My name is still Steven Joseph Vincent

[Mortos]

There was a time, not too long ago, I wrote a post on a fledgling website called Democraticunderground; a piece called, "My Name is Steven Joseph Vincent." It was written on one of the darkest days for progressives right after George W. Bush had defeated John Kerry in an election that pitted fear against hope, lies against truth and epidemic failure against accountability; the American people voted against their self interest and we had to suffer through 4 more years of truly awful political and social times. It was a time when some people were literally afraid to put their real names on a website that was so vocally critical of the rabid right wing politicians and echo chamber. The cathartic post came from my personal experiences as a liberal in a right wing state being psychologically beaten down daily by co-workers, friends, radio station talk show hosts, family members and even churches. I didn't care what happened to me at that point, I just knew I had to say something. I had to voice my frustration and in this community of like minded beaten down folks, I found a psychological sanctuary from the slings and arrows of outrageous morans. That post, at the time, got more responses than any previous post on DU. There were hundreds of other DU members who were as frustrated and depressed by the prospect of 4 more years of incompetent, evil republican leadership and the damage we feared (and were proven correct) would happen.

Contrast that with the exultation we all felt when we won, we finally won and President Barack Hussein Obama (and oh, how I loved to say his full name to my apoplectic right wing friends) was elected 22 short months ago and again when he was sworn in 2 months later. I think there was a collective sigh of relief and took a well deserved break from politics to let the president, congressmen and senators start to clean up the mess they had inherited. But then I, and I only speak for myself here, stopped doing anything other than criticizing. Sure, I would fire off the occasional angry email or call my representatives but for all intents and purposes, my involvement with, and full fledged support of the president and the progressive movement stopped. I was not working on local campaigns, donating money or making calls. I think I took that picture of President Obama with the text, "Relax, I got this," a little too literally.

Now 20 months into the presidency we all fought so hard for, some seem ready to give up and let the right wingers take this country back. Backwards. Again. Just when we are starting to see some improvements (and I know there will be a large group of people who will tell me how little improvements we have seen). I just thought we should take a moment and look back at what the same folks who are trying to get back into power now, did to us back then.

Remember when:

George W. Bush was the president, choked on a pretzel, fell off a bike (routinely), appeared to be drunk and or brain damaged during speeches?
The president giving a press conference or speaking to an international audience was a humiliating experience?
Karl Rove was given access to and control over everything?
Dick Cheney was the real president and lied us into a war, shot a guy in the face and outed an undercover CIA agent?
NEOCONS controlled our foreign policy?
Every senior member of the administration lied routinely, blatantly and frequently about weapons of mass destruction in a country that didn't have any?
We had a color coded terror warning system trotted out for purely partisan political reasons to scare the shit out of the average American voter?
Billionaires got tax cuts?
The EPA was gutted?
Science and reason were slandered?
There was a serious discussion about amending the Constitution to ban; gay people from getting married, abortion, flag burning and to allow an Austrian born action hero body builder to run for president?
Enron went bankrupt an destroyed the retirement portfolios of thousands while Bush's buddy Ken Lay profited?
Gas was $5 a gallon and gas companies were raking in obscene record quarterly profits?
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the horrific aftermath of incompetent nominees to head serious government agencies?
American's were arrested for daring to protest and exercise their First Amendment rights?
The Dixie Chicks received death threats and had their songs banned from radio for saying they were ashamed to be from the same state as President Bush?
The rest of the world looked down upon America and our reputation fell to an all time low?
We were afraid of our government?
Treaties were violated and torture was approved?
The Defense Department lied about Jessica Lynch's rescue and Pat Tillman's friendly fire death?
The Hammer?
Attorney Generals Alberto Gonzalez and John Ashcroft?
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfield?
And hundreds of other examples of failure, incompetence and arrogance?

I don't want to go back to that dark hopeless place we stumbled around in for 8 years after only giving President Obama 24 months to repair the damage. I don't want to let right wing nuts take over our government again. No matter what our disagreements are with President Obama and the Congressional democrats, we can't allow the new and worse tea party republicans to get their foot in the door. I am not willing to allow the expedited destruction of our country to make a political point or to reprimand our party for slights, real or perceived.

