Profiles in Cowardice .... Or Courage, the Cowardly Donkey

TiredTexan

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Thu Mar-16-06 11:25 PM
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Profiles in Cowardice .... Or Courage, the Cowardly Donkey

Here's a letter to the editor I am sending to my paper ......... Tell me what you think.

Profiles in Cowardice, or ��..
Courage, the Cowardly Donkey

The most frustrating aspect of being a Democrat today is not George W. Bush. It�s not the domination by the Republicans of every aspect of governance. It�s not even the silence of the citizenry in the face of Bush�s trampling of our most cherished freedoms in the name of freedom.

It�s the spinelessness of my own party.

In my lifetime, my nightmares never conjured up an America that freely adopted the terrors of the Soviet regime. Torture, secret prisons and verdicts, propaganda, spying on dissenters, the �disappeared�, election fraud, extraordinary rendition, all are commonplace now, accepted meekly in the land of the free and the home of the brave. And the reason for this state of affairs is not just that we have a president who believes that the Rule of Law does not apply to him, or that Republicans back this extraordinary grasp of kingly power, but also that many Democrats are too busy evaluating what political capital is to be gained by any position taken, to really take any position at all. Principled Democrats like Russ Feingold and Al Gore have been mocked and criticized for standing against this power grab, and not just by Republicans, but also by Democrats. And who can forget those brave Democrats (like Diane Feinstein) who called for the censure of Bill Clinton as punishment for lying about a consensual affair, but now flee from censuring Mr. Bush for his open and continued violations of US law.

Sadly, one immutable truth remains. Voters will never believe that Democrats will stand up to Al-Qaeda if they won�t stand up to Bush. If Democrats keep putting a wet finger up to test the political winds before taking a stand, they have signaled their strength of will and of character more loudly than any words they can ever say. Voters recognize a house built on sinking sand, and know that a party afraid of its own shadow may be too weak to build a strong fortress against terrorists.

I�ve always heard that we teach others how to treat us. The Democrats have taught the populace and the media to paint them as weak on security issues because they refuse to stand up when it really counts, when it�s a risk, when it�s for principle. They fear alienating the mythic center, although poll after poll paradoxically indicates that the center believes in the very principles the Democrats are afraid to embrace. And say what you will about the Republicans, no one will ever mistake them for being weak - their willingness to go for the kill, even in the wrong places and of the wrong people - provides a tempting illusion of strength.

Strength sells, especially in a time of terror. So it is ironic indeed that the political power the Democrats crave so desperately that they fear taking the wrong stand, is likely never to materialize because they failed to take a stand at all.