May 10, 2002

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A BuzzFlash Reader Letter to the author of "Why I Am A Democrat":

Dear Rebecca:

Thank you for that excellent commentary and analysis. The structure was effective and the writing was very well done. I will be sending it on to my list. It is a needed exercise to step back sometimes and to look at the bigger picture, that you have done by this commentary. I understand and appreciate your conclusion that for the foregoing you will always be a "Democrat." The problem that I and many other Democrats have is the same as many old time Republicans have, does the official party and its leaders fight and stand for what the party used to stand and fight for. My conclusion is that they do not. That is the dilemma. I am tired of holding my nose when I vote.

I have Gary Condit as my Congressperson. I have never voted for him because his voting record has been over 90% the Republican Party position. I have written him dozens of times over the years on issues to no avail. Every election I vote for some third party candidate as an expression of my displeasure (does he care).

The lack of courage by every Democratic Senator during January, 2001, in accepting the selection of Bush was very disconcerting. The timidity of Gore, both in the debates, and later after November 7, 2000 was very disappointing. I supported him very strongly, I thought he had all the qualifications to be a great President. Now I find out he did not have courage, including the courage of his convictions. Perhaps if he had been more outraged and outspoken immediately after November, 2000 the Supreme Court would have thought twice about going against the will of the people. He allowed the Republicans to frame the issue, set the rhetoric, and call the shots.

The tactics you describe are the methods of the bully. Bullies do not care about the other, they are only after power for themselves. They will use any tactic, say anything no matter how egregious or hurtful, as long as the ultimate goal is achieved. They actually derive satisfaction watching others squirm and react to their actions. That is the power they desire, making others do what they do not choose to do. It is a common chess ploy, to always keep your opponent on the defensive. But ultimately bullies must be stopped or they will destroy the very fabric of society. It is easy to destroy, it takes cooperation to build. That is what the Democratic Party has historically stood for; a party attempting to build a society that reflects the promises of the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights, that attempts to level the playing field of opportunity for all citizens of the United States. Today, because of the power of campaign contributions and lobbyists, both parties have become corrupted. One gets their way by appealing to the worse in humanity: hate, greed, self-interest, power; the other acquiesces by acts of timidity or compromise, by not taking a stand for important principles or settled issues. In the meantime it is the average citizen who is losing. If the average citizen in America loses what gains that have been made in the last 70 years, what is the hope for all the other inhabitants of the earth who look upon us as setting the example for what could be.

The Democratic Party has been the party to most closely espouse the concept of a government of, by, and for the people. The new Democratic Leadership Council does not reflect that and does not reflect the reasons why I call myself a Democrat. I did not leave the Democratic Party, it left me, and millions of other Democrats. The questions that remain; Where are our Democratic champions? Who will fight for the principles we believe in? Who will stand up to the Republican bully tactics? Just who should I vote for?

Thanks again for your well expressed and researched commentary,

Jody Holder
Modesto, CA

Only a fool would believe the Chimp administration is trying to mend fences with Clinton by naming him to a delegation to East Timor. I can think of a variety of *other* reasons they might do so, however:

1. As a calculated insult, as MWO first suggested. East Timor? Give me a break, why not send him to West Bumf*ck?

2. To get him out of the way. "Well gee, Clinton might be able to lend a hand in the Middle East if he weren't so durn busy with them East Timoreans!"

3. In the hope that the delegation (and Clinton) will fail. Who else is in the group, and what charge and powers does it have?

4. As a honey trap. Babes flock to Clinton wherever he goes, maybe Karl Rove has some femme fatales waiting in the shadows to embarrass the Big Dawg (See! He could have been a statesman if he could just Say No!), or possibly even to try and infect him with an STD if it can be accomplished.

5. It is not outside the realm of possibility for Poppy's pet Agency to mount a physical attack on Clinton's person if he were in some foreign locale where his safety cannot be guaranteed, especially one experiencing violent political unrest, where the attack could easily be blamed on Muslim terrorists, and where the local government could be relied upon to subvert the ensuing investigation the way Jethro did the Florida election.

This would remove the only popular figurehead the Democrats have, since Daschle is a meek creampuff from a Red state and Gore is so unappealing to many. And it would serve to further inflame Democratic opinion against Islamic Terra! (Of course, Fox viewers would probably approve...)

Sound far-fetched? Hey, the Right got away with it in 1963, and we had a real Fourth Estate back then. Now we have lying whores like Howie, Ceci and Steno Sue.

Clinton is probably screwed either way. If he declines, they will just say that he is only interested in his $50 million talk show, or that he's not interested in cooperating with the pResident.

