Hold the Democrats' Feet to the Fire

By Dennis Rahkonen
Created Nov 9 2006 - 8:44am

Simply by appearing somewhat decent compared to obscene Republicans
associated with aggressive militarism, disgusting scandals, shameful
bigotry, and profits-before-people favoritism shown the super rich,
Democrats have achieved the midterm electoral victory that was widely
predicted.

That result, of course, is tremendously welcome.

Not because Democrats have been upstanding opponents of the GOP's outrages
(in fact, their chronic spinelessness is well known), but because a
rightwing party advancing dangerous crypto-fascism has received its
comeuppance.

Few true progressives supported the Democrats on principle. They did so to
tactically defeat a grievous threat to our finest values and American
liberty itself.

Now, however, we must pressure habitual Democratic wafflers to push for real
gains relating to peace and justice.

First on the agenda is the Iraq occupation.

It must be ended. Given a choice between "cutting and running" and
interminably getting cut to pieces by roadside bombs, most Americans will
definitely opt for the former. They understand that George Bush's
unprovoked, lied-about invasion of Iraq was wrong, and that a senseless
perpetuation of unwarranted slaughter is no way to miraculously make it
right.

Get the hell out! It isn't our oil lying under their sand!

Just as the Vietnamese did after we finally extricated ourselves from
Indochina's quagmire, the Iraqis will order their own affairs in a manner
much less bloody and destructive than if we foolishly, futilely tried doing
the job for them.

We can then begin to reclaim some of America's lost international prestige,
and turn our attention to the real war against terrorist extremists.

That battle, clearly, requires more than just armed force. In fact, an
enlightened outlook and altered policies are key to victory. No more Ugly
American arrogance and self-serving interventions that enrage foreign
populaces. We've got to become a true friend and benefactor to the rest of
humanity, not a bullying resource thief filling Wall Street's coffers with
other countries' wealth.

Failing that, not only will we be unable to triumph, but triumph would be
undeserved.

Turning to domestic matters, the primary question is our nation's health
care fiasco.

Going on fifty million of us have no medical insurance, and many millions
more pay far too much for too little in return. Yes, the wealthy can afford
the Mayo Clinic, but the rest of us are going broke trying to stay well.

A single-payer, national program must finally be prioritized as a basic
human right

Following closely behind is tax fairness. We shouldn't tolerate billionaires
evading proper tax responsibility, through cavernous loopholes, while the
workaday majority gets socked with trying to make up the difference. Some of
America's most broadly prosperous periods coincided with fair taxation, so
there's no truth to the alarmist claim that our economy will collapse if the
defacto oligarchy is forced to quit being insufferably churlish.

Pay up! It's your duty to society!

A very important area of our united concern must be putting an end to
hurtful bias.

Racial minorities, women, homosexuals, the elderly, the young, the disabled,
Americans of unpopular religious and secular beliefs, etc., can no longer be
discriminated against by white, male, straight, conservative "Christian" men
who've traditionally grabbed all power and privilege for themselves.

It's time to make America's promise and Dr. King's dream a reality at last.

Toward that end, we have to eradicate poverty, recognizing union organizing
rights as crucial to that imperative goal. By combining labor activism with
a federal anti-poverty initiative, and an increased minimum wage, we can
erase the humiliation of certain parts of our cities, and rural regions as
well, being almost Third World in their perpetually penurious lack of
uplifting opportunity.

It's an intolerable sin for anyone to be dirt poor in the richest country on
earth!

Other issues abound. They range from immigration to global warming, from
schools to infrastructure improvement. They include stem cell research and
Social Security preservation. All have to be addressed from the standpoint
of realizing maximum benefit for the maximum number, not the narrow,
invariably pro-elite orientation that Republicans cling to.

Victorious Democrats must be held accountable.

We're fed up with a distorted America of rampant disparities and
hurt-inflicting, mass injustice. We demand the real thing.

We want the common man and woman, not the simpering, selfish plutocrat,
elevated to his and her appropriate place as this nation's well-deserved,
long-denied recipient of remedial attention.

Do right by ordinary folks, Democrats, or we'll rise up against you just as
we did against the Republicans!
_______

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"A little patience and we shall see the reign of witches pass over, their
spells dissolve, and the people recovering their true sight, restore their
government to its true principles. It is true that in the meantime we are
suffering deeply in spirit,
and incurring the horrors of a war and long oppressions of enormous public
debt. But if the game runs sometimes against us at home we must have
patience till luck turns, and then we shall have an opportunity of winning
back the principles we have lost, for this is a game where principles are at
stake."
-Thomas Jefferson