Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Will You Still Need Me, Will You Still Feed Me, When I’m At 34(%)?

Well, well, well, he’s finally done it. Bush has managed to convince even Republicans that he’s a terrible leader. I’ve been wondering what it would take to wake up the sheeple, turns out it’s selling our port operations to Dubai. Whatever, as long as their eyes are even halfway open, I say we start talking and put an end to this nightmare once and for all.

As I speculated last week, the Republican leadership has already begun changing its tune, making acquiescing noises and considering maybe they jumped on the bandwagon a bit too soon. I have no doubt that Bush and Rove have enough dirt in their bag of tricks to convince at least some members of Congress to support the deal, but selling it to John and Jane Doe-eyes will be a tough one. They finally feel betrayed by this President. Bush has scared the crap out of his base and now he’s shown them he doesn’t really give a damn about their safety. Now is the time to roll out a new slogan for the Democrats, “Let us do it. We’re better at it.”

Now that conservatism is no longer about smaller government, what with Bush growing the size of government exponentially, Republicans have shown that they are incapable of handling the task. This shouldn’t come as a surprise considering their entire political philosophy is based on the assumption that government is bad and corporations are good. Now that they have been in complete control of all branches of government, they’ve been able to test their theories (again) and it turns out (again) that the average American is getting the shaft. Republicans don’t like government agencies, and as a result, they have no idea how to run them effectively. In a post 9/11 world, it is critical that our government work like a finely tuned, well-oiled machine and Republicans are simply clogging up the works. The American people seem acutely aware right now that government is the only entity trustworthy enough to provide for our security, and Democrats are poised to show that they are the only ones who can protect us. That is, if they can kick their addiction to picking the wrong message at the wrong time and losing every battle with gusto.

The Republicans have been telling us since 9/11 that they can’t screen all the containers coming into our ports. Then let us do it, we’ll show you how it’s done. Republicans can’t win this war in Iraq, so fine, step aside and let the adults clean up the mess. We know how to nation build, an exercise Republicans abhor, so let us do it. Yes, they broke it when we told them not to, but whatever, we can rebuild Iraq. First step is getting Halliburton out and the UN in. Second is getting rid of the insane tax breaks for the wealthy and make Corporate America share in the burden of war rather than letting them get away with war profiteering. The American people want a plan from the Democrats, so give it to them. Lay it out, step by step, this is what we will do to secure our ports, our nuclear facilities, our critical infrastructure and this is what we will do to mitigate the damage caused by the neo-cons in Iraq and this is what we will do to start re-building our own country and get us out of debt. Be specific, take a few of the problems, give concrete solutions and then just repeat, repeat, repeat any time there is a camera or more than one person in any room. It’s not rocket science.

Now is the time to be a little condescending. Frame the Bush administration and Congressional Republicans as little kids that simply don’t understand how things work in the real world. Talk about their willingness to believe in fairy tales like PNAC and the idea that Democracy is a gift we can bestow on others by using our military might. Expose their incompetence and paint them as weak, ineffectual and in way over their heads. They don’t like bureaucracy, but even worse, they don’t know how it works. Tell the American people that we will not outsource our security, that government is the only entity capable of protecting the homeland. And who knows government better than Democrats? Republicans are the party of privatization, where decisions are based on profits, Democrats are the party of government, where decisions are based on the common good. We are the only ones who can secure the homeland. We are the only ones who can fix Iraq. We are the only ones with any credibility on the world stage. We are the only ones who can make sure what happened in New Orleans never happens again. We are the only ones who can adequately plan for a bird flu pandemic. We are the only ones who can help America kick the oil habit (Republicans are the pushers after all). We are the only ones who can make America great again. “Let us do it. We’re better at it.”

17 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

My new favorite blog. Great job artiulating the concerns of the base. The best part is, I can look frward to something new every day.

3:01 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

BTW, I found you by way of one of my other favorites,Joe Bageant.

3:02 PM  
Blogger The (liberal)Girl Next Door said...

maine jeff--Welcome. Any fan of Joe's is a friend of mine! He's one of my favorites too.

4:06 PM  
Blogger Mad Kane said...

Your title made me laugh out loud!
Mad Kane
http://www.madkane.com/notable.html

4:42 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

She usually makes me laugh out loud too, but probably not for the same reasons.

The delusions just get worse. Eventually you will hit bottom right?

SAHMmy

6:06 PM  
Blogger The Local Crank said...

"Eventually you will hit bottom right?"

If we do, we'll still be standing on Tom DeLay's shoulders.

6:18 PM  
Blogger Dale said...

LGND: Bravo, big-time. I read a lot of blogs, and your piece today is the most literate and persuasive prescription I've seen yet for getting us out of this 5-year nightmare we're in.

7:49 PM  
Blogger The (liberal)Girl Next Door said...

SAHMmy--I see you're back, like a moth to a flame. Come on in, the light is a good thing.

Local Crank--Shoulders? We'll be standing on the top of his well oiled head.

Dale--Thanks, you're a gem. Maybe if we all scream loud enough and at the exact same time, we will all wake up Dorothy style, and things will be how we remembered them once upon a time. There's no place like home!

12:05 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I've heard an alternate theory that states this whole PortGate brouhaha is a Rove-engineered plot to get Congressional Republicans re-elected in November. They know the danger they are in of losing the Republican majority in one or both Houses, after all....

