It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to

I’m too liberal to be a Democrat.

BTW, Democrats are calling themselves progressives these days. Is this their way of saying pay no attention to the liberal behind the curtain? Does their adoption of a euphemism mean that they, too, have been brainwashed into thinking liberal is a dirty word? Or are they telling us something else? Do they not want to be called liberals anymore because they’re not liberals anymore? By George W, I think I’ve got it!

That was a tangent, sorry.

During the year or so leading up to the 2004 presidential election, I remember being disgusted by the way the Republican party had unabashedly jumped on the backs of the bornagains and ended up with a free piggyback ride to power. Shrewd, but oh so transparent. Lazy and selfish. Underhanded. Plain old cheating. Shame on them!

What the Dems always had that the Republicans lacked was a heart. So the Republicans purchased what appeared to be a heart but it turned out to be a ticking time bomb. Now Republican voters and politicians appear to be fleeing (or at least distancing themselves from) the party, which is looking a lot like Carrie’s prom these days.

I still think it was unconscionable, what they did. And look at the mess it’s gotten us into! They should accept the fact that they are just not as likeable as Democrats and find a more honorable way to win elections. If the rapture crowd is so interested in politics, make them start their own party. Or pick one of the many existing American political parties. Countries in Europe have extremist political parties. The Front National in France is generally the party the haters vote with; neo-Nazis, religious traditionalists, and so on. Marginalize them. They never get to govern that way and they can be more easily ignored.

Then, to be fair, the amorphous mass that is the Democratic party needs to make like an amoeba too, I’m afraid. It’s trying to be too many things. I’m tired of the centrist trend in the party. Since I started paying attention to politics about 25 years ago, I’ve been getting lefter as my party has gotten righter. I need a party I can call my own.

Let’s be realistic. The Greens’ scope is too narrow. I love socialism, but nobody’s going to walk away from American-style capitalism. Independent means what exactly? Libertarian? Get real. The answer is a viable Social Democratic party, which could be a haven for real liberals… That’s the one I want to belong to.

This two-party business is too constraining. Other countries have done a better job of creating parties that actually represent the views of the population. There are bunches of parties in France. To Americans, elections in countries with multiple parties just seem messy. I’m really enjoying watching the political process here; France has a presidential election coming up next year, and it’s really exciting. There’s an extremely popular socialist candidate, Ségolène Royal, who’s 50ish, a mother of four (but who never married her kids’ father and life partner–that’s bourgeois stuff). Former Minister of the Environment. And she happens to be gorgeous. But I digress. The way they deal with the multiple parties here is that if no candidate gets more than 50% of the vote in the first round, there is a run off between the top two in a second round. At least in the first round, people can really vote their conscience. In the second round, the smaller parties can negotiate their allegiance to the bigger ones and influence their agendas. I would love to see this happen in the States. Oh, and all their votes count. What a concept! (Update: Ségolène won the Socialist nomination!)

Campaign finance reform is essential if we’re ever going to break out of the us-and-them mold. It’s way overdue. I have a feeling you’ll be hearing about this from me again!

Side note: I saw Howard Dean on The Daily Show the other night. He said to Jon Stewart “I know half your audience wants us to impeach Bush, but we’re not gonna do it.” Excuse me? Hello? By the people for the people! He doesn’t have the right to make that decision (Truthout agrees). I loved Howard Dean. But once they stuck him in the Democratic rock tumbler it didn’t take long to make him shiny and smooth. What a shame. I think there should at least be a national advisory referendum on impeachment. Bush and his pals have done their best to vaccinate themselves against war crimes prosecution; they saw the writing on the wall. But there are plenty of other reasons to fire him.

How is it that I remain such an idealist?

Stuff your stocking: The Impeachment of George W. Bush: A Practical Guide for Concerned Citizens and Articles of Impeachment Against George W. Bush

I'm too liberal to be a Democrat. BTW, Democrats are calling themselves progressives these days. Is this their way of saying pay no attention to the liberal behind the curtain? Does their adoption of a euphemism mean that they, too, have been brainwashed into thinking liberal is a dirty word? Or are they telling us something else? Do they not want to be called liberals anymore because they're not liberals anymore? By George W, I think I've got it! That was a tangent, sorry. During the year or so leading up to the 2004 presidential election, I remember being disgusted by the way the Republican party had unabashedly jumped on the backs of the bornagains and ended up with a free piggyback ride to power. Shrewd, but oh so transparent. Lazy and selfish. Underhanded. Plain old cheating. Shame on them! What the Dems always had that the Republicans lacked was a heart. So the Republicans purchased what appeared to be a heart but it turned out to be a ticking time bomb. Now Republican voters and polit