I’m tired of liberals, progressives and especially LGBT/T folks blaming the Democrats for actions of the ultra right wing Republi-Nazis.
As the late Molly Ivins used to say, “You got to dance with them that brung you…”
We don’t have a Progressive Party. Every attempt that has been made to build a third party has been performed top down and ass backwards. The most recent example being “The Green Party”, which is now mostly a burnt out shell funded by Republi-Nazis. Before that there was “Peace and Freedom”. The lesson that needs to be learned is, “You do not start a political party to run someone for president. You start by running someone for school board.”
We have spent the last 40 years or so engaging in self-defeating behavior including identity politics, only organizing among people like ourselves.
The Civil Rights Movement of the early 1960s crossed racial lines. It may have seemed patronizing to some but a multi-racial movement had seriously left wing progressive roots and the potential to unite poor black and poor white people as well as the better educated and higher up the class structure, leaders. One year to the day after Martin Luther King started talking about matters of class and how poor whites and poor blacks were in much the same boat when it came to opportunity, they killed him. They being the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy.
Hillary was right on that one, there is a “Vast Right Wing Conspiracy” in this country. It is both long standing and powerful, backed by moneyed interests like Murdoch, Mellon-Scaife, and Koch. They own the media, fund right wing think tanks, and fund astro-turf organizations like the Tea Baggers. They are in a partnership with the religious right, which is funded via tax free tithings from their flocks.
They have a police state on their side that has the power to disrupt and destroy any movement that threatens to actually stand up for equality and social justice. They infiltrate and subvert our movements, sow dissension and suggest we get apathetic.
They whisper in our ear, “Aww the Democrats didn’t get you what you wanted. Why don’t you show them who is boss and sit this election out? Why don’t you withhold money from them?”
Of course Democrats aren’t helped by having a bunch of oh so nice wimps on our side. You know the kind, the ones who spew the lines about how calling Republi-Nazis the same sorts of names they call us is stooping to their level. Shit, the oh so nice wimps don’t even want us to bring a knife to a gun fight, they want us to bring kind platitudes, an oath to passivity and a flower to that gun fight.
And at the first sign of failure on the part of the Democrats they want to give up.
Fuck that shit.
We let those Nazi dickwads funded by Breitbart destroy ACORN, a truly progressive organization and we didn’t put up a protest or a fight. We have let the media give these bestiality loving Nazis like that cum bag Paladino and self avowed Satanist Christine O’Donnell all the publicity while they ignore serious Democratic candidates who might be better equipped to govern this nation. We aren’t making a huge uproar when Tea Bagger candidates suggest committing genocide on LGBT/T people by invoking the imprimatur of “The Bible” and “God”.
It is time to get tough. Out organize them and take seats from them rather than giving up seats. If they sling one clod of mud at one of out candidates dump a truck load of manure on theirs.
The corporate funded media have treated ultra right wing airheads like Rand Paul as people to be taken seriously, when in reality they are insane and their ideas are totally un-American.
Speaking of which… Remember Molly Ivins? She said of Pat Buchanan’s speech at the ’92 Republi-Nazi Convention, “It probably sounded better in the original German.”
We have let these Confederate flag and Nazi values assholes trademark “American Values” and after giving them exclusive rights of usage allowed them to pervert those very same values into something I sure as hell do not recognize as American Values.
I was pretty proud of how far we have come when we elected President Obama, even prouder still when the nomination came down to being between a man of color and a woman. When I looked at our convention I saw the common people who make up the beautiful tapestry of this diverse nation, and I was proud to be a Democrat.
Not that the Democrats have gotten me the things I want but they have at least tried.
When I looked at the Republican Convention, my only comment was…. “I…I…see white people…” They do not represent us. The majority of the people of this nation including the majority of Republican voters support the repeal of DADT.
We have about 45 days to work for the party. Less than half a month to show we refute all the Birther lies about Obama. 45 days to show the world how proud we are of all sorts of people, of all different races and sexualities as well as classes all pulling our oars in the same direction in 2008 to elect the first President , who wasn’t a white male.
Even if we are disappointed this isn’t a time to retreat or to surrender… And damn it I am sometimes seriously disappointed with both Obama and with our congress. I want them to fight harder but then I realize that we Democrats are a wishy-washy bunch and we don’t like fighting. Say something is “socialist” and we fold when we could fight for it instead and make the Democratic party represent the sort of democratic socialism they have in much of western Europe.
Am I disappointed with not having Single Payer, inclusive ENDA, the Repeal of DADT and Marriage Equality? Damn right I am. But giving in now means never getting those things. Giving in now means letting a bunch of racist, homophobic bigots who care only for the interests of the rich win.
Now isn’t the time to mourn our failures. Now is the time to organize.