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Message to the Democratic Leadership: Never Leave Your Wounded Heroes on the Battlefield

A BUZZFLASH EDITORIAL

Since June of 2005, BuzzFlash has been honoring a weekly "Wings of Justice Award Winner
," generally nominated by our readers.

The "Wings of Justice Award" is meant to give recognition to, as did John F. Kennedy’s "Profiles in Courage," an act of patriotic courage on the part of an individual – or group. Some of the persons who have won the award might otherwise have even been supportive of positions we might disagree with, but at some point they stood their ground for the Constitution, truth and justice.

Over the past seven years, the list of Americans who have stood up, at one time or another, to the Bush juggernaut of betrayal and deception has actually been quite long. The "Wings of Justice Award Winner" roll call represents only a small percentage of such individuals.

The problem is that such acts of courage are usually rewarded with a slander assault led by the White House and then echoed in coordinated talking points disseminated by Republican Party officials and the right wing media. Rarely does the Democratic leadership rally behind those Americans who have stuck their necks out, including prominent generals, ex-CIA operatives, and even individual Democratic members of Congress who aren’t intimidated by the thuggish Bush/Cheney/Rove tactics.

Given an alternative, fanciful, and intentionally mendacious view of reality offered up by the Bush cabal through a compliant mainstream media, the Democratic leadership has chosen, in general, to retreat from confronting an Alice-in-Wonderland world view and artificially constructed "truthiness," created to meet White House political needs without regard to the facts.

Occasionally, Reid and Pelosi have themselves shown momentary courage, which our readers and BuzzFlash have recognized. But, like Tom Daschle did, they quickly "back-off" when confronted with a withering assault.

As we have repeatedly opined (most recently in our editorial, "Enough of ‘Symbolic’ Dem Votes on Capitol Hill. Stop Acting Like You're Guilty of Something and Take Back the Power")
, in politics, form is often content. And you can’t assume that American voters will see you as a party of strength when you act like you're scared of your own shadow.

The most fundamental core of Rovian tactics since 9/11 has been the Mob strategy of scaring a community (in this case a national one) to fear for their lives, and then coming in and saying, "Look we got the muscle and we’ll knock off whoever we want to, but we will protect you if you come on board and let us run things around here."

In response, the Democratic leadership has stared into the face of the false propaganda created by Rove, and -- llke they'd stared at Medusa – been paralyzed.

Polls out this week show that the Democratic Congress is down so low in the dumps that they are basically in the pig slough with Bush. The Dems in power can’t seem to understand that their role is to lead the American people, not to become immobilized by the fictional alternative universe manufactured in Rove’s laboratory of perfidy.

What happens in such a situation is that the Dem leadership regularly leaves our nation’s wounded heroes (on the homefront) on the political battlefield as the Dems in Congress retreat in fear from the right wing volleys. That means people like Valerie Plame, Joe Wilson, Richard Clarke, the top retired Pentagon generals critical of the war, ex-intelligence officers, Iraq Veterans Against the Qar, and so many, many others are left high and dry to fend for themselves.

And the Congressional Dems have pretty much given up on bringing our heroes in Iraq home so that they don’t continue to get killed for lies, vanity, egotism and profiteering.

It is, indeed, a serious sign of weakness when you leave your wounded heroes behind. That sort of behavior doesn’t go over well with the American public – and it shouldn’t.

The Dem leadership should be protecting the flanks of those who stand up for the truth against a fusillade of lies (and the Democratic rank and file in Congress should back the occasional moments of courage shown by Reid and Pelosi).

Mark our words, the Dems will go down to defeat in 2008 if they keep abandoning warriors for the Constitution and justice to stand alone as target practice for the right wing character assassination squad.

The Republican Party has its flaws, but it knows that in maintaining power, you are only as strong as your weakest link.

It may be the only lesson that the Dems should learn from the GOP.

A BUZZFLASH EDITORIAL




Hey!

