New Buzz Phrase: "Everything Changed On 11/7"

By Alan Bisbort
Created Nov 16 2006 - 8:18am

On the night the Republicans' talons fell from the levers of power (God
bless you, Howard Dean!), I thought about switching on the Boob Tube to
gloat at the expense of the GOP spin doctors.

Earlier, I'd "heard" on "the Internets" that Dick Armey, Bill Bennett and
J.C. Watts were making asses of themselves and Sean Hannity was nearly
weeping over the fate of his heroes while RNC Chair Ken Mehlman was looking
more like the Bride of Frankenstein than usual.

But then, just as I reached for the knob, I thought, nah, I can't even stand
to look at these people long enough to gloat at their expense. I loathe what
they've done to my country so much that I just want them to go away, crawl
back under their rocks. In a better world, I would never have to think of
them again, never again have to gaze upon the faces of Kate Harris, Ricky
Santorum, "Macaca" Allen or any of the others. Alas, I know they'll be back;
like nuclear waste, you can't bury these people too deep. Still, it's sweet
relief for now.

The only reason I still can stand to look at Tom DeLay (whose Texas seat, it
bears repeating, went to a Democrat), Dennis Hastert, Foley, Frist, Boehner,
Rumsfeld -- the list is too long to continue -- is the distinct possibility
that they will soon be hauled in front of a judge, either here or at The
Hague.

Though the nightmare is over, the real question is, do we have the strength
to get out of bed after six years of tortured sleep? The Democrats face a
monumental, almost thankless, task. How to clean up after a train wreck?
Where to focus your newfound powers -- on indicting and prosecuting those
who broke the law or repairing the damage they've done, building a better
government and country? Can both tasks be done by one party? It will have to
be one party, and one branch of government, because anyone who thinks Bush
is sincere about "reaching across the aisle" got a swift kick in the gut
when he re-nominated the putrid John Bolton as UN ambassador two days after
the election (which he called a "thumpin'", as if this has all been a frat
league football game).

Can they do both tasks at once? We'll see. For now, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid
and Howard Dean should make it clear that the circular firing squad of the
past will not be tolerated. Anyone who gets in the way of the Democratic
wave that just crested -- this includes you, Holy Joe, Jim Carville,
Hillary, John Kerry -- will have hell to pay.

When Bush announced the day after the "thumpin'" that Don Rumsfeld was
"resigning," I thought, "Rumsfeld, Dumsfeld, Twiddledee, Twiddledum." We're
still in Iraq, the war profiteers are still at work, the perpetrators of
this criminal war are still at large, and the pick to replace him (Robert
Gates) was an Osama bin Laden enabler back in the day of Bush I. The only
relief I got from Rummy's leaving was never having to look at that vile
man's squinting evil face as he fondles the English language. If only the
same fate awaited Dick Cheney, who spent Election Day hunting. To "relax,"
he killed a bunch of little birds. Jesus, these sociopaths have been running
our nation the last six years.

You will get no gloating from me. Gloating presupposes the situation was
part of a fair game and you finally got one over on your opponent. But this
was no game, or if it was, it's a murderous one. It has divided our nation
as never before, led to the most heinous sort of patriot-posing,
race-baiting, gay-bashing and cultural hysteria this country has ever known.
The mainstream media, as usual, misses the message of this victory. They're
still spinning it as "improbable." I saw it as inevitable. The shock is that
anyone would still vote Republican after what we've seen since 2000. Two
years of good governance might wipe out what little GOP support remains. Oh,
happy day.
_______

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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