Brotherhood of the Damned
by Michael LeStrange

So was everybody paying attention?  I think the message was pretty clear.  This administration's strategy is to divide the democrats on every issue they can.  Get them to fight each other.

Divide And Conquer

It's really just that simple.

Just look at the evidence.  In the 2000 election, the Senate of this United States of America was evenly divided, 50 - 50.  The house was just barely Republican.  The Presidential race was so close we had to have the Supreme Court decide the winner.  Now in the 2002 election, the Republicans edged out a majority, but most races were close.  Voter turnout was at record lows.

The magician Karl Rove peels back another layer on his evil plan and laughs.

I've heard the "Mandate" so many times since November 7 that I've stopped counting.  I've heard over and over about how the Democrats shouldn't be turning more liberal, rather moving more to the "center" as the electorate has shown us they are demanding.  The electorate, according to George Bush, are sending us the message that they want congress to work together, rather than continue the "obstructionist" pattern of the previous 2 years.

All of this is, of course, pure and unadulterated Bullshit.

First, let's be clear.  This election had a LOW turnout of 39 percent of eligible voters.  That means way less than half of those who can vote did vote.  So while one can maybe claim that those who actually voted might be slightly more conservative than liberal, one cannot say anything much about the majority of those that did not vote.

And let's look at the huge mandate itself.  The number of votes that made the difference was less than 50,000 votes nation wide.  That means of the 50,000,000 or so votes cast in the 2002 elections, the Republicans only won out by a slim, miniscule margin.

The economy, which is still in sad and sorry shape no matter how you spin it, was hardly even mentioned in the 2002 election.  Where was the discussion regarding the tidal wave of corporate scandals?  Where was the discussion regarding our eroding civil rights?  Where was the discussion about gutting the EPA and requiring the American tax payers to pay for toxic messes that evil corporations created and don't want to pay for.  Where was the discussion of the WAR for "Bob's" sake?

Yea, it was a mandate.  But it was a Seinfeld mandate.  A mandate about NOTHING.  Entertaining, but you hate all the people involved.

And now everyone is shoveling up suggestions to the Democrats as to what they should have done.  They should have talked up the war, they should have talked up what's happening to your 401(k) plan.  They should have taken this stance, or that stance.

Bullshit.  What I find so amusing about such sage advice is that it is primarily given by those in the media - i.e. talking heads on television, or print zombie columnists.  Hey, weren't you the people who were supposed to be covering this stuff?   Isn't the media the arena where the debate was framed?

So my question to all of you who know how to save the ship now that it's sunk is

WHERE WERE YOU?

Where were you during the so called debate on the war with Iraq?  Where were you when the fiasco surrounding the intelligence failures of 9/11?  Where were you when the corporate scandals rocked this nation.

Oh.  You were drinking wine and eating cheese with the very people who perpetrated all these acts.

Out of deference to your "access" to those in power, you've kept completely silent on the blatant lies that are being used to drive us into war with Iraq.  Debate?  Let's be serious.  You were complete lap dogs to your precious masters.  Can't call George Bush a liar when he "fudges" the truth about connections between Al Qaeda and Iraq?  Can't confront Dick Cheney or Don Rumsfeld on the facts when they blatantly distort reality?

Or how about the California energy crisis?  Hmmmmmmmmm.  Isn't there a lot of smoking guns that all seem to have this administration's finger prints on them lying about here?  Investigative reporting?  Can you even spell that phrase any more?

What about the assumption of war powers by this administration without a war?  Hmm?  I guess it's just too complicated, and people just want to read about Wynona Ryder's shoplifting trial.   Rather than educate the American populace on the constitution, you'd rather just wave a flag.  Wide deference to the administration.

Except when they're lying about sex that is.  Heck, they can lie all they want when they're about to put American men and women in the most dangerous situation possible.  They can lie all they want as they shred the constitution.  But when you lie about a blow job - well, we're going to kick your presidential ass.

I read a piece the other day by Helen Thomas which delineated the way she self censored throughout her 50 years as a correspondent.  No surprise.  What was surprising is that she felt really bad about it.

Well, as bad as she feels now, my question to her is WHY DID YOU DO IT IN THE FIRST PLACE.  Quite frankly, I'm wondering now how many so called journalists and media reporters who claim themselves as proud members of the fourth estate will write similar "confessions" about this period in history when it will no longer matter.

Gee, I'm glad you grew a spine.  However, it would have been really convenient to develop this spine when it really mattered.  Kind of like a conversion of a murderer to Christianity on death row - welcomed, but way too late.

So, just continue your business as usual.  Go ahead and preserve your precious access to the ruling party.  You've helped them to victory, but I don't think you'll be getting much of the spoils.

Yea, the Democrats have a lot of problems.  We consistently have 1/3 of the money of the Republicans.  The media seems to be completely oblivious to the problems we're trying to bring up.  And the people don't want to turn out and vote.

I'm sure that all of this will be laid to rest on the Democrat's heads.  Maybe we deserve it.

But it just gets me mad.  I'm tired of being shackled with the entire problems of the electorate when everyone else seems to be abdicating their own responsibilities.  One can only cry out "the emperor has no clothes" so many times to a jeering crowd that's throwing tomatoes at you.  One can only try to raise the issues of our times so many times before giving up because they are completely ignored.

Well, I hope you're happy.  It's going to be everyone's 401(k) that's gutted.  It's still going to be our children, wives, husbands, brothers and sisters that are going to be fighting in Iraq.  It's still going to be our communities that are languishing in toxic waste because the EPA has been gutted.  It's going to be our planet that is ravished by energy kingpins in control.  And we're all still at risk because this administration would rather fight a weak enemy they know they can beat, rather than the real threat of global terrorism.

And you all helped.  Laugh at the Democrats, as weak and broken as we are.  We're limp.  We're beaten.  We're humiliated.

But at least we tried.

What did you do?

November 12, 2002