I support our President and believe that he is doing the best he can for our country in very tough times. Even the if the worst accusations and insults hurled at him by disaffected members of DU are true, and I don't believe they are, his administration is nowhere near the level of corporately controlled evil that was exemplified by the Bush administration.

To paraphrase that post from November 3, 2004:

My name is Steven Joseph Vincent

and I am no longer afraid to speak my mind in my own country.

I served my country in the military for 5 years. I wore the uniform. I was willing to sacrifice my life for the ideals this country was founded on. I will not allow the bullies to retake power in this country or cave in to the partisan cowards who support them.

I no longer cry for my country because I have hope. Hope that things will change for my gay friends, the sick, the working class and the poor. Hope for my children's future.

I will not hide behind an alias. I will not be ashamed of my party affiliation or my political beliefs. I will not quietly stand by and allow my country to be diminished again by the same republican party that pillaged her before.

I AM NOT AFRAID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And neither should my 66,882,230 compatriots who proudly stood up and said, "Enough!"

This is our country and we should fight for her.

I will fight goddammit! (and so should you)

[Dennis Donovan]

1. I remember the thread...

...and I'll recommend this thread.:thumbsup:

[Skittles]

2. I REMEMBER

:hi:

K&R

[Skidmore]

3. I remember that thread and think of it every once in a while and

wonder how many of those who posted with me on it are still here and remember. Thank you again.

[tishaLA]

4. Still have it bookmarked...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=2587059

It was one of the best threads ever on DU. And, yes, it is time to fight.

[tomp]

5. i resent the idea that you suggest that any of us have forgotten bush, inc....

....or that anyone wants to go back in that direction. that seems like another attempt to quash criticism of obama's leadership.

in my opinion it is team obama that needs your reminder.

in my opinion, which i generally state as courageously and proudly as you do yours, we DESPERATELY need to move to the left of obama.
there is no time to lose and i have much less hope than you.

[Mortos]

8. I am sorry you have lost hope

The intent of my post was not to quash criticism but to remind people how far we have come. It doesn't mean we don't have farther to go or that we are living in a liberal utopia now. I think it is interesting that a post that I intentionally wrote to foster unity offended anyone. Again, it was not my intent. I still have hope and I don't feel like a refugee in my own country anymore.

[TBF]

27. It is nice to have a president who is handsome and articulate -

but how far have we really come? Breaking unions, bonuses to bankers, commissions to cut social security and veteran's benefits? Wars continuing? Jobless recovery (an oxymoron if I ever heard one)?

We can do better than this.

[meowomon]

38. Amen

[saorsa]

52. You are very kind..

and gracious, it is a difficult time for many who feel that without an offense we will lose the momentum that we need, or may have lost it already. Some people feel they have hope every day, others may not feel hope, exactly, but they keep talking and wrangling over it all, looking for the loose thread they need to untie the knot.
Both kinds might share stubborn, dogged, cussedness that comes from anger at injustice, and waste, and butchery and the base misuse of power, that keeps them looking for the same things, in different ways.

[sendero]

54. How far have we come?

the stuff about Bush being an idiot and falling off his bike means dick to me.

The stuff about Cheney and the war machine, well what has changed? I mean Obama is handling the wars exactly like Bush would have. What is our gain here?

What exactly has Obama "fixed"? He's backtracked on damn near every important promise he made. Both the health care and financial reform bills are a cruel joke, placebo trophy legislation that does much less for average Americans than it does for insurance companies and banks.

Really, I'm so tired of hearing about "how far we've come". We've come nowhere. Obama is simply a more eloquent Bush, he acts EXACTLY like Bush, making flowery speeches full of great promises and then he goes back to Washington and does what he pleases.

I understand folks who say "well he's better than a Republican". I agree with that, only I will say the margin is awfully thin. Not enough of a difference for me to bother to go to a poll.