----

Hjalmar Poelzig
Baltimore, Merryland

Dear Buzz,

Subj: Re: Congresswoman Schakowsky

Thank you so much for bringing this gem of a politician to our attention. I'm beginning to feel hopeful about the Democrats again.

Alan P

Dear BuzzFlash:

I can't believe you haven't reported on a large gaffe by Bush revealed on the Crossfire program on 5/8. Seems Bush was shown speaking at a dedication of a building in Washington D.C. to President Eisenhower. Immediately following this, Paul Begala showed Clinton dedicating the same building to Eisenhower during his administration. I was still laughing an hour later!

--- Joann McVein

Dear Buzz,

Laura Bush said this about her upcoming European trip (Is it Freudian or what?):

Mrs. Bush sounded especially eager to meet at Prague Castle with Czech President Vaclav Havel. "He was a playwright, he was an intellectual, he was not someone you would think of as becoming the president," she said.

Edmond Brignac, Jr.

Dear BuzzFlash,

The NYT (5/9/02) is determined that the Enron scandal remains with Business news. Further, they appear to be making every effort to deter as many people as possible from reading their current Enron article. One has to ask why the headline "Mystery of Enron and California's Power Crisis" (Alex Berenson) did not appear on their front page. One has to ask why the Berenson's article was not headlined in the Business Section Headlines (front page section). Only after going to the Business Section will a reader find this important story.

I know it is "just bidness" but it looks like funny business to me. And isn't news manipulation one of the tools used by propagandists?

SSD
Democracy Activist

Mystery of Enron and California's Power Crisis

May 9, 2002
By ALEX BERENSON

One of the deepest mysteries in the collapse of Enron has been the role that the power crisis in California played in the company's rise and fall.

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/09/business/09ENRO.html

Dear BuzzFlash,

Now that Gore is speaking out regularly, I was wondering why the the media won't cover his comments -- considering he won the popular vote, you'd think they would want to cover a top opposition vote since they are all so fair and balanced, right? I figured it out. Here's why: you can't twist elegant and truthful statements like this one Gore made yesterday in Knoxville, TN, they are too powerful and too obviously correct, and once people hear Gore's eloquence and grace, they know Dubya's numbers will just keep going
down that slippery slope to Crawford.

Here's what Gore said, among other things:

"Patriotism does not mean being silent about the course our country should take for the future, and we're going to express our disagreements when we believe we have better ideas about how to help the people of this country," he said to thunderous applause. "The President of the United States should not take that kind of unity and patriotism and attempt to misuse it as a way of getting support on the cheap for some right-wing agenda item."

It's pay-per-view, but it's good strong stuff.

http://www.salon.com/politics/feature/2002/05/09/gore/index_np.html

Thanks as always for your great site.

Lucy
NYC

Dear Buzz,

First Lady Ready for European Trip
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=
/ap/20020509/ap_on_go_pr_wh/laura_bush_1&printer=1

Now the American people are going to pay for an Air Force jet to take Laura Bush and Jenna on a European jaunt. It's bad enough we have to pay for Air Force One to haul Dubya around the country flying from one fundraiser to another. Now we're going to pay for a mother-daughter vacation.

Gigi

Why does their appear to be more to this than meets the eye?

Keep up the good work all.

RJ Heaney

[BuzzFlash Note: Mark McKinnon is the tape man. Very interesting.]

05-09-02

Dear Buzz,

I stopped watching Drew Carey the day he went to the inaugural. I keep my life simple: anybody, ANYBODY, who legitimizes Bush does not support the Constitution. Anybody who can forget that 540,000 more people voted for Gore than Bush overall, anyone who can forget that at least 200,000 people in Florida and God alone knows how many in other states did not get their votes counted or were denied their right to vote, is an idiot. Anyone who thinks the Supreme Court decision was legal and proper is an idiot. And anyone who mocks an honest effort to work is cruel (and perhaps a sociopath as well?)

Marthe

Thanks for all you do!!!!

Given what Bart did with Juliefest (with the terrific assistance of you and others) mightn't it be a good idea to consider a progressive internet consortium? If you, BC, MWO, Bushwatch, Unknown News, Democratic Underground, Make Them Accountable and others held a mutual fund drive you could assemble an imposing panel (consisting of you or your respective representatives) that could meet to discuss issues in Washington DC, and *have the whole thing covered by C-Span!*

There are millions of folks out there who think like you and me, but they have no idea that there are sites like yours with constantly updated important information that they could be passing on to their friends and family. C-Span and other media that might cover it (picture
Rush referring to it negatively, over and over and over....) would considerably increase the exposure of every website that participated in it. Video of the panel could be distributed digitally, as could audio-only and a transcript. One way or another, word will get out, bigtime!

