From Self Destructive To Just Plain Destructive

With the GOP self destructing before our eyes, it’s hard not to be optimistic about the Democrats chances of taking control of perhaps both chambers of Congress next month, but that optimism is tempered by a palpable fear of what the White House will cook up in order to assure that doesn’t happen. We’ve learned over the last six years that nothing is out of bounds for this group, hell, they’ll start wars for political gain, what wouldn’t they do? For me there are two sides to this growing storm of discontent with the GOP. First there is the election and what they will dredge up in order to stay in control, and second is the realization that even if the Democrats take over, not much is really going to change.

My biggest fear is an attack on Iran before the midterm elections. I have been asking everyone I know why I shouldn’t be concerned about that and I have received many intelligent, thoughtful answers, but none have fully convinced me that it’s not in the White House’s best interest to do so, at least for the short term. Yes, dropping bombs on Iran could very well be the last straw for many of the Generals, State Dept. officials and the old school statesmen that still have a voice (however marginalized) in the GOP, but it still seems to me that mass resignations would be preferable (to the Bush administration anyway) to real investigations into the manipulation of pre-war intelligence, a domestic spying program that is operating outside of the law and war crimes, including rendition and torture, that were not only known to the President and Vice President, but likely directed by them. The Bush administration has done a fantastic job of keeping their side in line, I have no doubt they have the ammunition necessary to continue to do so.

The country has been sufficiently gerrymandered to make holding onto power a distinct possibility even if two-dozen more Republican Congressmen are exposed as pedophiles because they don’t actually have to win, they just have to make a win seem plausible. Dropping a few bombs on Iran would increase turnout among their base and make the ten or so closely contested races plausible wins for the GOP. I can see Bush on television justifying his case for dropping a few nukes on Iran in my mind perfectly.

“These Generals that have resigned in protest are cowards, afraid to take on the fight that we know we must. Iran is no longer a gathering threat, they have crossed the line and it is critical that we destroy their nuclear facilities before they destroy us. We have captured the number two man in Al Qaeda and from our interrogation, we have learned that there is a plan in the works to detonate nuclear devises in seven of our cities. We’re not sure at what stage the planning is, but we are on the hunt and I will do everything in my power to protect the American people, even if that means going it alone. I will not back down. We will not have another September 11^th on my watch.”

Can’t you hear the cheering crowd, the guttural sounds of men hell bent on vengeance? Can’t you see the American flags on trucks, houses, hats and t-shirts popping up again all across this country? There is no real America anymore, there is only the pre-packaged patriotism that need only be marketed to the masses of uncurious, unquestioning and uneducated Americans that will support anything that they can understand from a 30 second sound bite and that makes them feel powerful. We are a psychological mess and the perfect dupes for an administration that has studied the art of manipulation rather than diplomacy. The only thing that might be protecting us from this scenario is the fact that the Democrats have not shown any real signs that they would do anything meaningful to punish this administration for crimes already committed.

If the Democrats are allowed to take over Congress, I suspect that they will go forward with the investigations that have been stymied by the Republicans, but I don’t expect that they would actually follow them to the end and they certainly won’t proceed with an impeachment, so what really changes? Those of us that know the details of the crimes this President and Vice President have committed will just become more enraged and those that don’t, won’t pay attention anyway. And if they do, so what? Even if 70% of the country favored impeachment, the Democrats still wouldn’t do it. If popular will was a consideration for Congressional action, we’d be withdrawing troops from Iraq and we’d have universal healthcare already! What we want doesn’t matter because we haven’t effectively turned our feelings into action. Until there is a price to be paid for defying the public’s will, we will never have representation in government. In the past, protest, a vigorous press and the vote were the tools we used to get that done, but with those options nearly gone, how exactly are we to exert our will? We need 21^st century tactics to grab back the levers of power and we better come up with some pretty damn quick, because the old ways surely aren’t working.