Amidst all the "let's keep fighting" missives (including my own) that are flying to and fro, some of the more somber analyses are starting to appear, and they make for scary reading. Try this one from Sidney Blumenthal in Salon:
The new majority is more theocratic than Republican, as Republican was previously understood; the defeat of the old moderate Republican Party is far more decisive than the loss by the Democrats. And there are no checks and balances. The terminal illness of Chief Justice William Rehnquist signals new appointments to the Supreme Court that will alter law for more than a generation. Conservative promises to dismantle constitutional law established since the New Deal will be acted upon. Roe vs. Wade will be overturned and abortion outlawed.God help us all.Now, without constraints, Bush can pursue the dreams he campaigned for -- the use of U.S. military might to bring God's gift of freedom to the world, with no more "global tests," and at home the enactment of the imperatives of "the right God." The international system of collective security forged in World War II and tempered in the Cold War is a thing of the past. The Democratic Party, despite its best efforts, has failed to rein in the radicalism sweeping the country. The world is in a state of emergency but also irrelevant. The New World, with all its power and might, stepping forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old? Goodbye to all that.
It's a sad day for America and it reflects badly on the American people. But they only know what they were told and Bush seemed to be a safe bet for the uninformed.
So far the war has had little cost to the average American. The lives lost were those of volunteers and not the children of people in the suburbs. And the costs were paid by selling Iraqi oil. But reality will soon set in. The deficit and deficit will soon have an effect on the economy and eventually we will need a draft which will spread the dangers of war evenly from the Bronx to the suburbs.
Americans can only hide from reality for so long....
Posted by: Jim | November 04, 2004 at 09:22 AM
Power tends to corrupt; and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Posted by: vaara | November 04, 2004 at 09:32 AM
uh, there is that little matter of 100,000 Iraqis who have died since March 03. That is the number Hussein killed in 1991.
Posted by: ajg34 | November 04, 2004 at 02:26 PM
the nummer of peeple killed by Hussein iz greatly exajerated by U.S. imperialists.
Posted by: | November 04, 2004 at 04:17 PM
What happens next? Read this article.
http://www.democracyforamerica.com/features/2004/11/04/anatomy_of_a_crushing_political_defeat.php
It tells what went wrong. We need to stand up for positive things. 'Fraid Kerry was a bit of a wimp folks. Read my other posts on expatriation. Do it but keep US for voting.
Posted by: callen | November 04, 2004 at 10:26 PM
Callen:
Thanks for posting this atricle. I implore ANYONE that wants the right wing to be gone from the White House to circulate this article.
The problem does not lie with the number of 18-30's that didn't vote etc. The problem lies with not knowing how to deviate from a set campaign idea when the Republicans are giving you all the ammunition you need simply by letting current policies go on every day
Case in point:
Since I live in canada, this fact KILLED me. In the debate, Bush told the whole world that the reason he has not approved the legal importation of Canadian drugs is that "We don;t know where they come from. they could be from the third world"
Now, in case anyone is unaware:
Most of the drugs we get here are American drugs made by American companies but licensed under a different name.
This wouldn't even be so bad because Americans know about as much about other countries as Bush knows about the English language. But then two weeks lter, when the US needs flu shots, he has the gall to come out and say "We've asked our friendly neighbors in Canada for help"
So all of the sudden, we go from being a 3rd world nation to a G7 nation. I blame Mary Beth Cahill for not being smart enough to have Kerry DRILL this into America's head. You have to know when to stop pushing the economy. It only works when the country is in a recession. Even though 250,000 Ohio people lost their jobs, they're brainwashwed into thinking it's only important when CNN tells them it's a "recession", not a "soft economy".
Posted by: rodi | November 06, 2004 at 03:41 AM
On that point I do agree Rodi, people should
be able to get their prescription drugs from
anywhere its cheaper. Or, perhaps, the drug
companies should be investigated for price gouging?
brainwashed? Did it ever occur to you and
other's that maybe, just maybe, they aren't the ones who are or have been brainwashed.
I find it extremely interesting that after all of the rhetoric, the talking points, the
campaign propaganda, the negativity spit out
by both sides that when the people have made
their decision and voted those who lost are
having these, what can only be called, little temper tantrums and proclaiming everyone as stupid, idiots, uninformed, brainwashed, country hicks.
I find that incredibly arrogant and really childish.
I'm sorry but, the Democratic Party really
does need to sit down and reexamine themselves, their policies, their attitudes, and their positions. They don't reflect the majority of the people, they no longer reflect the principles of John F. Kennedy or Roosevelt, they are out of touch
with the people. If they don't recognized that reality and get their act together they
are only going to continue to go down and all of the blustering, posturing, and temper
tantrums will not save them.
Posted by: Chrish | November 08, 2004 at 08:32 PM