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We elected the current crop of Democrats with a clear mandate: END THE WAR, STOP THE CORRUPTION.
But neither of these things has happened.
Sure, we can continue to believe that the Republican obstructionists are keeping the Democrats, and their slim majority, from doing anything meaningful in Congress to end the war, or to hold the Constitution violators in the Bush Administration accountable for their crimes.
Sure, we CAN continue to believe this is true.
Or we can stop being gullible, and look at the facts.
As I pointed out last week, I watched for over an hour and a half as the House, nearly empty, debated a bill as to whether or not an Army unit from Puerto Rico should be memorialized for their service during the Korean War. None of the 'big name' Dems were there; it was all 'junior' Members set to the task of 'debating' this bill for hours on end.
And as I watch CSPAN right now, Congress is debating a bill concerning DNA testing for missing persons, with the same cast of unknowns in the debate.
- {sigh} -
AS I TYPE THIS WE HAVE MEN AND WOMEN WOUNDED AND DYING IN IRAQ. WE HAVE UNPUNISHED CONSTITUTIONAL VIOLATORS RUNNING OUR GOVERNMENT AS YOU SIT HERE READING THIS.
But hey - let's debate the 'important stuff.'
The TRUTH, in my humble, unwashed opinion, is that our Democratic Representatives and Senators don't want to end the war in Iraq any more than do their Republican counterparts.
Yes, Democrats SAY they want to end the war, and complain that they cannot, with such a slim majority.
Sorry folks, but I call 'bullshit' on that.
IF DEMOCRATS ACTUALLY WANTED TO END THE WAR, THEY HAVE ALL OF THE PARLIAMENTARY TOOLS NEEDED TO DO SO.
And I'll qualify my blanket statement: Democrats may indeed wish to end the war - but they ONLY wish to end the war on THEIR TERMS, in a manner which benefits them personally/politically.
Now, before you begin blindly defending the Democrats, answer this simple question:
What would YOU be doing if you were a Congressman?
Would you be debating bills about honoring Korean War veterans, even as our Iraq veterans are receiving "top quality" VA care in places like, and much worse than, Walter Reed? This issue has not gone away, folks, just because it isn't in the news. In the last month, the VA has had to disallow all surgery at the VA Hospital in Marion, Illinois, as all two of their surgeons for this REGIONAL, MULTI-STATE FACILITY have been SUSPENDED by the State of Illinois for shoddy medical practice. Sorry, I don't have a link for this - my father-in-law just had to have surgery three weeks ago in St. Louis, instead of Marion, so i know this first hand.
So would you debate such bills yourself, knowing what you know? Or would you be raising your voice every day, in every way, making use of every scrap of Constitutional power within your grasp to make your voice heard?
WHAT WOULD YOU BE DOING?
Personally, I believe we are being played - and played big time.
I believe Democrats and Republicans are playing 'good cop - bad cop' on the American people. I think the moneyed interests which fund both parties are working to ensure the war is endless. I think the American People are no longer being represented; instead, we are merely being factored.
These excuses the Democrats give for accomplishing NOTHING to end the war, just don't ring true when you weigh the actual People's 'business' being conducted in the halls of power.
The Democrats we worked our butts off to elect, are either outright lying to us, or are simply telling us what they think we want to hear, as they work the Beltway to better their own hold on power.
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