Remember, we're the angry ones

I just thought that, on the heels of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia's obscene gesture and comment, I would remind everyone on the left that we are the angry ones. We're the ones filled with venom. We're the ones unable to control our emotions.

Not only do we not have any ideas, but we're also so blinded with rage and seething hatred for President Bush and the Republican Party that we simply can't be trusted with the levers of power. Who would want such an angry pack of wolves running their country, anyway?

Apparently, a lot of people. If you're curious, those people are called "Republicans." Because what always gets lost in the "angry left" rhetoric is one important notion: The truth. And the truth of the matter is that one party does have the market cornered on rage. Hint: It's not us.

I should clarify. There are two types of anger, one good and one bad. The bad kind is the sort of hot rage that leads to things like, say, violence. To assaulting critics of ones' philosophy. To firing a gun near a peaceful protest. To driving a truck through a war memorial. See? Bad.

The good kind, accordingly, is the sort of cool rage that leads people to grit their teeth and say things like, "It doesn't have to be like this." To decide that soon isn't a time and some isn't a number and jump into activism head-first. To assemble the resources necessary to take back the power to change America. To channel their outrage into purposeful, positive action. See? Good.

It's apparent given the environment fostered by the party in power that the bad anger far outweighs the good these days. While the nation stagnates - quagmire in Iraq, exploding debt, vanishing middle class - there is little in the way of that purposeful, positive action. What there is a lot of, however, is acrimony. Republicans, needing scapegoats, tilt against phony straw men and agitate toward less powerful minority groups. Without someone to blame or something to complain about, what good are Republicans?

This bad anger leads Republicans to say some very mean-spirited things. Think of what happened to Cindy Sheehan. Or John Podhoretz's comments about freed hostage Jill Carroll. Imagine what Republicans would be saying about Pat Tillman - who was outspoken on the war - had his life not been tragically cut short.

It also leads Republicans to take some very mean-spirited actions. Like abandoning the Gulf Coast while simultaneously blaming the victims of Hurricane Katrina for their plight. Or passing laws that make it next to impossible for honest, hard-working Americans to climb out of debt. Or seeking to legislate gays and women into second-class citizenship.

Of course, the moment Democrats point out the effects these comments or actions are having, we get branded as being angry, as having nothing to say. As though asking for civility is anger. As though demanding representation for all from our elected officials is having nothing to say. Democrats do have ideas, ideas that built this country. But the moment we present those ideas, we get branded as anti-Bush partisans with an axe to grind. If that were only the case. Meanwhile, when Supreme Court justices and presidents make obscene gestures and vice presidents tell senators to fuck themselves, it gets excused away.

I've said before that I can sympathize with the angry right. Think about it for a moment. If you were in charge of something and had screwed it up so badly, wouldn't you be angry? I know I would. Now, multiply that anger by all three branches of the government and it's not hard to imagine the venom coursing through the veins of our Republican friends.

But don't forget, folks. We're the angry ones.

Both times from 20-somethings.

You're so right.

but I manage to treat most folks civilly, usually a lot more so than some of them deserve.

Scalia is becoming increasingly disinhibited. This is a pretty clear sign of something going on mentally.

Something is wrong. I can't see him doing any of this stuff even 5 years ago, and we all know how much he loathed Clinton.