Democrats gained seats - and with an arguably weak candidate, fought one of the closest presidential elections in this country's history. As we all know, more people voted for Al Gore than for George W. Bush. More people wanted to see Al Gore become president. If you add Ralph Nader's votes, MANY more people voted for a left-wing agenda.

Now, after running a moderate campaign, the Republicans strive to bring a right-wing agenda to the table which the majority of the public did not approve of, did not endorse, and did not vote for. They are engineering their own downfall.

But what of the media? The media would like people to believe that we aren't angry about what happened in Florida. But the media's playbook also demands that when the next elections roll around, there must be a hot story. As the Bush regime continues its downward spiral it is our duty to make sure that WE are the hot story. It is our duty to let them know that the Democratic party is alive and well, and - wouldn't you know it - we've been angry all along!

We are the very base of the party. We are in the trenches. We spread the word on a daily basis. We are the beginning of the end for the Republican party. If we maintain our passion for the fight, and if the right-wing continue to push their agenda against the will of the people, we can make sure that they suffer the same fate as the British Conservative party - mortally wounded by the electorate which they betrayed.

As long as we remain active, the nightmare can be over sooner than you think.

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