Boy, oh boy, it didn’t take long for those tough talking Dems to slide right into irrelevancy, did it? Remember all that Pelosi talk about “the first 100 hours”? Hmm, and what did they accomplish in those hours? Not much – if anything.
And that tough talk about the war? Forgetaboutit. The latest out of Queen Hillary is that the Dems will be calling for “limits and conditions” on the manner in which Bush is executing the war. Limits and conditions? How fucking lame can they get?
Earth to Dems: The people who were suckered into thinking you meant what you were saying during the election season (again), thought you were going to “hit the road running” and END the war. To hell with your limits and conditions. Because, quite frankly, we’ve reached our limits with your sheer ninniness.
I mean, come on, when you can’t even distance yourself from a Republican like Jim Douglas on this issue, how can you possibly be expected to be taken seriously? Yes, Jim Douglas has also asked for limits and conditions. Yawn.
Okay, okay, if you want limits and conditions, try these: Time’s up. Yep, your time is up. The war must end now. And, if both parties continue to drag their heels, we – the people – propose these conditions: You’re fired.
Clear enough?
I couldn’t find a copy of the New York Times last Saturday so grabbed the Wall Street Journal instead. They’re now publishing a weekend edition that is – dare I say – damn good. Their “leisure & arts” section is simply superb as far as the big media goes.
And I blew my own mind while finding myself enjoying a column by – ready for this – Peggy Noonan. Yes, THAT Peggy Noonan, the former wordsmith for Ronnie Reagan.
In her piece, “The Two Vacuums,” she rather adroitly casts a pall over the two parties, condemning the Bush speech to the nation as a “dreadful mistake” and the Democratic response as – well – empty. In this day and age of partisan cheerleading with nary a shred of reason to any of it, it was nice to see an ex-political hack like Noonan pen a piece that said what needs to be said: Both parties are fucked. Worse, both parties are fucking with us.
Then we turn our attention to the so-called anti-war movement here in Vermont. You’d certainly expect their creativity, numbers and effectiveness to be growing now that the war is as dreadfully unpopular as it is, no? Well, no. They are, in fact, just doing the same old thing and continuing to play footsie with Sanders, Leahy and Welch who must be wondering how much they’re going to be allowed to get away with. You haven’t, for example, heard one of them talk about bringing the troops home now, have you? Nope. So far, all three seem to be content with either the Hillary “limits and conditions” nonsense or the just as silly attempt to pass a nonbinding “resolution” condemning the Bush’s prosecution of the whole mess.
But the anti-war crowd, just like Vermont’s mainstream media, seems to be ignoring the whole charade. Darren Allen, for example, has had incredible access to Peter Welch – jogs and all! – but he apparently hasn’t broached the subject that most Vermonters would really like know: When’s Peter going to present a plan to bring our troops home now? It was, after all, the primary issue in his campaign.
This weekend, the anti-war folks will be doing what they always do: They’ll be marching from City Hall in Montpelier to the State House lawn so the same people can say the same things and everyone who bothers to show up to hear those same things can feel good about just showing up.
But stopping a war involves more than just showing up. It involves a plan. Some strategy. Some creativity. And – gasp! – some risks on the part of the leaders and masses. But, so far, everyone just seems to be real, real happy with the burn the candle for peace strategy. And no one seems to be willing to “escalate” the activism to match the “escalation” of the war and the increasing understanding amongst practically everyone of just how wrong, unjust and illegal this war is.
My advice to the peaceniks on Saturday? Well, why don’t you skip the march to the State House and, instead, march yourselves to the offices of Welch, Sanders and/or Leahy and DEMAND that they put forward plan NOW to END the war. No more hot air. No more dilly-dallying. No more bullshit about Obama coming to our rescue.
I mean, come on folks, we’ve got numbers on our side! If we can’t get some movement on an issue where over 70% of the public agrees with us, how lame can we be?
In other words, it’s time to stop the bullshitting and start the activism.
Rant complete. Now get back to work.
Love,
Snarky Boy
