Sandra Neish
Jack Manhattan
Harvey Wallbanger
I saw this bumper sticker on the back of a truck as I drove to work this morning. I also saw a McCain/Palin sticker next to it and the number to one of the NASCAR racers as well. I let out a chuckle because the Lead, Follow sticker next to the Republican sticker was just full of symbolism.
For the past eight years our country was run by the worst of the worst. We watched as our Freedoms, jobs, and money were flushed down the toilet and when we finally had enough, we, as a country, threw the bums out-of-town only to be replaced with filthier bums.
We watched as Bush and Cheney loaded the Supreme Court with activist judges while complaining that the courts were full of activist judges. We watched as our Department of Justice was ransacked and purged of the men and women who didn’t agree or toe the party line.
We watched as Bush’s and Cheney’s lackeys burrowed themselves deep within our government just like a North Georgia tick. WE WATCHED. Sure there were people out there that tried their hardest to let the truth be known, only to be dismissed as far-left loonies by the likes of Bill O’Reilly and Glen Beck.
Then, we saw the light at the end of the tunnel. We saw a chance to make things right. We saw a need to change the status quo and we were given that opportunity when Obama and the Democratic Party were put in charge of the country.
We saw hope that the Iraq and Afghanistan wars would end as well as the unfair policy of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. We hoped Gitmo would be closed and we hoped that law and order be reestablished. We hoped that America would become a shining light of freedom, happiness, and modern thinking.
Instead we got more of the same.
No, strike that, we got NOTHING.
All because, after the Republicans lost power, they decided that it was better to stand in the way of making this country great again. They decided that since they didn’t come up with the ideas then they were going to do their best to stop anything from moving forward, even thought. They decided that the best course for the country was not forward but backward.
We also learned, despite everything we are taught, that a majority of 100 is 41.
Our system is broken, people. Our government that has been the model for democracies around the world has left the rails and is now careening toward the edge of the cliff, all because a minority of lawmakers are more interested in making their corporate leash holders happy.
We are bleeding money because Halliburton wants more cheap oil. We are selling our country to the Chinese because Wal-Mart can get cheap, tainted good for pennies on the dollar. AMERICANS are dying because the Health Insurers think that the life of a human is worth less than the paycheck of their CEO.
Now, don’t think just because I associate myself as part of the Democratic Party I’m blind to the lack-luster performance that Obama and the party leadership have shown so far. In fact, as a member of the party, I’m madder than I could ever be at Bush and the Republicans, because Obama and company stood there and watched as Republicans held our country for ransom.
Week after week, the Republicans paraded around calling a government option to the over-priced health insurance a “communist take-over” or even worse, a “fascist take-over.”
Then, they embraced the racist, fear-mongering tea baggers like they were “real Americans” standing up to the government. They told these people it was ok to go to town hall meetings in districts where they couldn’t vote and shout down anybody that didn’t agree with their warped view of this country.
They did nothing to progress the idea forward. It’s like when a child screams or holds its breath until they get what they want. Yes, I am calling the Republicans children. They were playing a game and suddenly found themselves losing. So what did they do? They upended the game board and sat there pouting. They whine and whine until someone gives up and caves.
And then, the Democrats. They said, well, if we can’t get anything done because of the pouting Republicans, then I guess we should give them what they want. Yet, they are not there to make the Republicans happy. They are not there to make sure the corporate leash holders are happy. They are not there to rake in millions just so someone can claim that they are doing good for the country.
We gave the Democrats the power to move the country to the top and all they did was cry about how the Republicans were needed to make health care work. We told the Democrats that it was time to lead and all they did was get out-of-the-way. They let the minority walk all over the majority. They let the Republicans control the message and the message they were delivering was that the Corporations really run the country.
Obama should have been on TV bitch-slapping any Republican or Democrat that was standing in the way. If all they believe in is the almighty dollar, then take their money away. If a Republican gets in the way say “ok, if you don’t want to follow, then you aren’t going to get the money that your state wants.” You do that and I’m sure they will fall in line. And if they don’t, then I’m sure the people of that state will make them fall in line.
Politics is a dirty sport and you can’t play the game like the fat kid at dodgeball crying every time he gets hit in the head. You have to play it like there’s no tomorrow. Democrats had, and still have, a majority in Congress, yet they are acting like the end is near. In the movie The Untouchables there is a line: ” [T]hey pull a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue.”
That’s how the Democrats should be treating the Republicans and that’s the only way we are going to get anything done. If they threaten with the filibuster, then call their bluff and make them stand up and filibuster. Put it on C-Span and the nightly news to show the people of America that the Republicans are not there to help them. If someone goes on Fox News and calls the President a Socialist or fascist, then expose them for the liar they are.
The time for playing nice is over. We have AMERICANS dying, we have AMERICANS deciding whether to buy food or go and get that lump checked out. We have become a third world country beholden to the Corporations or China or Saudi Arabia. This is not the AMERICA I want to live in and it’s my duty to make sure this country is better for my children and grandchildren than it was for me. We can not survive as a country if our elected officials are only looking out for themselves.
So Democrats, it is up to you. We know you can follow and we know you can get out-of-the-way but now is the time for you to LEAD. It is time for EVERY American to have affordable health care.