WTF(Where's The Filibuster)? Along with some IMPEACHMENT punch? And hold the secrets for dessert, senators! Put 'em all back on the table.

Lydon Johnson wouldn't have wimped out

And Mike Mansfield wouldn't have either. Nor would have Robert Byrd when he was Senate Democratic Party leader.

First Tom Daschle and now Harry Reid have both been the weakest Senate Democratic Leaders since the tradition was stared in 1920.

Democrats

cut off their own balls to appease their enemies.

The Democrats Party should really be called the Neville Chamberlain Party of America.

I expect as much from the Democrats

as I do from the GOP; a continued slide into Jim Crow authoritarianism for America.

Arguably, the world record prison population of the Clinton/Gore administration set the stage for Gore's razor thin margin in 2000 and Kerry's loss in 2004. The record criminal disenfranchisements of mostly poor and or minority Americans, thanks to the Jim Crow drug war, had Gore lose by hundreds of votes in Florida where hundreds of thousands were disenfranchised and gave Kerry a loss by 3-million nationally in a country with more than 5-million disenfranchised.

Democrats have the opportunity to change this before the 2008 elections. Dennis Kucinich, John Conyers and Alsee Hastings, all ardent drug war opponents, now chair committees that could significantly slow the nearly forty years of destruction of American democracy by Richard Nixon's other dirty little war. But Nancy Pelosi has issued marching orders to the contrary.

"Washington insiders, however, are not holding their breath for great upheaval in federal drug policy. Sources close to the appointment, who asked not to be named, say that Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other members of the Democratic leadership have effectively embargoed major crime or drug policy legislation for the next two years, to avoid looking soft on crime in the 2008 election." http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n169/a03.html?61244

The high crime rates in our cities are a result of America's $ 144-billion tax free drug market.

The dysfunction and national security threat on our southern border is the result of the billion of dollars enticing entire businesses into finding new ways to circumvent our best border efforts.

The increasing heroin use in America as well as the heroin epidemic in Europe are a direct result of alQaida and other groups flooding the west with heroin to destabilize our culture. An asymmetric warfare tactic available to them only because heroin is illegal. But Pelosi is afraid of looking "soft on crime" so she wants to do nothing for another two years.

Do nothing? Or is she using the drug war for the same thing as the GOP uses it for, repressing the urban minority vote, subverting urban apportionment with high rural prison populations and facilitating Gerrymandering to make it easier for white politicians to campaign only to middle-class/white America?

The Dixie-crats of Nixon's 1970, who helped pass the Controlled Substances Act, are the Blue Dog Democrats of today. the only way to call Pelosi "liberal" is to say that she is the liberal wing of the GOP.

Screw the Demokrats. They are no different from the GOP.

Thank you , my Democratic Senator!

One of the freshmen Dem Senators, Whitehouse (RI), has joined veteran Senator Kennedy in demanding that vote caging be investigated. They also explain that the GOP has done this before, and when caught, swore they wouldn't engage in it again, and yet have done so under the direction of Bush's brain, TurdBlossom. To "little media fanfare" our Democratic Senators are working on this....both veteran Dem and newly elected. Too bad THIS is not the topic of Buzzflash's headline editorial, along with "Mark my words, if the thugs win in 2008, it will be due to continued vote fraud tactics, such as these."
Oh, WELL. When you can't beat corporate media at Dem-bashing and Dem-ACTION-IGNORING, join 'em, huh?
===============

From The BRAD BLOG

Senators Kennedy and Whitehouse have sent a letter to Attorney General Gonzales demanding a probe by the DoJ’s Office of the Inspector General and Office of Professional Responsibility into “allegations that the Republican National Committee engaged in ‘vote caging’ during the 2004 elections.”

The letter, sent today ... also requests an investigation into “whether any Department officials were aware of allegations ...

