Then & Now

[NanceGreggs]

By Nancy Greggs

Thanks to the disaster that is the Bush administration, we know the next president will be a Democrat. And we need not wonder how you, the Republicans, will react if and when certain things come about.

We know if the next president entangles us in a war based on flimsy evidence and fabricated intelligence, you will declare it unpatriotic not to criticize that decision at every opportunity.

We know that if the next president stubbornly insists on continuing a war that causes escalating troop casualties and shows no signs of any progress, you will decry the financial cost and the loss of life.

We know that if the next president funnels billions of dollars into that war, leaving our domestic programs in ruins, you will fight every penny of that expenditure.

We know that if the next president over-reaches the authority of his office and defies any attempt at oversight, you will saturate the media with your unfettered anger.

We know that if the next president operates in secrecy and refuses to reveal any of the discussions or documents that disclose the inner machinations of his administration, you will demand transparency and disclosure.

We know that if the next president funnels untold taxpayer dollars into the pockets of his friends and associates, you will not rest until there are investigations and accountability.

We know that if the next president pushes the national debt even higher than it is now, you will scream from the rooftops about the need for fiscal responsibility.

We know that if the next president cuts the funding necessary to give our veterans the best care possible, you will let your outrage be known in all quarters.

We know that if the next president distances us from our allies and eschews all efforts of diplomacy, you will warn your fellow citizens of the deadly outcome of such foolhardiness.

We know that if the next president encourages the outsourcing of American jobs and the off-shore relocation of American corporations, you will speak incessantly about the impact on our nation’s economy and its workers.

We know that if the next president guts the authority of governmental agencies that safeguard our food, our medicine, and our environment, you will warn your constituents of the fatal consequences that will inevitably follow.

We know that if the next president appoints incompetent cronies to positions that require specialized skills and experience in order to save lives, you will raise your voices so as to be heard from one coast to the other.

We know that if the next president vacations while an American city drowns, you will be relentless in seeking his downfall.

We know that if the next president ignores the Constitution and holds himself to be above the laws of the nation, you will stop at nothing to see that president removed from office.

We know what you will do if the next president does any of these things. You will demand, in the name of what is best for your country, that such arrogance and corruption not be allowed to stand.

The question remains: Why, in the name of what is best for your country, are you not doing any of those things now?

[Suich]

1. Good grief!

I could not have put it better myself, NanceGreggs!

Thank you!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. My dear Nance......

All I can say is.....

I'm so glad I stayed up tonight...

Between you and WCGreen, my brain cells are awake!

K&R as usual....

You keep knocking them out of the park, to use that tired cliche again...

Thank you.....

:patriot:

[Bozita]

3. Excellent!

I've got to catch my breath.

[JeffR]

4. Preeeeecisely!

As soon as a Democrat is sworn in, they'll do all this reflexively. They'll huff and they'll puff, and with luck they'll blow their own tiny minds.

K & R!

[EndlessMaze]

5. We all need to be involved

Hey Nancy, I have loved each and every one of you posts for the last year or so. No more lurking for me though.

I believe that we each need to pick something that we care about and go do something about it, and include the perpetrators in the process.

I am a volunteer.

I have volunteered myself to go out and do charity. Not to overthrow, but to under through. That means to go and confront the ignorant right where they are, and engage them in their own fallacies, and help them to think it through for themselves, all the while, working hard to help people, regardless of your or their political, or religious beliefs.

It actually works, and I have personally helped take back over our "environmental organization" up here in the mountains in So. Cal. from a crew of Evangelical Right Wing GWB loving folks, that did not even know what happened to them. And they supported it!!!!

I firmly believe that acting locally is the way to go. GWB has no standing, the war in Iraq is what it is for all Americans to see, and the repuklikkinz, based on when you talk to then as a neighbor, are fed up, and ready to learn.

[NanceGreggs]

6. Welcome to the discussion, EM!

:toast:

[emilyg]

7. Everytime I think of quitting DU

I think of how much I would miss your gems. And so I stay. Thank you.

[razors edge]

8. We also know that if

the next president does any of the things mentioned above, you will advocate the immediate removal from office and interment in Guantanamo Bay for humane water boarding of all administration officials in order to streamline the intelligence gathering necessary to protect the homeland.

[pepperbear]

9. nance, this is one of the best. n/t

[ninkasi]

10. Thank you, Nancy

You are stating a fact, and one which exposes the monumental hypocrisy of the Republic party. They are the biggest danger facing our democracy, and the adherence to the Constitution we've ever had to confront. Democracy depends on getting them out of power, and trying to undo the enormous harm they have inflicted on us.

You talk about being short-sighted...don't they realize that the powers they have allowed Dubya to seize can also be used by a Democratic president beginning in 2009? Just let a President Clinton, or Obama, or Edwards, try to exercise the powers the Chimp has grabbed, and watch them howl and moan.

