Arianna Huffington: The $3,000,000,000 Question

[babylonsister]

http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/06/12/the_3000000000_question/

The $3,000,000,000 Question
By Arianna Huffington - June 12, 2008, 8:54AM

snip//

As Gary Hart said: The current success of the Republicans' "be afraid, be very afraid" ethos "will continue until a new Democratic administration gives security a new definition, one that is based on national self-confidence rather than fear."

But what will it take for Democratic leaders, who again and again over the last decade became enablers behaving more like loyal lackeys than the loyal opposition, to make that happen? What will allow them to stop being so easily cowed by attacks on their patriotism and by the cynical exploitation of fear and the now ritual waving of the banner of national security? What will cure the rot afflicting our politics?

In one word: character.

After all, not everyone is equally affected by fear-mongering and the pressure to capitulate. Some -- whether in the media or in elected office -- manage to remain uncontaminated, or recognize their contamination earlier than others and join the fight against the forces polluting their judgment and their courage.

Otherwise, why did Jack Murtha change course on the war in 2005 while Joe Lieberman never managed to see through the fog of lies and manipulation? What made the late Paul Wellstone, even though he was facing a tough reelection battle, immune to the fears that led so many of his colleagues to vote for a war authorization resolution they knew was wrong? And what made Chuck Hagel stand up to his own party once the overwhelming evidence convinced him that the war was wrong?

In another word: leadership.

In this time of Lilliputian public figures it's clear that to end the hijacking of America by the Right each one of us needs to take up the gauntlet and stand up for the truth, no matter how many in the corridors of power or at the top of the media food chain would prefer to maintain the status quo. Leadership is a risky business requiring wisdom, courage, and fortitude -- and as my compatriot Socrates put it, courage is the knowledge of what is not to be feared. Leadership has always been about seeing clearly while most around you have their vision clouded.

The American genius is about bringing out the extraordinary in ordinary people. It wasn't elected officials who led the struggle for civil rights or the drive for women's rights or the fight to end the war in Vietnam or the war in Iraq. It was the people. And once again it will be the people trusting the truth they see -- no matter how often it is denied by those in power -- that will inoculate us against the sure-to-come attempts to terrify the electorate, whether through the manufactured attack on U.S. interests Jane worries about or the economic scare tactics Jared raises.

[OhioChick]

1. K&R

:kick:

[snappyturtle]

2. K&R There's little leadership or courage evident in Congress today.

Hopefully those two traits will rise from the ashes....and soon.

[Doctor_J]

3. I can't really understand why either

The time is ripe for someone to take a stand. Putting Murdock and everyone who works for him in real prison would be an excellent start

[snappyturtle]

4. Wouldn't you think that Congresscritters would realize by now that

putting an end to the madness by standing up and aggressively pursuing those committing crimes against the nation would be heroes? They really are out of touch with the public sentiment.

[Hotler]

5. Kicking! Well said and very true. ...

I can't figure it out as to why people seem so dumbed down. I wonder if they are pissed, and feel their voice doesn't count any more and just stay silent?