As it is now, he's merely slowly taking the credit/blame for the economic debacle that will rage for many years, and I don't think the things we are getting (via legislation) are remotely worth shifting the blame for this mess to Democrats, which is what is happening. And he CLEARLY has no fucking clue how to fix it, not one.

[Mortos]

58. You are right

Nothing has changed **end sarcasm**.

[sendero]

62. All that has changed is that..

... we can listen to an intelligent man lie his ass off rather than a moron.

Big gain.

[Crystal Clarity]

63. Wow. Based on some of the posts on this thread

as well as a cumulative mass of posts that I've seen since joining DU in April, I can't help but wonder if what happened at DKos the other day isn't going on here...

Great OP Mortos. Thanks and recommended.

ETA: Too late to recommend but still thanks...

[JDPriestly]

45. I'm with you, tomp.

[malaise]

6. K & R

I read your original post.

[pwb]

7. I hear that, We are not scared, and we are not that mad.

.........Unite against the neocons.........

[tavalon]

9. That was such a life affirming thread

I participated.

[lunatica]

10. Thanks

I don't forget how dark those days were and how much worse it can actually get. With Obama there is a trend going in the right direction. It's a monumental task to reverse the easy slide into poverty and squalor. If the Republicans win we will slide quickly into third world status. Not maybe. We will.

[Bonobo]

11. It was a great post and so timely.

I posted there under my original name, "Skepty Cal".

It was a time for hope conversely because things were so bleak.

But it also fostered and allowed us to maintain the illusion that things were only bad because "they" (the "Other") was in power.

Since that time, we claimed both houses of congress and had a historic election that none of us at the time could imagine really happening, but one which we dreamed of.

Obama brought hope to all of us.

He assured us that change was within our power.

We worked for that change. Worked hard.

And now, Obama has done to me what Bush could not do. He has sucked the hope out of me.

Why? Because now I see that the problem is far, far deeper than one "bad" political party or a small cabal of power-hungry radicals.

The problem is endemic to out country, to our society. It is not really the fault of the "other". It is us, all of us. We are it.

Or, to put it another way if it makes anyone feel better, the reins of power are no longer held by the people, much less the POTUS.

The country is in the hands of forces which are not responsive to us in any direct way through the mechanisms of our Democracy.

Short of physical confrontation, I cannot imagine how things can be changed with the iron-bound 2 party system that keeps us in a permanent state of victimhood to its "Good Cop/Bad Cop" default mechanisms.

I sometimes miss those days of Bush, when I was still able to hold out hope that we could effect change at the voting booth or behind some placards in a demonstration.

I know I will be lambasted for this, but I am only speaking the truth as I see it.

Sorry if the message is not one some of you want to hear. But I am grateful for the freedom to post it here, on DU, where I once shouted such outrage on the dimwitted son, George Bush.

I will not be voting for any lame bipartisanship in the future. I was a strong voice for the current POTUS, but I now see that a much more radical voice was needed at this time.

I mourn the lost opportunities of the last 2 years and I mourn the shift away from the democratic foundations that formed the bedrock of what I thought we represented.

[SusanaMontana41]

19. Excellent summation.

I agree 100 percent.

[bigmonkey]

21. I agree that political change is hard.

Your post combines your emotional reaction to realizing how hard it is with a policy suggestion that the situation is hopeless. I implore you to honor the first, and drop the second. They are different. Giving up is not the "realistic" thing to do, it's a choice.

When in the depths of the Bush years, I took courage from this dictum: "You can't just roll over and die, you have to make them kill you. Attrition is a time-tested, well-proven technique for overcoming enemies that seem unbeatable, but, yes, it's got little personal glory in it. Glory is not the point.

Perhaps you will respond that "No-one has done more than me ... etc.", but when you suggest that giving up is the best policy you are undermining whatever work you have done. Consolidate gains, and move forward, that's the game we are fighting.

[mistertrickster]

26. JFK said it well . . . "a long twilight struggle." nt

[Bonobo]

41. Bigmo:

Thank you for your advice, it is excellent.

