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Tony O'Doherty: the vehicle provided by the Democratic Party.
Submitted by Howard2 on Wednesday, November 3, 2004 - 23:02
Howard, First I must thank you sincerely and with great admiration for the effort you put in during this campaign. That your followers are angry or sad is a factor of the goals you led them towards. They were achievable, as you and they well knew, but not, as it turned out, in the vehicle provided by the Democratic Party. Below is our email exchange in August. I will let you decide if my concern was well founded or not. We now have three Americas. Three? Red, Blue and Neutral! The last time I saw this degree of bigoted divisiveness was in Northern Ireland, which I left 15 years ago to come to the US. The similarities between Blues and Reds here to the Nationalist / Unionist (or the Catholic / Protestant as it was spun in the US) factions that existed in N. Ireland in the late 60s is uncanny and depressing. It took people working outside the established parties - inspired significantly by the civil rights campaign in the US - to stress and eventually crack the mold in Ulster. There were many small and medium sized organizations, with varying agendas, united in their opposition to the establishment. When the cracks ruptured, change was inevitable. Granted it had a violent element but that was mainly a factor of Ireland's history. In time the reformers became mainstream political parties and the process is now near completion. The same could happen here. Though much used, the saying that "insanity is doing the same thing over and over, and expecting it to turn out different" is relevant. To believe that, somehow, the Democratic Party can serve as an effective opposition is, in my view after this election, the height of insanity. Who will lead us out of the quagmire? Who or what movement will inspire Americans to take back their hard won liberties? Maybe South America is the place to look? What sort of a campaign would Hugo Chavez have run, do you think? Or maybe, Howard Dean! Tony ________________________ August 21, 2004 Howard, You wrote "So, if you still have questions or concerns about the Democratic ticket, or platform, please write to one of us with your contact information, including your phone number, and one of us will get back to you soon" I continue to be on the mailing list, hoping to hear something inspiring. I admire your efforts to keep communications I was an active Dean supporter. After his bad showing in primaries, I continued to fund him, waiting to see if he would remain true to his message. In my view he did not. I then waited to see if he and some others I could support would be able to influence the Democratic ticket. The record shows they were, in essence, ignored. Kerry/Edwards say they will be more effective bully-boys internationally than Bush, and seem to think this will win us back respect and support from overseas. The only heat in the campaign centers around who did what 30 years ago or where troops army will be stationed in 10 to 20 years years time. What matters is what is happening now, and in the immediate future. For example, the Medicare vote was flagged as a 'test of loyalty' by the Democratic leadership. Nothing has happened to those Democrats that voted for the bill. The planet is being choked to death, but this is an invisible issue. The output from our educational system gets worse each year. These are only a few of many many examples of the Democrats being the other side of the Republican coin. Both are clearly in the pockets of business. In addition, and in contrast with Republicans, the Democrats are out of touch with the rank and file of their own party. They may win by default, but this is a sad reflection on state of US politics. How can we 'bring democracy' to other countries if we don't practice it here? If this ticket is the best the opposition can muster, then clearly we need more time under Bush so that another Dean can rise up, and this time stick with the program and carry the country. Check out Lou Dobbs who says the country should be run for the benefit of the people. Now, that's an approach that could catch on! Bush or Kerry makes no real difference. The winner will be business. As usual. I can't hold my nose hard enough to vote for Bush, but if I do vote it will be for change. And voting for Kerry/Edwards is a vote for the status quo. I want my vote (or abstention) to count! If the Democrats are soundly defeated in November, it could be the best thing that ever happened to the party. If a new party emerges, it could be the best thing that happened to this country since we kicked out the Brits! I know there are many others on both sides of the divide who feel as I do. Tony O'Doherty Thousand Oaks, CA.
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