My instincts are to write more about Republicans. After all, Sarah Palin is now officially “on the loose” and we’ll be hearing a lot more about her as she cashes in on the fame she gained during the last Presidential election. I can’t even imagine her in a national office, but you’ve got to give her credit for being a good loyal Republican who fully realizes when the opportunity to fleece the system for millions is there. I expect her to be rich within one year and I expect her to run for President in 2012. As one who’s not wanting a return of Republican rule, I can only hope that she succeeds in getting the nomination. You also have more reports coming out on Dick Cheney’s antics (I’ve been telling people all along this would happen, and it’s far from over in my view). OK, if you’re a Republican you agree to everything Dick Cheney and Rush Limbaugh want to do, but can you imagine American troops entering a city to “arrest” so-called “enemy combatants?” That is what, according to reports, Cheney wanted to do post 9/11. Boy, that would be a good way to let everyone know “who’s in charge,” wouldn’t it? And, of course, the now infamous John Yoo gave Cheney the “go ahead” by writing one of his famous – tell me what you want to do and I’ll justify it – memos that essentially said that if the administration claims “national security” the constitution is null and void.

I, of course, could go on about Republicans (like the ones calling themselves “birthers” – arguing that President Obama is not an American citizen – you know, that large percentage of Republicans who are overt racists) but tonight I’m feeling that tug to spend most of my time talking about Democrats. The sad truth is that after the last election most of what I’m talking about these days shouldn’t even be an issue for discussion. The Republicans now represent something less than a quarter of the population (although, the Democrats seem to be determined to make that number rise again) and given their propensity to say no to everything along with the reality that they are totally outnumbered in Congress – THE BLAME FOR THE MESS IN WASHINGTON NOW RESTS TOTALLY ON THE SHOULDERS OF DEMOCRATS. And, I think there’s some hard realities to face here as well.

First, while as stated before I like and respect Barack Obama tremendously, it’s his job to lead us out of the abiss. However, he is the first Democrat I believe is making huge mistakes (even though his intentions are more honorable than any President – with the possible exception of Jimmy Carter – in my lifetime). Had Obama done the RIGHT THING and not only allowed investigations and prosecutions of the Bush “crime family” these constant absurd stories about what was done in the Bush administration would be confined to their proper place – and that would be the reporting on the court proceedings and the investigations being conducted by special prosecutors. There wouldn’t be millions of Americans just like me who are bewildered and ashamed that our government is saying that torture and abuse of our constitution are OK if it’s done by our own elected leaders – and, of course, that “strategy” of governing in itself is illegal. To President Obama, the stories are going to keep coming out and you will continue to lose support due to your lack of will to “do what’s right.”

The next reality that we have to face is that the Democratic party is not devoid of racists either. I honestly believe that there is something in the area of one fourth to one third of our nation who are having difficulty accepting a Black man as President. While most of them are Republicans, they’re not all Republicans. And, for certain, the Democratic caucus doesn’t seem too eager to support President Obama’s agenda. As stated above, I’m not happy with the President’s cajoling of Republicans, and I don’t think he’s got all that much control of the Democrats either. Especially, in the Senate where he’s forced to deal with one of the more spineless political leaders of my lifetime in Harry Reid. I can tell you what I would have done with the Senate had I been in Reid’s position. THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN NO AUGUST RECESS UNTIL THE HEALTH CARE PROPOSAL WAS PASSED – period, end of story. And, there wouldn’t be this huge debate over whether there’s going to be a “public option” or not – THE LINE WOULD BE IN THE SAND! I’m not sure how much influence Obama has with these guys, but what I need to see from him is a stronger effort to get the Senate to pass HIS BILL. This idea that we’re going to go “round and round” trying to figure out what “works” is going to produce something that no one’s happy with.

Let me give President Obama and the Democrats some more advice – I know this is presumptuous – but I JUST CAN’T BELIEVE WHAT I’M SEEING! YOU’RE NOT GOING TO GET REPUBLICAN VOTES ON ANYTHING! Certainly, with a 60 vote caucus, there are plenty more people than me who will be extremely disappointed to see a final bill that is watered down in order to get Susan Collins to vote for it. I could care less if ONE REPUBLICAN votes for it. What is important is that the government realizes where the bipartisan support is – THE PEOPLE OF THIS GREAT NATION SUPPORT THE PUBLIC OPTION ALMOST 3 to 1! If the Congress of the United States of America can’t respond affirmatively to that – THEN WE’RE IN WORSE SHAPE THAN MOST OF US THOUGHT. So, here’s what needs to happen – and keep in mind that it took a huge “grass roots” movement to get the Republicans out of office and to elect Obama as President.

