As good, loyal democrats we should be unflinchingly critical of congressional democrats

[Exiled in America]

I believe that defending congressional leadership and the congressional democrats who refuse to stand up to this administration is a serious mistake. There have been enough appeasers in congress so that we can have situations like this morning where Bush praises the Senate for passing changes to FISA he likes that further weaken human rights (when you say "civil" rights it makes it easier to justify curtailing them)and to bring legitimacy to the administrations illegal actions making it more difficult to hold criminals accountable.

And while not all democrats in congress have been appeasers, the congressional leadership has been. Plain and simple. There is no excuse for their failure to give this administration an immediate ultimatum on Iraq back when they added a timetable for withdraw to the war spending bill only to remove it and give Bush everything he wanted.

As good Democrats, who love what this party has stood for down through the years, and believe that its platform, when honestly followed, is better for America - I believe it is an absolute duty to stop apologizing and excusing the job that congressional democrats have done and be united in strong protest and criticism.

I never got a satisfactory answer to my question the other day. And I think its funny that it's such an uncomfortable one that people want to ignore it. It's really very simple. Many Democrats both here at DU and all over the country are standing up strong for their parties legacy and demanding that congressional democrats and leaders stop acting in cowardly ways at a time where bold and dramatic opposition action is needed. But to those who continue to defend this congress' failure to stick to their guns on troop withdraw, who refuse to put impeachment on the table - how many soldier's lives is it worth?

Is your son or daughter serving in combat duty in Iraq? Are you?

Could you stand before the mothers of dead or mutilated sons and daughters who have died since this congress refused to defund this war and demand that troops come home and explain to them how "its all strategy" and how the democratic congress is doing such a good job.

I want you to tell those mothers that their dead son was "just the cost of doing business." I want you to tell those mothers that their dead daughter was "necessary to keep our power dry for when it quote, 'really matters.'

Then -

I want you to get on a plane, and I want you to fly to Iraq. And I want you to visit the families of some of the tens of thousands of Iraqi dead and explain to them why "these things take time." I want you to sit their at the graves of the slaughtered and rattle off a list of all the amazing things this democratic congress has accomplished.

....and if you aren't willing to do those things, then how can you be taken seriously when defending the failures of this democratic congress and its leadership? And I think that its hard to take people seriously in their defense when these questions aren't asnwered.

I'm a member of the Democratic Party. I've voted for democratic candidates in every election since I was old enough to vote. I believe that the legacy of the Democratic party was a vision that was better for America than a Republican one. And I don't feel that there is anything un-Democratic about my criticism of current congressional leadership and this democratic congress. In fact, I believe that its my DUTY as a passionate and active Democrat to stand up and oppose Democrats who are failing to protect the principles and legacy of this party!

To me, this is the equation missing in the discussion. We know that Republicans and this administration and displayed blatant disregard for the cost in human lives of their policies. But I what about the blatant disregard for the cost in human lives coming from Democrats unwilling to take a stronger stand? What about the blatant disregard of those who defend them?

I would plead with everyone to really try to answer these questions, then I would plead with everyone to see their responsibility as staunch Democrats to AGRESSIVELY go after democrats in congress. Call them and say you're mad as hell and you're not going to take it any more. Commit yourself to refusing to vote to re-elect democrats who go along with and appease a criminal administration. Find out what groups you can become involved with in your area that are working to apply pressure on these democrats. Talk to your local party representatives. Talk to the media. Organize a protest locally or coodinate with organizations nationally on a national one, if you have the know how and the means.

True Democrats who love what this Party stands for stand up and unflinchingly defend human rights and the legacy of the party. Congressional democratic complacency and appeasement of this administration is NOT worth the cost of one more dead solider or civilian.

I write this because I have been a Democrat my whole life and I still believe in the ideals that caused me to be a democrat in the first place. But those ideas are currently being raped by the passivity and appeasement of these particular congressional leaders and too many democrats in congress.


I think these questions deserve and answer.

