Dear Gov. Dean -- “a lot of power waiting to be harnassed”

understandinglife

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Mon Jan-30-06 06:44 PM
Original message

Dear Gov. Dean -- “a lot of power waiting to be harnassed”

Edited on Mon Jan-30-06 06:51 PM by understandinglife

30 January 2006 (# 56)

That’s what I think “We the People …” have proven in the past few days. Senator Kennedy and Kerry led, valiantly and intelligently, and we responded.

As ReddHedd at firedoglake just posted:

All this Faxing and phone calling and e-mailing...has scared the bejeebers out of the Washington establishment over the last couple of weeks. You know why? It came from a true grassroots movement. From anger, from true concern, from patriotism -- from a wellspring of individual citizens who cared enough about their nation to get off their butts and do something.

That is a lot of power waiting to be harnassed, folks.

And the powers that be that have controlled Washington, D.C., aren't the ones in the driver's seat of this vehicle. The citizens of this nation are. Something out of their control entirely -- a group of angry citizens who know how to use communications tools, and who aren't going to just sit by and be silent any longer.

If they think the Alito battle is the only one we're willing to fight, they can think again. This was merely the first skirmish.

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You think we're just going to slink away, tail between our legs and wallow in a little setback? Hell no. Here's the news of the day: the American public is wide awake. And we're pissed.

Link:

http://firedoglake.blogspot.com/2006_01_29_firedoglake_archive.html#113865970738074802

Yes, “We the People …” are motivated and we will make changes.

Unfortunately, Gov. Dean, that also means that those Senate Democrats who paved the way for Alito’s confirmation are going to be held accountable. Accountability really is the core value that must characterize a true opposition party, a party truly committed to the Constitution, a genuine Democratic Party instead of a Republican-lite Party.

One example of accountability -- the cold, hard reality of it -- is that “We the People …”, i.e., citizens throughout the country, not just residents of Connecticut are going to work tirelessly to ensure that Mr. Ned Lamont defeats Lieberman in the 2006 primary.

“We the People …” will never forget today – the day when our civil liberties and the Constitutional wisdom of checks and balances were dealt a stingy defeat because Senate Democrats didn’t have the courage, didn’t have the backbone to serve their oath of office and prevent cloture on Alito. They failed and that to which they wittingly subjected future generations was eloquently stated by Senator Kerry this afternoon:

"We knew we faced steep odds, but we also knew that once Judge Alito becomes Justice Alito, there’s no turning back the Senate confirmation vote. It wouldn’t matter if we spoke up after the Supreme Court has granted the executive the right to use torture, or to eavesdrop without warrants. It wouldn’t matter if we spoke up only after a woman’s right to privacy was taken away and only after the courthouse door was slammed in the faces of women, minorities, the elderly, the disabled, and the poor. This was a debate worth having, and a debate we had no choice but to have today."

Link: http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=1802

The “odds” would have been not “steep” at all, had every Democratic Senator done their duty to the Constitution and protected the civil liberties of those whom they represent.

So, indeed, the road to creating a vibrant, honest, and intelligent opposition party to the vast corruption of the Republicans and their lawless, imperialist leader, Mr. Bush, will be a constant struggle.

But, it became a bit more tractable today because we now know those whom we must shun, those who are not with us, those who must be replaced by persons of the ethics and commitment to the Constitution so well exemplified by you, General Clark, Vice President Gore, Senator Kerry, Senator Kennedy, Congressman Conyers, and others. “We the People …” know the difference and we will make that very clear in the weeks and months and years ahead.

Thank you for your continued leadership,

Peace.