“The Republican Party has a long and ignominious record of caging – much of it focused on the African American community,” Kennedy and Whitehouse explain in their letter which gives details of the RNC using voting caging tactics to suppress minority voters in both 1981 and 1986. After both incidents, the GOP had signed consent decrees that they would not engage in the activity in the future.

Nonetheless, email evidence has shown that in 2004, Tim Griffin created and sent caging lists on behalf of the Bush 2004 campaign as originally reported by the BBC to little American media fanfare, prior to the election. Griffin, who became an aide to Karl Rove, was later appointed by the Bush Administration as the US Attorney from Arkansas after they had fired Bud Cummins. Griffin has since resigned from the post in the wake of the scandal.

Message to Buzzflash

Which do you prefer? Praise for your hard work well done? Or a good, well-deserved slap-down? Both?

Well, keep that in mind when you next decide to "send a message" to Dems who are working nonstop against all odds. We have to give them some ammo and have their backs while we try to direct their attention. How many dire pressing issues are they facing? Can you even list them?? Imagine that. And it's not as if they have the echo-chamber of the mass media, the way the thugs do.

Yes, there's the war, but without our VOTES, what Democracy? And for that matter, as the birds and the bees drop quickly to extinction, it might be nice to have some water and oxygen with which to continue the good fight. Maybe the governors should band together and bring back our national guard. We need to think outside the box and use every resource to come up with creative solutions instead of spinning our wheels parroting this USELESS troll Dem-bashing. Isn't the idea to BECOME the media that we're lacking?

Control

1% own 98% of the wealth. All else flows from there. They own the media, the politicians, the governments and us. Everything is simply a controlled dog and pony show to keep the masses from realizing their predicament. Anything we do is as worthless as these words of rage we type.

All this doesn't mean one should stop fighting for justice, it just makes those that do more heroic.

What does it all mean? I don't know. Maybe in the next life ...

Taking back what's ours...

...the airwaves, and the representative government. We could work on mandating that our reps must regularly face the public they represent...and that the blowhards on tv have to face and make room for citizens. These words we type have had impact. Maybe we're just a buzzing annoyance but the blogosphere has driven a few stories.

DON'T BLAME THE DEMOCRATS IN CONGRESS !

Dear Buzzflash,

While I have the highest respect for the revolution in media that you have pioneered, I just think you are being a little...just a little too tough on congressional Democrats.

It is starkly ironic...comically ironic, that it took Trent Lott of all people to utter the political truth of our era just a few days ago (and carried on Buzzflash): Lott opined, in response to the intense opposition to the immigration bill by the lovely GOP "Base", that "Talk Radio is Running the Country."

And THAT is the whole cause of the cancer that has eaten away at the institutions of democracy in our country over the last twenty or so years.

The most trenchant political essay in the most read newspaper in the country will be read by about one one-thousandth of the people who will hear the most crass, dumb, evil, moronic, low-brow, rightwing, LYING, talk radio show.

If you add up the misguided dupes who imbibe the daily pathologies of limbaugh, beck, savage, hannity, etc., you have a misinformed, deliberately lied to, and thoroughly propagandized army of hyped up and utterly misled individuals who can destroy the reputations both of political reformers and meaningful reform movements.

The trouble with low-brow, rightwing talkradio, and the source of its power as well, is the fact that people of normal or above intelligence do not tend to listen to it. But while these more aware sophisticates are snearing at the rightwing lying radio, ole' lyin' limbaugh, and horrible hannity are smearing and slandering away to a credulous audience who hasn't a clue that they are being lied to and led to the slaughter, along with the rest of us.

Therefore it is essential for politically conscious American journalists to "watch the back" of the congressional Democrats and other decent political figures who will inevitably come under the lying, and withering attack of the low-brow, rightwing, goon squad of limbaugh, beck, savage, hannity, etc.

I have tried with no avail to persuade several high profile progressive journalists to merely listen to the vicious lies of the right wing talk beasts.

Try as I may and for whatever reason, our progressive heros in the press simply will not take the time to listen to the drivel that is responsible for everything from the 2000 "election" to Abu Ghraib.

