Gutless,
Spineless and Clueless:
Bush is Falling, But the Democrats are Sinking Faster
by
RALPH NADER, 10/01/2005
You would think that with all
the troubles surrounding George W. Bush and the Republican leadership in Congress
from the life-costing bungling of Hurricane responses to the deepening quagmire
in Iraq to the front page stories of corruption, self-dealing and national security
leaks you would think th Democrats would be in the ascendancy.
Not
so. The polls are plummeting for George W. Bush on a whole variety of questions,
including the key approval rating being at a record low for him. But the Democrats
seem to be sinking right along with the besieged Republicans. Stan Greenberg,
a leading Democratic Party pollster, declares that "feelings about Democrats
are at a 54 month low." Another pollster, John Zogby, reports that the Democrats
are floundering because people do not perceive them as having any credible national
leaders.
Instead of drawing bright and bold
lines with the Republicans about the nation's future directions, leaders in the
Democratic Party have persuaded themselves to just stand by and let the Republicans
sink themselves. By standing by, the Democrats are feeding the "pox on both
your houses" mindset of many citizens.
Apart
from protecting social security, what do the Democrats fight for these days? As
a Party they are headless regarding the Iraq war-occupation. Their leaders cannot
even follow some of their own members in Congress and propose a responsible but
definitive exit strategy. This is the passive case even though there are former
leading retired military, diplomatic and intelligence officials who have done
just that.
I and others have called on the
Democrats to raise the roof on Bush's grotesque dereliction in still not providing
adequate protective armor for the military vehicles in Iraq. Billions for the
Halliburtons; lethal excuses for the soldiers.
Also,
deliberately undercounting US casualties in Iraq because thousands of serious
injuries and sicknesses were not incurred directly in combat is a monumental display
of disrespect by Bush for these soldiers and their families. Lowballing the human
casualties keeps the public's political opposition lower than putting out the
truth about the injury and sickness toll being double the official false figures
coming from the Bush regime.
To this day, in
criticizing Mr. Bush, even the anti-war Democrats as Rep. Dennis Kucinich use
the false lowball figure of injuries.
To this
day, Democratic House Leader, Nancy Pelosi, with arguably the most anti-war constituents
in the nation residing in her California district, is not leading the Democrats
with even comparable statements that some Republicans are making.
Consider
the following:
From Vietnam war veteran, Republican
Senator Chuck Hagel, who, after returning from one of several trips to Iraq, said:
"We should start figuring out how we get out of our involvement there which
has destabilized the Middle East. And the longer we stay there, I think the further
destabilization will occur."
From Rep.
John Duncan, Jr., conservative Republican from Tennessee, who urges conservatives
to oppose the "undeclared and unnecessary war" not only because of the
deaths but because "there is nothing conservative about this war; it means
massive foreign aid, and huge deficit spending."
From
CIA Director Porter Goss, who told the Senate in February that the war in Iraq
has become a recruitment and training ground for more and more terrorists who
will go back to other countries.
From Walter
B. Jones, Jr., Republican Congressman from North Carolina, comes the declaration
that he wants out of Iraq a war he once prominently supported but does no
longer because the President did not tell him the truth when invading that country.
These
legislators come from regions where a much larger percentage of the people support
the war than in Nancy Pelosi's district. There is a growing majority of Americans
who believe that war was a costly mistake and want out.
On
other major matters affecting and afflicting the American people, the Democrats,
dominated by their corporate connectors, are not up front.
On
defending our civil justice system from the corporate attack on injured or defrauded
people's right to their full day in court, the Democratic Party is gutless.
On
moving serious corporate reforms to stop corporate crimes that have drained trillions
from workers, investors and pensioneers, the Democrats are spineless.
On
challenging the huge waste, fraud and corruption in government contracts and programs
under the Republicans, the Democrats are hapless.
On
raising the impoverished minimum wage to give working Americans a living wage,
the way Senator Ted Kennedy has been calling for, the Democratic Party is clueless.
The
Democratic Party will continue sliding into serial haplessness until a new breed
of "jolters" comes to take over.
Ralph
Nader is the author of The Good Fight.
For
more information, see DemocracyRising.US.