I will try to receive your words in my heart and reignite my spirit.

[suzie]

22. You really believe that Eric Holder = John Ashcroft?

That Sonia Sotomayor = John Roberts

That Elena Kagen = Samuel Alito.

Really?

[Jim_Shorts]

51. In agreement Bonobo

I think we only have maybe 40 strong democrats in the senate and the others are going to take turns stabbing us in the back. To me the main problem is it takes to much money to run for office and they all spend half their time trying to raise it. Most of them are millionaires or are talking to other millionaires to get the money and if they don't vote the right way those spigots will get shut off and they might lose that powerful seat.

I don't think things will change without something drastic happening.

Can you even imagine someone giving an F.D.R. speech today - 70% of the population would think he's nuts. The country (with the help of the media) have moved way way to far to the right.

P.S. I remember well the Bush nightmare - right out of the book 1984 (i hear you on the post..just keeping it real)

[w8liftinglady]

12. Steven-I'm right there with you.

Thank you for the reminder...we need to save what we have...we've all worked too hard to make it happen
Peace.
Beth

[stevedeshazer]

13. I still remember.

I still feel the same way.

[Rhiannon12866]

14. I remember that thread and I signed it... K&R.

:pals:

[JNelson6563]

15. I'm with you all the way!

:toast:

[InvisibleTouch]

16. I remember that thread very well.

I remember how I felt when I signed it (under a former username), and how it was simultaneously frightening and liberating to do so. There really *was* a time, not that long ago, when many of us were living in fear simply for being liberals and Democrats. Now that we've lost our common enemy, it's sad that so many aren't supporting the President. That's not to say we have to like or approve of everything he's doing or not doing, that there's anything wrong with wanting things to be progressively better and brighter. It's our duty to keep striving for the better and brighter - but the way to do that is not to stab our own guy in the back! He's doing a great job against overwhelming odds, but he can't do it alone. I always come back to what Obama himself said during his acceptance speech: "Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good."

Thanks for this very important reminder, Steven Joseph Vincent.

[ismnotwasm]

17. K&R

[snooper2]

18. Why do you have three first names?

:P

Just kidding, I've got three last names :rofl:

[Mortos]

20. Thanks to all who remember

It was so cool to be a part of that. It was like being in combat during those years. We are all veterans of the war against the neocons.

[Swamp Rat]

23. k&r

[Arugula Latte]

24. That thread was so famous Elizabeth Edwards commented positively on it.

:applause:

[Mortos]

56. Really? I had no idea Elizabeth Edwards said anything about it

Please provide a link for my ego.

[urgk]

25. If you need inspiration, watch our President's Labor Day speech.

He's fired up. And looks like the man I voted for. We get in arguments on DU for some of policies, but listen to his voice. This is not a man lying about his passion for the middle class. This is a man who will fight to get things done.

Watch it on this DU thread: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x502567

[Diane R]

28. This is why I come to DU. Lately, I haven't recognized this place. Nice to feel at home again.

[EnlightenedOne]

29. AMEN AND AMEN AND AMEN

Awesome Post!!!

K&R

[Stellar]

30. I'm with Steven!

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[s-cubed]

31. Thank you, again.

Your original post was one of the best I have ever read, and was so helpful in a very dark time. I could not agree with you more. We need to hope, and we need to work.
Remember, in midterms, polls mean very little. Turnout is everything, and turnout is something each of us can affect by working our butts off,
Let's do it again, for our country.

[awoke_in_2003]

32. "The Hammer"...

please refresh my memory.

[Joanie Baloney]

37. I believe he's referring to Tom DeLay

"...DeLay was elected House Majority Leader after the 2002 midterm elections, earning his most famous nickname, "The Hammer," for his enforcement of party discipline and retribution against those who did not support the legislative agenda of President George W. Bush. ..."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_DeLay

[awoke_in_2003]

39. That's right...

I guess I hoped to never hear that name again.