They see no further than the power and money they have today. They don't worry, or care, about the shape of the world we are leaving to our children. They are the most self-obsessed, most selfish, most shallow people we've ever seen. It's past time to remove them from power.

[uberllama42]

23. Senate Republicans love the filibuster now, don't they? n/t

[Rottenmac]

11. and again,

you remind me why I look for your posts each visit. Nailed it.

[emanymton]

12. I For One Am getting Tired Of You Girl. Every Time I Think ...

.
your writing cannot get better, you come through with a simply outstanding essay of brilliance and honest feelings. Keep this up and keep us straight!

Thank you for showing us the way.
.

[Patriot Abroad]

13. Thanks Nancy!

Keep the anger and outrage alive!

[NanceGreggs]

16. Welcome to DU, Patriot Abroad!!!

:toast:

[Patriot Abroad]

17. I've been lurking for a while . . .

Figure this is my year to start getting involved . . . (or just defect to the EU if things get any worse . . .)

[Uncle Joe]

14. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread Nancy Greggs.

[sellitman]

15. This is your best!

But then again I say that after every Nanc-rant.

:thumbsup:

[broadcaster]

18. Totally right ...

The GOP has a massive machine out there to define and to control the
narrative, and I'm not looking forward to post 2008 when this machine
will be turned like a blow torch onto Democrats and Progressives.

[pdillett]

19. Wake up - stop the self congratulatory stuff - we are failing

I have a huge problem with this (Nancy Gregg's piece), starting with one of the initial assertions "we know the next president will be a Democrat." Wake the f**k up. If the election were held today (and let's remember it is more than a year away) Rudy
Guliani would be president. This is not what I want, mind you, but that's the way
it is. As many people as there are who say they will vote for Obama or Clinton, you
can subtract about 20% in the real election. That's because, we Democrats are
gutless, or plain pathetic, when it comes to putting our votes where our mouths
are. How many election seasons will we hear "the electorate is truly energized,
particularly young people." Then after the election, young people have voted
in the smallest numbers of any age demographic. Even with Paris Hilton voting for
president every year we still can't get enough young voters. Barack Obama would do well to chat with Howard Dean about how fast a grass roots movement based in young people can dissapear.
But young voters are only a symptom of a larger problem. We are gutless as legislative block as well. We gave up during the post 9/11 Bush steamroller, and since regaining control of Congress in 2006 we have made almost no progress. We have not stopped Bush from getting what he wants, let alone getting anything the American people want. As tough as it was being in the minority for us, the Republicans are making mince meat of us even while they are in the minority. There are endless parlimentary methods to keep things from happening even when you are in the minority. Why didn't our Congresspeople use them when we were in the minority? Because we have been, and continue to be, gutless.
We like to say 'the American people are ahead of lawmakers on the war, they
are showing a lack of support that makes it clear they want change." Well, lets realize
that the American people are out in front of lawmakers on everything. They are blaming
Congress even more than the president at this point for the state of this nation. If you think your Congressional seat is safe if you play it safe, you are dead wrong. Letting Bush 'run out the clock' under the assumption a Democrat will be president next is an act of treason. Is is a dereliction of duty far surpassing that of voting for the war based on faulty information. In this situation there is no deception, just hubris
and the overconfidence that righteousness will prevail automatically. If there is
one thing we should have learned by now in our "spreading of democracy," it is that there is nothing automatic about democracy. Only people who act righteously can make righteousness prevail. People who pontificate righteously, without backing up their words with action, can look forward to several years of whining on talk shows about how the election was stolen or we were tricked or Bush scared the people into voting for the wrong candidate. All of this may be true, to some extent,but we have allowed it to happen.
Wake up, we are in danger of losing the Presidency and the Congress without so much as trumped terrorist event. If you add in an unfortunate internatinal event you
can be assured the American people will elect the leader the think has guts. Hope
you like Guliani time

[annabanana]

21. Thank you for your concern. . . . . .n/t

[Laurab]

24. Very interesting first post - welcome to DU

I, too appreciate your concern, but I do think you missed a little something in Nance's post - it's called sarcasm. I think we are all very much awake.

[newyawker99]

30. Hi pdillett!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[newyawker99]

29. Hi broadcaster!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[DeeDeeNY]

20. Perfect summation

And of course the answer to your last question is easy. It's because they are HYPOCRITES!!

[Laurab]

22. K & R - I bet you had a hard time

keeping it so short - you probably could have written a book!

[wiggs]

25. Can you email to GOP congressmen? Maybe also to a few dems...this is worthy of

being read into the congressional record by a congressman/congresswoman.

[Kurovski]

26. K&R.

Thanks, NG.

[ProudDad]

27. Kick

Another Gem... :hi:

[pdillett]

28. a clarification

Just to clarify, I enjoyed Nancy's post. I do not mean to impugn her work here. Her piece just pointed out ot me that there is no reason these laughable GOP tactics should have ever been able to gain traction in the first place. But they have, and that is our fault. Somehow we need to get the (voting) public in on the joke as well, or the joke is on us.