The names of every US Senator and US Congressman (and I suppose it would be appropriate to limit this to Democrats) who stands in the way of the “public option” for a “medicare for all” option to the American people for health insurance need to be published. And, those of us who are determined to see our government back in the hands of “we the people” (and believe me, in my mind that should be a combination of Democrats and Republicans) need to work for the removal from office of ALL OF THEM! In my state (Washington) it’s, at this point, Maria Cantwell. I actually sent her money during her last campaign, and there’s no more money and no more support for her until I see her out of the pocket of the health care industry. And, of course, when you see a politician being manipulated by one special interest group, then you have to wonder; who else is buying his/her vote? Across the river in Oregon, I thought I’d never say this – and, of course, I can’t vote in Oregon – but, I’ll work to help defeat Ron Wyden if he continues to caucus with the so- called “Blue Dog Democrats.” To me, Wyden joining in on this deplorable position by leading Democrats is almost as devestating as if Russ Feingold would do this (and, of course, I can’t imagine that he would).

There are places on the web where you can find out exactly who’s buying off your Senators and Representatives. I’m thinking that is where I need to start putting more of my energy. In the last 4 years I’ve read close to 30 books about Iraq, the Bush administration, and the general functioning (probably non-functioning would be more appropriate) of our government. One thing that has been very consistent in all that reading is that one leader after another is lying through their teeth everytime their lips move – and, sadly, most people seem to just accept this. The politicians know that the people seem to just accept this – and, in the process, the problems become greater and the people become more frustrated. I think I’m at the point where I need to re-invigorate myself because for some reason I thought that after the last election there really would be “change we can believe in.” While I admire President Obama I’m disappointed in his lack of resolve to hold people accountable. However, I fully realize he can’t do this on his own. The Congress is mired in a kind of “legal corruption” where they police themselves and we have to rely on them to stop the flow of money from the corporations who have no interest in anything but their own profits. We can’t afford to wait another three years to try to get this right. We have to somehow remind candidates of both parties that the people of this nation is who they represent and that, despite the legal definition to the contrary, CORPORATIONS ARE NOT PEOPLE!

I’ve written in a couple earlier posts that I would love to see a third party emerge that could realistically challenge the Democrats and Republicans. In my view, the Republicans are past the point of no return. They have their heads so stuck in the politics that brought them to power in the late eighties and early nineties that you would have to see New York and Los Angeles under water before they would agree that “global warming” is a problem. Their phones would have to be tapped before they would admit that the fourth amendment to the constitution provides a “right to privacy.” They would probably have to be waterboarded before they would admit that our government committed war crimes – IN ALL OF OUR NAMES! And, for years the Democrats had the excuse of being in the minority, so the blame could be easily aimed where it belonged – on the Republicans. But, now that they have the super majorities in Congress, THERE’S NO MORE EXCUSES. What are these Democrats afraid of? Are they afraid that some of these policies won’t work? Well, the truth is that we all know that the status quo is not only not working, it’s leading us into a MAJOR DISASTOR! The American public understands that the Republicans got us here – THEY EXPECT THE DEMOCRATS TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT – and, more of the same IS NOT AN OPTION – at least for people like me.

I continue to hold out hope that somehow the Justice Department will take up the responsibility that it’s been shirking for the last 8 years and start holding our leaders accountable to the oath they all swear to when taking office. I’m hopeful that the Democrats will come to their senses and pass a health care reform bill that includes the public option (and includes a long term fix to medicare). I would like to see the Democrats have the guts to reverse the “Bush Tax Cuts” that were the first step in bringing this nation to the brink of bankruptcy. I would like to see them pass regulations overseeing the financial industry that are designed to protect consumers and not the banks who again have the money to “buy” legislation in their favor. Of course, I would like to see our troops come home from two ill-conceived and poorly administered wars – wars which have already cost us the lives of close to 5000 of our best young men and women along with trillions of dollars. Wars which have stretched our military to the breaking point and have left one in four of the troops involved with PTSD to go along with the untold thousands of other injuries. And, I would like to see the Democratic Congress come up with an energy bill that actually points us in the direction of a nation determined to find alternatives to fossil fuels for our energy along with a determination to become a leader in the fight against climate change. The way I see it, it’s time for the Democrats to (word of your choice) or get off the pot!