The network owners, managers, and most importantly, the Sponsors of this blight on our nation's political discourse must be embarrassed by being forced to confront the venemous, unethical, and idiotic drivel that has poisoned our democratic institutions for over twenty years.

So, to Paul Krugman, Gene Lyons, Bob Herbert, Glenn Greenwald, and all you other journalistic "good guys", I say, you are ignoring the fundamental "root-cause" of America's tragic political debility, when you refuse to listen to this toxic radio.

jaydiamond, you are right about the poison

I do know two progressive people who regularly listen, but it's damned hard...I couldn't do it. Too infuriating. Cooler heads should listen, tho, if they want to prevail over the toxic brew. Thank you for your campaign to try to get the high profile people to acknowledge this.

I don't call histrionics being "hard"

"Mark our words, the Dems will go down to defeat in 2008..."

Pure histrionics and a waste of reasoned bandwidth. It's not even OTT enough to be laughable. BF has just spent a little too much time in BFDN listening to the infestation of RonPaul/Libertarian"Constitutionalist" trolls...who are white power gun nuts, btw. Strange bedfellows for Buzzer to be parroting.

If the Dems are defeated in 2008 mark MY words. It will be due to the latest incarnation of vote fraud, and the useful idiots who blame the Democrats will be part of the storyline they need to sell the fraud. Buzzflash should've been reading their own front page: the thugs are ALREADY sending a letter around saying that by blocking every Dem action they can tar the Dems as "do-nothings" and win on being the "party of change." So the forked-tongue thugs who are distancing themselves from Bush are giving him everything he wants in order to tar the Dems.

If Buzzflash wanted to be USEFUL instead of a Rovian useful idiot, that is what they would be blaring. There has to be a drumbeat in order to get anything into mainstream consciousness. Smear the thugs with their own tactic. Hang Bush on them. But if BF wants to drumbeat the troll's Dem-bashing message instead, it is their site. I would think giving the Dems a good talking point in order to thwart the thug gameplan would be preferable, but hey, whatever.

Don't blame talk radio for reality

People eventually get close to the truth. The truth is that Pelosi, Hoyer, Emmanuel and Reid could have stopped the war by not funding it. Period.

The neocons are lying mass murderers and evil war profiteers. The Dims are enablers and apologists for the neocons. Both are paid to keep the war profits flowing, and that's what they do. Deaths and dismemberments are the trivial costs of doing business. This war is all about transferring hundreds of billions of dollars from working taxpayers to the wealthy.

There's an electoral landslide to be had by any party which can show honorable leadership. But unless Democrats can quickly dump the DLC drones and support real leaders - Feingold in the senate for example - the American people will elect evil strong neocons rather than evil wimp Dims in '08.

Is this a guy thing?

"But unless Democrats can quickly dump the DLC drones and support real leaders - Feingold in the senate for example - the American people will elect evil strong neocons rather than evil wimp Dims in '08."

All this chest-thumping and incessant instant demands? Is it your male hormones? Or what? As if any random US citizen even knows Feingold or DLC. Not that they shouldn't know, but get real. They don't know what you're ranting about. And you Naderites (mostly white males interestingly enough) needn't bash "Dims" and thugs, anyway...there's plenty of blood on your white male hands, too.

That's funny

The times I have gone to Nader events I have felt distinctly in the minority as middle-age, white and even male. Nader supporters are diverse and dedicated. Something the Democrats can no longer hope for from their sycophantic minions.

Where the hell do you 'Dem'agogues get your stereotypes?

Besides, Nader was right. Is right. And will always be more honest than the most rightous Demo-thugs in this pathetic authoritarian nation.

Democrats have driven the left, of all ages, colors and sexes out of the Party. These used to be the activists of the Democratic Party and now they act alone and outside that Jim Crow Democratic Party. The real political result is that the Democrats no longer have this large body of dedicated activists to work for it. Social justice, civil liberties and human rights activists all feel completely abandoned by the Democratic Party. Nader simply gives them one small voice.

