Reply #51: Massive, militant action needed here--demonstrations, secession on table? [View All]

I've mostly avoided all the secession talk about splitting the country into 3 or 4 mini-USAs but after reading this article, I'm almost reconsidering. This is by far the most repulsive outrage among many emerging from the Bush Administration, and he's trying to slip this under the radar screen. As infuriating and troubling as other Bush policies are, this one directly endangers the health of people, plants, and animals; would spoil and ruin pristine forests that people on both parties (like Teddy Roosevelt) have worked hard to protect; remove precious natural habitats; and likely kill millions (yes, MILLIONS) of Americans from pollution.

This cannot, ABSOLUTELY CANNOT be allowed to happen. As the article pointed out, ballot measures almost universally, even in the Red States, were passed to protect and preserve the environment in 2004. The only reason the Bushies believe they can get away with this? The limited attention span that people in the US have today, too many damn bread and circuses distracting them. They can't be distracted anymore.

It's time to go crazy. Shame the Bushies and their supporters at every turn. Write vociferous letters to the editor for every rotten day of the Bush second term, letting him and his cronies know they're on notice. March on Washington and State Capitols, block the offices of politicians who would open up precious natural reserves that are needed for endangered wildlife, let them know that it's not OK to ruin forest and wetland habitat and kill millions of Americans so some profiteers can nab a bit of extra short-term profit. Get the attention of the media and keep it. In a media-driven culture, it's the only way we can prevail. This is a win-win for us, folks, and this may be the one thing that finally breaks the back of the GOP.

Even most inveterate Republicans don't like this environmental degradation, and Bryan Schweitzer won the governorship in ultra-Red State Montana in part because the hunters and fishermen were pissed off about Republican indulgence of polluters and reckless developers, which Schweitzer tapped into. Make noise, folks, get fired up-- there may be no other issue in the next decade when you make a more important contribution, since one the air and water are polluted and habitat is spoiled, they can't be unpolluted and unspoiled, and your kids will be paying the price when an outbreak of leukemias hits us 20 years from now.

We must also demand the right of state and local legislatures and ordinances (which overwhelmingly favor environmental protection) to set tough environmental laws and block polluters and fed gov. lobbyist sycophants from ruining the environment. If all else fails, we have to credibly threaten even secession. I doubt that'll be necessary, but it needs to be kept in consideration b/c the circumstances laid out by Rousseau, Locke, and Jefferson (as well as more modern thinkers) all apply here: The government has broken the social contract, is becoming grossly tyrannical, is directly endangering the health of people and endangered species against the will of the vast majority of the population, is pushing actions that could cause permanent damage to health and the environment, and thus is causing far more harm than gain to its affected members. There can be no compromises on this issue. We have to act immediately! Let's foster some forums here on DU and the other Dem Blogs on how to organize political action, media attention-grabbing events, and mass demonstrations to stop the Bush Administration from doing the worst damage to the environment and human health ever in recorded history (that's not an exaggeration). We need to do this for the sake of the issue itself, but this also may well be the political bonanza that gets us back into office.