EDIT - to remove a sentence that was horribly ambiguous and made it sound like I was saying the DU admininstrators weren't allowing this opinion to be given. Not true! Not at all what I meant, apologies.

[Hubert Flottz]

1. I agree, we need to clean house again in 2008!

[Exiled in America]

2. Yes, there needs to be accountability. And sometimes that means you have to "fire" people.

Congressional Democrats who have consistently appeased this administration (not all of them have, but enough so that nothing has been accomplished) should not be re-nominated. But if they are re-nominated, they shouldn't be voted for. No matter what that means. Even if that means a republican wins. I know its an ugly idea folks, but it is the ONLY way to hold a party accountable and make sure that the candidates they do run genuinely represent our interests!

[bluedog]

4. just wrote Nelson FL and told him

him about the same thing..........told him Fl. voters are watching his votes very carefully and that we demand an explanation!

[Skidmore]

3. Yup, totally agree with you.

Now be prepared to be called all sorts of things and flamed to a crisp.

[JeffR]

5. 100% right on

and thank you for saying it.

[Jade Fox]

6. So much of the criticism of the Democrats.....

seems to come from the attitude, "Okay, I voted for you and you won. Now read my mind and give me exactly what I want right now. You've got five minutes before I start trashing you." Much of the criticism also seems to come from people who know nothing about working within a system--a system with rules and procedures that take time.

OF COURSE we have to constantly tell the Democrats again and again what to do. That's a given. It will always be that way, so get used to it folks. What's that old saying, "When the people lead, the government will have no choice but to follow".

[Marr]

14. Yes- and the people lead by making it clear to people in the government that

if they choose to ignore the public, they will not be in the government anymore.

And I'd disagree with you that the criticism is unreasonable. It would hardly take psychic powers to know that the people in this country-- let alone the registered Democrats-- do not want to hand greater surveillance powers to Alberto Gonzalez and GW Bush.

[Jade Fox]

16. I didn't say ALL the criticism of the Dems.....

is unreasonable. Of course it's not. But some of it is as I described.

One of the things we need to do is to end what Anna Quinlan called "the self-referential circle of conventional wisdom" in Washington DC. She was referring to the insular nature of the press, pundits, consultants, and legislators in DC which has come to rule our land. They get all their ideas from each other, not us. NO ONE in DC, neither the GOP or the Democrats, is taking their direction from the people anymore. (Would the GOP be doing what it's doing if they were listening to their constituents? They're destroying their own future as a party by continuing to support a disaster of a president) We must repeatedly kick the butts of our elected representatives until they start taking their directions from the people, not the "circle". The rise of the internet is one good move in that direction, and the MSM is feeling the heat, as are the Pundits.

But childish "I'm gonna take my ball and go home" pouting is not going to win this fight.

[rucky]

7. Yep! It's not a question of loyalty.

It's whether you're loyal to the leadership, or to the core principles.

[RufusTFirefly]

8. Noooooo! We must be patient!!!!! The Rethugs are in their "last throes"

I hear that Kerry is going to contest the election any day now. Don't rock the boat. You'll spoil everything!

[Raster]

24. gotta keep that powder dry!

Wake up America!:kick:

[TahitiNut]

9. It's not our job to represent them; it's their job to represent US!

I tire of proclamations that we must be "loyal to our elected representatives (if they call themselves Democrats)" when the principle is precisely the reverse of that.

:grr:

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

11. Ssssshhhhh!! "Support Our Democrats" is akin to "Support Our Troops".

Doncha know that it's our God proclaimed Duty to trust our glorious Leaders?

[Exiled in America]

12. Yes, we have to resist the tendency to become dogmatic...

...or indoctrinated. Blind obedience to anything is a mistake - we have to demand that our party represent our wishes and stands for what is morally responsible. And they have to care about that more than they care about their own political careers.

[Individualist]

10. K&R

[nickgutierrez]

13. Damn right, tell them what you think.

They work for us, not the other way around. Not just Democrats, either - Republicans too. Lean on both parties, make them explain themselves in plain English, and don't let them hide behind talking points and bullshit.

