politics { The Gutless and the Gullible (pick up)

Picked up this reading from EvilBobby and thought it warranted a repeating of this Daily Kos article.

Excerpt:

What these politicians fail to realize is that the attacks will come no matter what. No matter which vote is cast, no matter how tightly one embraces this war or how far away from the party they run, the attacks will always come. Because the only thing that matters to the Republicans during election time is that there is a "D" after their opponent's name.

It is that "D" which ensures the inevitable flow of lies. It is that "D"--no matter how faded--which is blood in the water for the campaign sharks. Voting against Feingold-Reid did not and will not save the gutless from these attacks. Voting for telecom immunity will not make the Republicans suddenly raise their hands and admit that Democrat X is "really strong on terror!" In compromising then to try and avoid these attacks, Democrats are only compromising their principles.

And something specific to Tim Walz...who I feel has betrayed us as an elected official in our district, who was elected to help bring change, to protect our basic freedoms and rights (from both terrorists and an overzealous Executive Branch) and who so far, in my opinion has failed.

It is, to be blunt, a lack of a brain and not lack of a spine, which typifies this group. As an extreme example, take Representative Baird, who is enamored with the war. Take the Democrats who voted for the atrocious FISA bill because they genuinely believed it was the right thing to do.

In this category falls every Democrat who takes any word uttered by this administration at face value. Tht includes those idiots who voted for FISA because they were told of al Qaeda was going to strike Congress before September 11th. That includes the naive who think that a sternly worded letter will actually get more than a chuckle out of this administration. That includes the suckers who think putting administration officials under oath isn't necessary.

The gullible are those who fail to appreciate the extent of the damage done to this country by the Republican Party. They are the ones who earnestly reach out to Republicans with open hand and are blind to the knives hovering over their backs.

These Democrats, more than the gutless ones, are the ones hindering progress. They prattle on in Capitol Hill as if the Republican Party weren't controlled by neocons and the radical right. They trust those who have evidenced through their wars and through their words that they should not be trusted. And they, in all their dense glory, believe that they are doing what is in the best interest of this nation.

God help us all.

But ultimately the article was a hopeful one, and very realistic. We, as those who choose to align with the Democratic Party, will have a lot of work and fights ahead of us, both within and without.

Our task, as I see it over the next year, is two-fold. We must continue to call for courage on the part of the gutless, and we must continue trying to wake the gullible. We do so by joining with those in Congress, with the Russ Feingolds in the Senate and the Barbara Lees in the House, to show the gutless and gullible the error of their ways.

It's not an easy task. To be frank, I'm not sure if it's even a possible task. But I will never hold back from writing a letter or making a call because I think it may be futile, and neither should you. Because as impossible as true change may seem, inaction solidifies failure's fate.