[madamesilverspurs]

33. Proud to stand with you!

I may be an old lady, but I survived Bush AND cancer. Be afraid of republicans? Hell, no! (Although I do admit to some trepidation when in the vicinity of people who think Glenn Beck is the answer...)


-

[Mortos]

57. Proud to have an "old lady" stand with me

In my experience "old ladies" are some of the fiercest, honest and most determined allies to have. My Grandma Jarboe taught me a lot about love, life and politics. She was a tiny woman with a giant spirit.

[handmade34]

34. time again to fight

:applause:

[onethatcares]

35. I stand with you

I don't have anything else to say.

[Politicub]

36. Wonderful post. I really needed the reality check. n/t

+1,000,000

[Atticus]

40. THAT is DU! That is the spirit that puts a lump in the throat; a few butterflies in the

stomach; a tear in the eye.

We usually have difficulty capturing the feeling with words, but we recognize it instantly as something that is very good and very powerful. I could not begin to write down the recipe for it, but I truly believe its primary ingredient is---love.

Do I smell patchouli?

[mzmolly]

42. Thank you for the refresher

Mr. Vincent. It seems some are suffering from amnesia about what it really means to have Republicans in control. I applaud you for speaking out again. However, I humbly suggest remaining anonymous whenever possible. *ehem* ;)

[Mortos]

59. I am too dumb to remain anonymous

this has gotten me into trouble many times but, so far, no Guantanamo or water boarding. :)

[Malikshah]

43. I remember the thread and still get reminded when folks who google me

ask about it and my moniker... :)

[Historic NY]

44. Bravo, my niece told me yesterday it took them 8 yrs to fuck up this country & they won't give ...

Obama at least 4yrs to get us on track. WTF do they want...she is a nurse and a former combat medic.

[Raoul]

55. Your point?

It only took FDR about 3 months to get the boots on the ground and millions back to work doing jobs created in order to help people. So your niece's point is mute to say the least. What is she and you suggesting - we wait at least 4 years for him to stop kissing the asses of the right wing nutjobs?

And it only took bush about a year to fuck things up - the other 7 years were residual blowback.

[murielm99]

46. I'm in that thread, more than once.

The first night, I could not reply. I was crying. I replied the next day. I fought back the next day. I still fight.

[JDPriestly]

47. I have not forgotten those dark days.

That memory is what makes the fact that Obama threw away the chance of the century to really change the direction of our country so bitter. I know well what awaits us. But I see that Obama's failure to seize the moment that was given to him probably condemns us to relive that time and worse.

We would have backed Obama with all our hearts and all our strength if he had just come through on a few of the central issues. The Cat Food Commission is the last straw. No self-respecting Democrat would appoint Alan Simpson or Erskine Bowles for that matter to a commission to consider budget cuts. The Commission is balanced so that the number of members who want to or are likely to vote to cut Social Security is higher than the number of members needed to pass recommendations. It's fixed so that Social Security will be on the hatchet block. Shame on Obama.

[madmax]

48. K & R To the good fight.

Great OP.

[Bryn]

49. K&R

except for the cat food commission and no public option. I firmly believe Obama should fire Alan Simpson.

So anyway, great post! :hi:

[ClayZ]

50. I remember! K and R

[Raoul]

53. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Yeah, I painfully remember the war criminal bush and his gang of fundies. I choked through the 8 years, night after night. But this does NOT give Obama a free pass. Yeah, he's initiated alot of legislation but what kind? And who helped write the bills?

Sorry but I do NOT march lockstep with any party especially this broken down 2 party system. He had a landslide backing of people who wanted TRUE change - key word - true.

I'm sitting this one out and may sit them out forever. I'm just tired of having my intelligence insulted by both parties who manipulate millions like lemmings.

[Mortos]

60. That is a shame

I am sorry you feel so disillusioned after 20 months that you are willing to give up on politics completely. I find it odd that you still hang out at DU and post. I hope you find something to rekindle your interest in politics and advocating for your ideals. I really do.

[Hekate]

61. Kick

:thumbsup: :kick: