Welcome To The Party: Pay Your Admission At The Door

On the eve of indictments of senior members of the Bush administration it is of course a happy day for Democrats, a long overdue comeuppance for a reckless group of neo-cons drunk with power. But what have we really learned as a party?

Politics may be a spectator sport for many of us, but it’s time to face the fact that democracy is not. We can no longer sit on the sidelines and watch a false competition between two supposedly opposing teams. Politics today is nothing more than an exhibition game arranged by multi-national corporate sponsors for the sole purpose of keeping the populace distracted and entertained. We the people are sitting in the bleachers enjoying the game but certainly not participating in it. We may believe that our shouts and cheers influence the action on the field, but we are just fooling ourselves. We are a captive audience in a controlled environment, forced to pay exorbitant prices for our sustenance and to wait in long lines in order to utilize the facilities. America is now one giant professional sports stadium. We, the taxpayers, subsidize its construction and are allowed to participate in the events if we are willing to pay for the privilege. The cost is spread amongst many while the benefits go to the few. This is the “democracy” we live in.

The Bush administration will be dealt a serious blow in the coming days and I hear tales of the Democratic Party leadership hammering out a strategy to maximize the damage to the GOP, but what will really be accomplished? Crippling the current administration will certainly slow down the damage, but it will take much more than criminal indictments and sharp criticism from the left to change the direction of the country. I hear a lot of talk about accountability in government, but I hear little about accountability of party. George Bush and Congressional Republicans are now seeing a backlash from their base because of their reckless economic policies and the embattled nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court. In effect, they have bitten the hand that feeds them and they are beginning to feel the sting. The problem for the Democratic base is that we have no leverage with our leaders. The corporate hands that pass out the cash during election season feed not only their party but our party as well. Unfortunately for us, Democrats are unlikely to make the same mistake their “opponents” have. We are not the hand that feeds them, so should we really be surprised when they fail to serve our interests?