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and still feeling it....
The Democratic Priority - A Cure for the Coup
By me
I was certified mad shortly after the 2000 election. No, not by any psychologist, but by my very own family. They declared me mad at George Bush, mad at Al Gore, mad at Florida, mad at the media, and mad at Nader and his Greens. I was just plain loco. Following the election “debacle” I was reduced to only watching C-span and the News-world International channel (NWI), listening to late night KGO talk radio and reading Buzzflash and Mediawhoresonline on the net. My media exposure was limited to topics that soothed my state of mind.
If I was in a bad state, 9/11 made things worse as I witnessed my mortal wound, Bush, benefit from an American tragedy with a 90% approval rating. Could things get any worse? Corporate scandals, the pressing for a war with Iraq, the trashing of the United Nations and the total ridicule of the French just sent me into a relapse worse than I had originally experienced. Then came the 2002 mid-term elections and my raw rage morphed into a solid mass. I marched in San Francisco, this time surrounded by thousands of like-minded citizens! That, at least, gave me some comfort. The only bright spot in the horizon seemed to be the 2004 election. Finally, a chance to get rid of Bush and to stop the madness.
As I surveyed the field of candidates in the summer of 2003, I asked myself which one could accomplish my overwhelming priority, curing the Coup. The choices appeared a bit “iffy” to me. My ailment was killing me, but I could not spot the antidote. I wasn’t going to just settle. I had to have an assured remedy.
I had taken to rabid reading as a band-aid for my pain. It kept my mind clear, and at the least it allowed me a wide array of selection. It was during this therapy that I learned about the liberal General, through Samatha Power’s Pulitzer award winning book, A Problem from Hell, America and the Age of Genocide. He was the hero in Power’s book; the Four Star General who had urged that we intervene in the genocidal actions in Rwanda, and who had succeeded in saving 1.5 million Muslims lives in Kosovo. Wes Clark’s name had also come up when President Clinton declared him to be one of two stars in the Democratic Party along with Hillary. I no longer watched the Cable Triplets, so I didn’t know Clark from television. But Clinton’s pronouncement led me to buy Clark’s book, Waging Modern Wars. Just buying a book purely about war embarrassed me somewhat. But I was searching for a cure, and nothing could stop me. Then I heard that Michael Moore and Bill Maher were also supporting the General. So, with the blessing of a best selling humanitarian author, a movie making celebrity Green, an outspoken libertarian talk show host, and the last sitting Democratic President, I made my selection of backing a General to cure my hurt and kick Bush’s derriere all the way back to Crawford, Texas. I sat down and wrote Clark a letter on June 15th asking him to run. On September 17th, Wes Clark announced his candidacy.
To date, the General has yet to disappoint my choice of treatment. In fact, I am convinced more than ever that this man can win the 2004 general election. This Southern Rhode Scholar intellectual, liberal internationalist, Affirmative Action Amicus brief writer, Bosnia Peace negotiating, non-politician articulating, multi-lingual patriot has yet to fail me. The Native American Times just endorsed him, as did the 2002 AOL-Times Person of the year, the Enron Whistleblower. Barbara Boxer, Jerry Brown and the President of the Sierra Club all attended Clark Fundraisers. Ted Sorenson and George Soros (Mr. Money bags himself) have both clearly stated that they are in Clark’s corner. Walter Cronkite used him as an example of a positive campaigner. Jesse Jackson Sr. tooted Clark’s Aid policy as the best. Andrew Young and Charlie Rangel were just named as his National Party Chairs. In brief, the diversity of support for the General is truly breathtaking! Add the fact that the Republicans and the corporate media barely speak Clark’s name except to smear him reinforces my satisfaction in picking my cure. I have read the thirty-one detailed policy papers (foreign and domestic) found on Clark’s website. In four months of running, his policies and positions only demonstrate careful thought and deliberate political wisdom.
I now feel reassured that with Wes Clark to wage our battle, the five southern Democratic senate seats at play in the upcoming election will not all be endangered. We desperately need to keep the power of the filibuster. Further, it is only too certain that a Supreme Court justice or two will be retiring during 2005.
I know that with Clark running as the nominee, Bush will have to expend much more money and time in the South as well as throughout the rest of the country than he and Rove may have wished. Those Independents votes sure will make a great splash landing in the Democratic column. The military votes for the Republicans will no longer be a safe bet with Clark on top of the ticket. Heck, Republican votes for the Republicans will not even be a sure thing. In my delirious anticipation, I wait for the day that I will hear George answer Clark’s questions about 9/11, the Iraq war lies, and details on Bush’s ex-buddy Lay. I want to hear some stammering from Bush as he debates the rationale for posing in his foolish fancy flight suit while the Mission Accomplished sign flew in our faces, and our soldiers continued to die.
What do I want out of the election? No, I don’t want to give the Republicans and the media the candidate that they have selected for the Democrats. No, I don’t want to remake the Democratic Party. No, I don’t even want to teach “Cockroaches” a lesson. And no, I don’t need a doctor for this malady. The only thing that can make me well again is to witness the defeat of George Bush.
So here I am with my Democratic priority in order, to be cured from the case of the Coup.
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