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nickinSTL Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jun-23-05 07:42 AM
Original message
Pledge for Democrats
The following was posted on a listserve I'm on, and one that some would like to see Democrats, and particularly elected Democrats, take:

We've had it. We've had it with the attacks on our patriotism and the charge that we don't "support the troops" because we are, as a rule, reluctant about sending them off to be killed and wounded for dubious reasons. We've had it with being called unpatriotic by chickenhawks who would never dream of encouraging their own kids to sign up for the military or signing up themselves, but are all too happy to send other people's kids off to die.

We've had it with being told that if you think torture is a betrayal of American values, you don't support the troops. We've had it with being told that unless you think the unadulterated clusterfuck that is Iraq is really just a land of butterflies and puppy dogs, then you don't support the troops who are there fighting and dying every day. We've had it with being told that if you use soldiers as props for your photo-ops when your approval ratings dip then you support the troops, but if you mourn those soldiers' deaths then you don't.

We've had it with being told that if you think America is supposed to stand for something more meaningful than just kicking ass, you don't really love your country. We've had it with having every policy criticism we make responded to with an attack on our motives. We have goddamn had it.

But we've also learned that just protesting these vicious, cowardly attacks doesn't work. So here's what we're going to do.

We are delivering the Grand Old Party and its supporters an ultimatum. Henceforth, when you accuse us of hating the military or hating our troops or hating America, we will not bow down and beg for forgiveness. We will stand up and hit back.

From this point forward, until you cease and desist this kind of attack, Democrats will start acting like Republicans. In every debate about national security, we will accuse Republicans in general and individual Republicans of hating our troops, hating America, and secretly sympathizing with terrorists. We won't imply it, we'll say it.

For instance: to this day, there are still American service members driving around Iraq without sufficient armor on their vehicles. As a result of the negligence of the Bush White House, the Pentagon, and the Republican Congress on this issue, dozens, maybe hundreds of American soldiers have died. So Democrats will now start asking, why do Republicans hate our troops so much that they'll let them die this way? Why can't Republicans support our troops?

Why do Republicans hate America so much they'll let us join the list of countries that torture people under their control? Only someone who hates America could do that.

Why does this administration keep giving Al Qaeda new recruiting tools? Are they pro-terrorist?

Why do this administration's supporters keep advocating policies that make America hated around the world? Do they hate America so much they want everyone else to hate it, too?

Why haven't the administration's supporters been screaming bloody murder about the fact that Porter Goss says he knows where Osama bin Laden is, but he hasn't gone to get him? Why don't they want bin Laden captured? Are they hoping he'll organize another attack on America?
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Totally Committed Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jun-23-05 08:09 AM
Response to Original message
1. Good List, but kind of incomplete...
Maybe it's just that the neo-cons are so egregiously wrong about everything. I dunno.

I do know this, though: until the Democrats get up off their knees, begging for forgeiveness for their own existence, no concerted "challenge" to the neo-con staus quo can or will happen. Real Democratic Heroes John Conyers and Barbara Boxer are out there alone, day after day, asking us for help, support, and signatures because the elected Democrats are too busy apologizing, whimpering, cowering or covering their own asses. We will make no head-way against the neo-con Smoke and Mirrors Machine until or unless the Democratic Party gets up, en masse, electeds and all, and starts acting like thy have backbone and a will to draw a line in the sand and defend it.

Thanks for posting this list... as I said, it's incomplete, but a really good start.

TC
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nickinSTL Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jun-23-05 08:21 AM
Response to Reply #1
2. I thought it was worth posting
sure, there is always more that can be said, but as I said, I just took this from a listserve post, and didn't add or change anything.

Feel free to add to it.
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