The Democrats have worked so hard to kiss GOP butt that they have isolated themselves from every element of American society that in the past worked overtime to get the D-Party its wins. Democrats are stupid fools. Too stupid to run a nation that's for damn sure.

Can the sexist comments Zee

No Zee, it's not a guy thing. It's not even about "Feingold in the senate for example". It's about acting honorably and electably.

As of this writing there are eight comments on this article. Half of them are yours, and they're all over the map. Whatever your gender, kindly stop and think before posting.

Don't blame me for reality

Naderites are mostly white male. Those are just facts. And the entire punditry, both in the blogosphere and on the MSM are mostly white male. That alone would be tiresome enough, but, as has been widely noted online, female bloggers suffer attacks and threats. So, when I note the insufferable male chest-beating, suck it up. Or whine about it. However you like to respond is your business. But when you try to get me to SHUT UP, I think not. But nice typical male try!

Actually

its the Democraps who are mostly white males with a few token women and minorities who are desparate to be assimilated in authoritarian America.

And Protect Your Base

We are in a catastrophic war in Iraq today in large part because the Democratic Party failed to protect its base in Florida in 2000. The unchallenged Jim Crow purge of tens of thousands of alleged felons, most of whom would have voted Democratic, brought the contest close enough for the Supreme Court to execute the judicial coup d'etat that brought to power the Neocons and that coup would have been impossible had the base been vigorously protected.
While the debate over whether Mr. Bush or Mr. Gore was the rightful winner will continue for decades, there is no question that the real winner was Jim Crow and this victory was countenanced by the US Supreme Court and enabled by a failure to protect the base.

The only time

Democrats refer to the poor is when they are using it to threaten and intimidate their 'middle-class'. Vote for us or more Americans will become the dreaded "poor people". There is never any empathy for the poor from the Democrats. Never any compassion.

The only difference between the Democrats and the Republicans is the spelling of the two words.

Absolutely!

Ethanallen:

100% dead on.

The Jim Crow Democrats are as beholden to criminal disenfranchisement to keep them in power as are the Republicans.

As long as urban poor and/or minorities are being force relocated to rural white communiy prisons constitutional apportionment of the cities is effectively subverted. Gerrymandering of "safe districts", for both the dominance parties, is guaranteed. White politicians, of both the dominance parties, need not campaign to minorities and the poor. Minority and urban interest politicians are have their urban majorities diluted and so are forced to campaign to rural white interests.

Jim Crow was the mechanism of using the criminal justice system to subvert the suffrage of poor and minority Americans. It is no different today. Richard Nixon, in collusion with the Dixie-crats, created the drug war to undermine and neutralize the Voting Rights Act and the 26st Amendment. Looking at the politicians of today I feel that Nixon's other dirty little war was and is a complete victory. America is today a failed democracy.

You obviously haven't seen much Gerrymandering

As the resident of a zipcode chopped up among Five Congressional Districts, I am slapped by it constantly. In Florida most "Democratic" districts are nearly pure black, and have congressmen (like Alcee Hastings)who can mail in their campaign and still win 95% of their vote, because any probable Republican vote, is in an adjoining district.

As a result all the neighboring districts become majority Republican, even if as a group they are all majority Democrat (55%D). So of five districts, four are Republican congressman and one is Democratic (80%R), and even the Democrat is so "safe" that they can follow the money on many issues that are not specifically racial issues.

Caging, black box voting, phone fraud, and all the other games are important, particularly in statewide races. But a gerrymander free Florida would get at least five to eight new Democratic Congressmen, even if Alcee Hastings had to actually fight for his seat.

As for the thread my sig line says it all, but just because the GOP keep shootin um don't mean they're dead
-----------------------
If the Gang Of Predators think that the only good Democrat is a dead Democrat, only a fool would think it Bipartisan to accommodate them by acting the part.