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A DEMOCRAT CALLS HIS PARTY TO STAND FAST
Stand fast, Democrats! We are about to witness a series of manufactured
political crises put forth by the radical right, masquerading as the GOP.
Senator Byrd is right when he points out that the 'nuclear option' to change
the rules in the Senate and outlaw filibustering is very similar to the
radicals in Germany in the early 1930s who pushed through the 'enabling act'
to set aside all rules in the parliament ( Reichstag). It set the stage for
dictatorial rule. We are now on such a path here in the USA. By a simple
majority, the GOP margin in the Senate would have a clear path to dominate
appointments to the Supreme Court. With all three branches in GOP control,
and the Fourth Estate clearly in Dubya's pocket, manufactured crises will
become a regular series of events.
There is no crisis in social security. But we are being 'bushwacked' by
Dubya's publicity machine, holding 'public' events where the audience is
pre-screened and pre-selected so as to convey the appearance of united
support to solve the crisis. A crude form of this dominated the German
public's awareness of 'crises' surrounding them. They demanded solutions and
they were quickly forthcoming. Our SS system was 'tweaked'in 1983 with
strong positive results. It could be tweaked again.
The real crisis which is NOT being manufactured, is the overwhelming cost of medicare for which the GOP has no answer. In fact, because it holds the majority status in Congress, the GOP has an obligation to propose solutions, not just 'cry wolf'.
We Democrats need to stand fast and champion the core principles of our
party, both nationally and statewide here in Maine. That means to stand fast
for fiscal responsibility; for reliance on employing astute diplomacy,
rather than exclusive use of brute military force; for the rights and
welfare of the regular folk in our society, rather than that of the rich and
elite; for the restoration of the democratic processes of governing and for
the rescue of our society from private grasping greed and restore it to
where it belongs: the public good.
D. Bernard
South Portland