The theory goes that the sale is a done deal, no question. But this way, Congressional Republicans can go back to their districts and say, "See? We weren't afraid to criticize the President! We DO care about national security, and we were willing to go against the Administration itself to (say it) Save Our Ports!"

But either way, the whole thing stinks.

12:42 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

the BEST posting title yet!

5:28 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

L.G. Great analysis!

I'll see your Beatles' lyrics
add some more and raise you
some current Rolling Stones!

"I read the news today oh boy (If this isn't ths 2nd best posting title...I'll 'eat my hat'!)
About a lucky man who made the grade
And though the news was rather sad
Well I just had to laugh"



Rolling Stones

Sweet Neo Con

You call yourself a Christian

I think that you're a hypocrite

You say you are a patriot

I think that you're a crock of shit

And listen now, the gasoline

I drink it every day

But it's getting very pricey

And who is going to pay

How come you're so wrong

My sweet neo con.... Yeah

It's liberty for all

'Cause democracy's our style

Unless you are against us

Then it's prison without trial

But one thing that is certain

Life is good at Haliburton

If you're really so astute

You should invest at Brown & Root.... Yeah


How come you're so wrong

My sweet neo con

If you turn out right

I'll eat my hat tonight

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah....


It's getting very scary

Yes, I'm frightened out of my wits

There's bombers in my bedroom

Yeah and it's giving me the shits

We must have lots more bases

To protect us from our foes

Who needs these foolish friendships

We're going it alone

How come you're so wrong

My sweet neo con

Where's the money gone

In the Pentagon

Yeah ha ha ha

Yeah, well, well

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah...

Neo con

6:21 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey SAHMmy, I never heard back from you on any of the comments that I challenged you with, shown below. Did your 'research' confirm the errors in your 'positions'?!

You call it 'gender sensitive' I call it an aversion to being patronized. By the way, I enlisted in the USMCR when I was 19. PLEASE confirm for me that like virtually EVERY single Republican chickenhawk I've ever confronted, (is there any other kind?) you never served. This is such a slam dunk it's not even fair!
The 'Southern Strategy' shouldn't require much mental 'heavy lifting'. Google it with Mehlman's name to cut to the chase RE my point.
While you're Googling, Google up the info of how many Iraqi war vets are running for Congress as Dems VS those running as Republicans. It was running around 35-2 last time I checked! My point is that you and your fellow Repugs talk tough and support policies that send other people's kids to fight.... and die...but you just don't show up yourselves.

10:19 AM  
Blogger jae said...

I confess Bageant sent me, too!
You are making a lot of sense....keep it up!

8:50 PM  
Blogger The Local Crank said...

There are a dozen Iraqi War vets running for Congress as Democrats. Only one, Marine Corps vet Van Taylor, running against my Congressman Chet Edwards, is a Republican. So far, Taylor has declined my invitation in the local paper to explain how a veteran can support an Administration with such an abyssmal record on veterans' issues (like trying to close the VA Hospital in Waco, for example). Of course, this guy has the Sheer Brass Monkeys to run TV ads highlighting his concern ABOUT THE BUDGET DEFICIT! Where does he think the deficit came from? The Deficit Fairies? Electing another Republican to "fight the deficit" is like hiring Michael Jackson to run a daycare.

9:10 PM  
Blogger The (liberal)Girl Next Door said...

Maukatt--I think sometimes we give Rove too much credit. Even if Repub Congressmen make a fuss and still lose the issue, they don't come out ahead, they're just louder losers.

Rose is a rose--Thanks, titles are my favorite part of the job.

Dale--Beyond talking points, she's just not up to the task.

Jae--Bageant is the best referral I could ever hope for.

Local Crank--With you and Dale on the case, I have no need to respond to SAHMmy myself. Thanks for that. And I love the imagery of the Deficit Fairies by the way!

9:25 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

NOW I feel like you're speaking to ME. I love your blog, read it everyday, but most of the time I read it because it's interesting, not because I agree with what you're saying. But I'm starting to come around. I was a true Bush believer. I believed he was going to make our country even greater and keep all of us "safe"! I truly believed he was the right man for the job!
Now I am embarrassed that I openly supported him. I am embarrassed that my friends and family still consider me a "Bush loving conservative" because I am too self-conscious to tell them differently. I feel I’ve lost all of my credibility concerning politics because of my support for the shrub. I don’t openly share my political opinions anymore. I don’t want to put my butt on the line for another politician who will deceive us and let us down again.
But this blog made me feel a little better. There are others like me, I’m sure of it! Others who supported Bush in the past and are now too timid/embarrassed/afraid to speak up and really say how we feel. That he is a jackass and we want him out just as badly as all you lefties!

11:12 AM  
Blogger The (liberal)Girl Next Door said...

Anonymous--Being wrong is not a crime. We all make mistakes and sometimes we want so badly to believe in the vision that politicians peddle that we trust the wrong ones. All you can do is say, "oops" I was wrong about this one. You can still believe in what you thought Bush stood for, open government, accountability, fiscal responsibility, etc., but recognize that he was lying to you. I'm telling you, my party has moved so far to the right, that if you join us, you'll fit right in. I'll still be over here on the left trying to pull things my way, but it's a slow process and by the time it actually happens, you may agree anyway. Being wrong doesn't lose you political credibility, it's what you do once you realize you're wrong. I think you're on the right track, skepticism is good when dealing with politicians, blind faith, not so much, and that goes for all of them. Welcome.

11:30 AM  

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