Strictly Politics

The Kids Are Back In Charge - relieved?

A few years ago I wrote an article titled, "Congratulations, Now You Own It," which was originally published at the Washington Dispatch. I feel the need to look back at it today in order to write this new article about the Democratic victory in the 2006 elections. Originally, the article was meant to serve as a wake up call to Republicans who had consistently dismissed the idea that the President was not king and that power should not be abused but used with all due humility. I wish to echo the same warnings to the other side of the debates.

There was one line that I wrote that drew my particular attention, this one, "With your votes and with your voices- you have bought it, you now own it." To see the entire article, you can visit The Washington Dispatch. That one line carries over from election to election as a warning to be sure to vote for what is in the best interests of America and the rest of the world. America is to the world, what GM used to be to America. What's good for America is good for the world and what is good for the world is good for America. It is a crucial symbiosis which has been on vivid display over the last twenty plus years, if not longer.

There are those who would label people such as me and pigeonhole us into one stream of thought or another, whether it be liberal or conservative, left or right, Republican or Democrat. Personally, I do not believe that is what I do nor do I believe it to be useful to expect a commentator to espouse a point of view to satiate the public desire to hear only good things about "their team," which is what makes that one line important. I will do today what I did then and then is to call for accountability from those who are in power. If the mainstream media cannot hold up their end of the "bargain," the public trust suffers, therefore independent voices must pick up the slack. The mainstream media ought not be a cheering squad for one side or another.

A quick review of my old article tells me that I need to give credit where credit is due; that though the Republicans have suffered what can only be described as a massive defeat in the elections, their tenure did not result in whole scale catastrophes for America as a nation. They deserve their due credit that was promised. Unemployment has not spiraled out of control. The ecology did not suffer unbearably. The economy has not crumbled, in fact it is stronger- although some would argue that it is on a borrowed dime, therefore borrowed time. The world did not explode and the sky did not fall.

There are good reasons for the Democratic victory though; despite the good economy, there has been too much mistrust, mistakes, and misery in Washington to allow the party in power to stay in power. The Republicans had the world in America; The House, The Senate, The State Governors, The Judiciary, The Media and yet could not hold on to power...today they need to look within and ask why and not blame the voters for the decisions that were made. Think about it, the Democrats did not need to put forward any concrete plans about the war, the economy, or social issues; all they had to do was say, we are not them and we will not do as they have done.

The Democrats have inherited, the war on terror, a good economy, a growing deficit and the elephant in the room that nobody wants to discuss, war in Iraq. The American people have voted and that line now holds true for all those that voted Democrat instead of sticking with "Stay the Course." So to all those that voted Democrat I repeat, "With your votes and with your voices- you have bought it, you now own it." What exactly are you expecting the Democrats to do? That question is the crux of the matter. There is no clear read from the electorate on what they expect other than they are expecting change and a shift away from two things; doublespeak and the destruction.

By doublespeak, they do not want to hear promises and empty slogans such as, "uniter, not a divider," which is then followed up by the most dismissive, abusive, and divisive tactics used in Washington politics over the last twenty plus years. The electorate is not stupid and they can see when a slogan like that was really meant as 'unite behind my team or I will destroy you.' Which brings me to destruction, it is not just the destruction caused by war which turned Americans off to the Republicans, it was that pledge from so many years ago to end the "politics of personal destruction," followed by active campaigns sanctioned at the highest levels to destroy anyone that:

a) stood in the way of policy

and/or

b) used as policy to attain a political goal.

The adults who were supposed to be in charge turned out to be corrupt and incompetent; not all of them, but enough for questions to be asked about the entire team. Due to these egregious acts and actions, the American electorate has turned to a party that has no clear leadership, that has no clearly defined goals for the economy, no clear plan for fighting terrorism, and no clear ideas on Iraq. I figured I could offer the "other party" a bit of advise on these pages.

The War on Terror

My opinion on this is that the Republican party made a huge lapse in judgment by believing that the way to fight terrorism is by limiting or restricting freedom for all. They tried to fight terror through the use of fear and thereby "terrorized" the US population. Republicans have made the war on terror a war on the liberties and freedom of Americans and have spread that war to other parts of the world. I am sure that the attempt to restrict freedom was not a mean-spirited one, but one that was made out of a good faith attempt to fight the evils of terrorism. The Democrats may try the same but is that it ought not be terror that is used to fight terror, but the ideas of freedom, liberty, and justice. Freedom is not a product to be sold, it is an ideal and no amount of terrorism can ever defeat it. No amount of 911s could ever reduce the cravings of the oppressed to be free nor the desire of free people to have even greater freedoms.

The problem with fighting terror is that it can never be defeated, it will never go away; you can take steps to reduce it, but you will never ever stamp it out: so why throw what you believe in out? All it ends up doing, is making you more like "them."

If over the next two years, the Democrats cannot voice a comprehensive plan to protect Americans from terror attacks that does not involve less freedom, less liberty and less justice in particular for Americans, but by extension the whole world, then they will not deserve to also capture the Presidency in '08.

The Economy

If over the next two years, the Democrats cannot put together a plan that will strengthen the economy while reducing the deficit- it may involve tax increases, but it would be preferable if it did not- then they may not deserve the Presidency in '08.

Iraq

I dislike discussing Iraq because it is what it is and the choices are limited. For Democrats the issue should not be to pull out or not pull out, but rather what is the situation and what metrics should be used to decide when American troops can pull out. In other words, somebody has to craft a plan that has reasonable and attainable goals. A plan that has timetables and goals as well as a review process to establish if those goals are being met. If they are not, why or why not and what needs to be done to get back on track. Pulling out for the sake of pulling out does no one any good, after all, this is the part about ownership after invasion and occupation of a land and its people that did not threaten nor attack you. This is part and parcel of the "now you own it," votes in 2002, 2003, and 2004.

My personal opinion for solving Americas situation is a simple one, give the problem to the UN. At this point Iraq may need peacekeepers, educators, diplomats, and reconstruction experts more than it needs soldiers, planes and bombs. So America, take off the green helmets, green berets, and red berets and don the UN blue. Gradually, other countries can assume a larger role in the peace keeping efforts while lessening the load of America. While there may be bitter feelings from UN member nations, it is a pill that the UN now has to swallow since the situation is what it is. There is no turning back the clock to 2003, and the needs of the Iraqi people must jump to the forefront.

My personal opinions aside, if the Democratic party cannot formulate a plan or compromise on Iraq, then they will not deserve the Presidency in '08.

The Mood in Washington

If over the next two years, Democrats do not display a willingness to work with Republicans on solving issues. Democrats must display to the American public that bipartisanship is not just another feel good word to be thrown around whenever convenient. If they do nothing else but make a good faith attempt to work with their Republican counterparts and the President, they may not need to come up with anything on their own to win in '08.

I will conclude with a similar statement as was made in my article from 2004. America, you now own it. If in 2008 the economy has worsened, the situation in Iraq has worsened, the mood in Washington has worsened then you will not have much choice but to vote Republican. On the other hand should things improve then some of the 59 million that voted for Bush in 2004, need to jump ship and vote Democrat in 2008.

posted by Garfield Jones @ 8:45 AM