It really ought to happen before the 2002 elections, so give it some consideration, soon! There's no time like today to increase the exposure of Republican rottenness in as many media forms (and forums) as possible. Why should the right-wing "think tanks" get as much airtime as they do without the progressive Internet grabbing their share? Go for it!

Regards,

Jim Klieforth

Dear BuzzFlash,

Subj: Lifetime TV Movie aids Dems

"The Long Island Incident," a 1998 original film starring Laurie Metcalf, aired Monday night on the women's Lifetime Cable Network. It's based on the true story of Carolyn McCarthy, currently a member of Congress. Mrs. McCarthy's husband was shot dead and her son critically wounded during a violent assault weapon rampage on the LIRR about 10 years ago.

The film clearly depicts President Clinton's passage of the assault weapons ban, and the numerous subsequent efforts by various Republicans and the NRA to repeal it.

I hope lots of people watched it.

Pam Clifford

Reading the comments by one of your readers regarding placing former presidents back in the White house gave me an idea. Bill Clinton cannot serve again as President but he can serve as, say Vice President. Then Hillary can be President.

What a winning ticket!

Kathy

Dear Buzz,

Of all the Democrats in the U.S., the party leaders in Florida ought to know better than anyone that the G.O.P. plays to win and plays dirty. Really dirty.

If the Dems in Florida want to win, and that means unseating Gov. Jeb, go for the throat.

1. He failed to raise his daughter to stay out of drug trouble and knew she had trouble for a long time (witness the 1995 arrest in Arizona) and didn't get her the help she needed. In a sense, he did the same thing the Catholic Church has been doing for generations when it comes to "problem" priests. Ignoring problems like this will not make them go away.

2. He has failed the children attending Florida's public schools. Test scores -- which are a ridiculously inaccurate way to measure educational progress anyway -- have not increased, unless the data are manipulated to leave out the kids who don't score very high. Sounds like a plan he might have learned from his brother's buddy, Ken "Can We Manipulate The System or What!" Lay.

3. He has failed the most vulnerable children of all: those who have been placed in the state's care to one extent or another. And he has failed doubly because he made his stance on the issue so public in his campaign.

If Jeb's private failures with Noelle are considered off-limits, remember that if the tables were turned, those same failures would be dragged into the public eye like a certain infamous blue dress. Ethics and privacy and integrity are not just buzzwords, the way the GOP likes to keep them. The GOP only cries foul when it's the one being hit with the ugly truth about themselves; they never hesitate when they are the ones doing the hitting below the belt. Pay no attention to their bleating; their tears are alligator tears.

They are bullies who need to be stood up to. They are whiners who need to shut up. They are losers who need to lose.

Peace,
Linda Ann Wheeler Hilton
Buckeye (near Phoenix), Arizona

Dear BuzzFlash,

Subj: "Minnesota GOP Gun Culture"

I was going to take offense at this characterization of our fair state, but in reading it again I have to confess that it has some basis in fact. In our defense, we did send the NRA's Rod Grams packing, but the culture that created him still flourishes in the area around Rochester where the bombing idiot grew up. The kid asked his mom if she thought he might go to jail. What the hell are these conservative fools teaching their kids anyway?

Ken Hayes
St Paul, MN

Hi BuzzFlash,

Just a short letter to say thanks for being one of the few places to go for those of us that know how hard it is to find the truth on Bush! I can only hope and pray that B/4 the 2004 election that the American people learn the truth on a large scale. So we are not saddled with him for another 4 years!

Thank You, Sincerely Nick

Dear Buzz,

We now know Enron, and possibly others, created the energy problems in California. I've read that the FERC is to investigate this matter. But isn't the chairman of the FERC the person Bush installed as a direct result of Kenny boy Lay's recommendation? If so, isn't this a major conflict of interest from the start?

It seems the shrub is guilty of collusion at worst, ignorance at best. Begin impeachment hearing immediately I say!

You guys are great, keep up the good work. There's a serious battle here and you provide TONS of ammo!!

michael

Dear BuzzFlash,

Regarding the article from Online Journal - The Strange Case of Cynthia McKinney. The word 'strange' in this case would be better substituted with the words 'shameful' or 'disgraceful' as these words more accurately describe the vilification of this woman by
her own countrymen. How is it that someone who has the courage to ask, which to me appear to be the most appropriate questions, can be treated so appallingly by the very people on who's behalf she is asking the questions? In my humble opinion, I would consider it the duty of all those in congress to be raising these very issues. I cannot understand why all Americans are not supporting this women and demanding answers! I believe it is this sort of naiveté that has allowed successive governments in the US to circumvent the
very people they are elected (?) to represent. Or maybe I have it all wrong, maybe this is nothing more than good ol' American racism wrapped in a different flag!

D.M.Reid (NZ)