[LWolf]

15. Thank you. K & R

[radfringe]

17. here here [loudly clapping and cheering]

k&r

[KoKo]

18. K&R!

[zalinda]

19. I don't think anyone says you shouldn't be critical

it's just that some here are critical all the time. It seems that the dems can't do anything right, even when they do do something for us. Because of the FISA bill, now the minimum wage bill is being attacked as do nothing. Damn people, the dems can't snap their fingers and make it happen. The repubs have made such a mess that just even wading through it is frustrating.

Okay, take a look at it this way. An old relative has died, and you and your bull headed cousin have to go over there and clean up the house. But when you walk through the door, you are confronted with a mountain of stuff. At first glance, you think I'll just throw everything out, but you can't, too many other things to be considered. There are family treasures hidden among the mess. The first thing you do is walk through the house and do an assessment. You try to tackle those items that seem the most important, but your cousin has other intentions. So, you are constantly pulled in one direction or the other. Then your side of the family starts bitching because it's taking so long to get the worthless stuff out of the house. Your cousin's family is adding to the confusion by telling your cousin that no, no, can't throw that away because it's valuable and has to stay in place. It's a constant tug of war, with neither side having absolute power. The house will eventually get put in order, but it will take a long time. The trick will be if more of the family sides with you, or your cousin.

And this is where we are today. We have to be critical when needed, but just as important, we have to give an "atta boy" when something gets accomplished. If we don't, they just might give up and say I don't need this, and start behaving just like repubs entirely.

zalinda

[provis99]

20. politicians aren't elected so we can be nice to them; they're there to do our bidding

Those people that say we should cut them slack remind me of the "America: Love it or leave it crowd". They aren't going to turn into Republicans because we make them cry; they will turn into Republicans if we stop complaining. As for those who point to whatever Democrats have done that is good I say: fine, don't rest on your laurels. You've shown you can obviously do SOME good, so I expect even more, and I want it now. Pushing and pushing them is the only way they don't slack off and get the feeling their entitled to their positions, like Lieberman has.

[me b zola]

21. Beautifully said

:applause:

[chill_wind]

22. Applause and great agreement from this DEM. Thank you for a great post.

K&R

[mzmolly]

23. Are you a loyal Democrat?

:hi: I agree that Dems should critique and we should appreciate Dems who vote in a manner we respect on the issues, but I see to little of the later by many here.

[Exiled in America]

26. We just disagree, but I can do it respectully or try: I see too much appeasement, I fear. :(

[Anita Garcia]

27. My appreciation is revealed when I vote for them.

I will not vote for those I do not "appreciate".
I will not waste time discussing how much I "appreciate" those that I am paying to do what I want them to do.
I would rather spend my time discussing how to change what is bad.
I would rather spend my time actually doing something to make the world a better place.

[Exiled in America]

28. I completely agree with you there.

[wiggs]

25. I'm with you. Founding fathers reasoned that dissent was patriotic and especially

so in times of war. They didn't say that dissent was appropriate only if talking about the opposition party....

Restricted public discourse has been a major problem of the last 6 years...DU is a place to counteract that, where public discussion should be (and is) varied, free, and dynamic even if sometimes messy. Dissent is not the same as disruption, of course.

[Exiled in America]

29. Wow, and I wrote this before the House PASSED Bush's requested spy bill

With the praise of the administration the House joins the Senate in passing an expansion to Bush's surveillance powers.

:eyes:

[sofa king]

30. Thank you for this.

I think that if there is one thing that separates us from the gangsters across the aisle, it's that we at least want to think that we the people control the party, rather than having the party manipulate and deceive the masses into following its own selfish profit-driven agenda.

We do not concede that our party leaders are some sort of Great White Father that knows best. Rather, we insist that our leaders follow our conscience, even if those leaders don't have one themselves.

We are the shepherds and the Members of Congress are our herd; we should ruthlessly cull those--like Joe Lieberman--who show signs of the Republican disease.