A Wake-Up Call to The Democrats

[babylonsister]

A Wake-Up Call to The Democrats

http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/7190


A Wake-Up Call to The Democrats
by Timothy Gatto | May 2 2007

snip//

The 2006 elections were in reality a referendum against this war. You have held a circus on Capitol Hill with your non-binding “timetable” for pullout of American Forces from Iraq that you all knew would be vetoed by this administration, yet you did it anyway. This was a political stunt and does nothing to change the facts of where we are at today. You can water down the spending bill and bring it to the White house again and if it is not what this President wants, it will be vetoed again. Eventually, Americans will tire of you not “supporting” the troops, as the Republican controlled mainstream media will cast you as “unpatriotic” and you will eventually give this President what he wants. You will then have another “talking point” for your 2008 election campaigns. The American people know this too. We realize that you are playing politics with this war.

We also realize that we have lost many of our constitutional rights during this phoney “War on Terror”. This war is nothing more than a way to limit the rights of American citizens. So far we have seen Posse Comitatus severely weakened with a rider to the Insurrection Act. We have seen the President allow suspect treatment of prisoner of war. Some equate this torture with the Military Commissions Act of 2006, which by the way, also threw out the Writ of Habeas Corpus to any “enemy combatant” tried on non-US territory. We now have a concentration camp built at Guantanamo, Cuba. We have seen this President let the NSA use Wiretaps and electronic surveillance against US citizens in violation of the FISA court that allows this by letting the government get a warrant 72 hours after the act. We have seen the Patriot Act allow Federal Investigators to search our homes without our knowledge if as long as we are designated “terrorists” agents. We have also seen this President use “signing statements” continuously since he took office that allows him to abridge laws he doesn’t feel that he should observe in the name of a wartime “Unitary Presidency”.

snip//

The American People are well aware of what needs to be done. The American People are well aware of who needs to do it. This President and his Vice President need to be impeached. You might believe that it is only the far left that wants this, and this could well be the mistake of judgement that destroys the Democratic Party once and for all. We realize that you are letting American soldiers continue to be used as target practice so that Democrats can still have the Iraq war for a campaign issue next year. The American People know this also and they are not happy about it. You authorized this war and as Senator Gravel has said, Congress can Un-authorize this war. You can impeach, do whatever it takes to stop the killing that has taken over 600,000 Iraqi lives and over 3,300 American ones, not counting those that die in the air on the way to Ramstien or the ones that die Stateside. We have estimates of 35,000 severely wounded, I suspect more. We are in an immoral war and we have an almost dictatorial President and Congress plays political theater.

more...

[RestoreGore]

1. my sentiments exactly

Thank you for posting this.

TIME TO END THIS WAR.

[polichick]

2. Yep, it might be do or die for the Dems this time.

I just posted on the "Gore or Hillary" thread that I'd jump ship for a new progressive party with Gore at the helm. Can't start a poll because I'm too new here, but I wonder how many Dems feel the same way.

[Tom Joad]

7. Gore is not all that progressive.

Clinton/Gore continued sanctions on Iraq that killed thousands.
They approved of the idea of regime change in Iraq, and backed it up with bombing.
Gore supports occupation in the Middle East (Israel's brutal occupation of Palestine)

Not to mention their support for anti-labor/anti-environmental "free" trade agreements.

So don't count me in.

[polichick]

8. I always thought Gore was more progressive than Clinton.

Probably got that idea from Earth in the Balance. But Gore seems to have enough of a following to make a third party viable ~ not sure who else could do it.

[Tom Joad]

10. Would be very silly to have a third party running on the same

platform as another party... or two.

[polichick]

12. I agree...

...unless the third party is very much grassroots driven ~ free of "machine" politics and the usual special interest influences. With the use of the Internet for more direct communication and donations, I can imagine it happening one day. And, since Al Gore invented the Internet (haha), maybe he should be the one to do it!

[Joe Fields]

13. May I remind you that Gore was not president at the time.

It was the Clinton administration, not the Gore administration.

[unkachuck]

15. count me in....

....I sense we're at a crossroad too along with you and Gatto....

"You might believe that it is only the far left that wants this, and this could well be the mistake of judgement that destroys the Democratic Party once and for all."

....a new anti-war, people-first, grassroots party IS coming....the corporate control of both parties is making this a necessity....

....and the weak Dem leadership is making it impossible for the anti-corporate-war people to support them which is a big chunk of the Party....without an anti-war choice on the ballot, hammering the old ABB line will only cause many of us to stay away from the polls in '08....

....but with an anti-war, anti-corporate-control, grassroots, people-first-party alternative, many Dems would crossover while others would vote who never would have....we could see the 50 plus percent voter turn out raise to 80% or more....

[Joanne98]

3. Bravo!

[partylessinOhio]

4. One deranged man cannot TRUMP a nation of millions.

There are enough cracks in his Repuglican support to work together to impeach Bush/Cheney. Work on it, Madame Squeaker and Reid. Stop coming in front of cameras and media whores to make weak and silly statements. Your work needs to be done in the halls of Congress away from the glare.

You could do it. Do you have the will? Are you willing to forego your financial gain that keeps this war going and keeps increasing numbers of Americans on a downward spiral into poverty and despair?

If you aren't willing to save America - then step down and let stronger members of Congress do the job.

[Jcrowley]

5. K&R

[Tom Joad]

6. Refuse any more funding bills. Get the troops out.

We don't have to worry about veto-proof majorities, all we have to do is make sure this bill does not succeed.
We don't want fuckin' benchmarks! We don't want to "succeed" in Iraq!
We want out of a criminal war.

[Carolina]

9. summarizes how feel

as well. And I know what the writer means since I, too, am a transplant to SC and feel I have no representation here but increasingly none in the Congress as well.

[az chela]

11. GREAT POST!!!!!!!

I agree with it all.We need to dog the dems and protest EN MASSE

[Joe Fields]

14. I couldn't agree more.

[Senator]

16. 2006 was a referendum against bushcheney

The "all about Iraq" meme was just the beltway parrots' way of deflecting the demands of the American People into the familiar, and easily dismissed, "Anti-War Crowd" rhetorical ghetto.

Still, it's a great essay and may help snap Nancy's Navel-Gazers out of their stupor.

--

[puebloknot]

17. Agree absolutely. The People have spoken, and the Congress...

...has refused to listen.

America is dying. Impeachment is quite possibly our last hope.