BuzzFlash
presents Southern Style
by Rebecca Knight
In Search of Democratic Leadership
by Rebecca Knight
June
24, 2002
"I do not belong to any organized political party: I'm a democrat."
- Will Rogers
Will Rogers' words certainly apply to today's Democratic Party. George W. Bush appears to be failing in so many ways, it is sometimes hard to process all the information. Yet, Democrats in Congress rarely speak out about these failures with forcefulness. It is time they stopped being afraid of the radical right-wingers and the Bush poll numbers. They have a responsibility to get the truth out. The media certainly will not do it without prodding.
The chicken or the egg concept applies to the current political situation. Will Bush's poll numbers drop without some criticism from the left or will the left's criticism cause his poll numbers to drop? Frankly, it doesn't matter. Democrats have an obligation to their constituents to talk openly and honestly about the facts as they see them. They complain about lack of media coverage. What is the media supposed to cover? When they start speaking out, the media will cover it.
There is no other choice, because the Republicans will take notice and viciously attack the Democrats as unpatriotic for criticizing policy decisions during a time of war. Funny, that never stopped Republicans from speaking out. You can bet that were the situation reversed and the country was going to Hell in a hand basket under a Democratic administration, the Republicans would be screaming loudly, regardless of a war.
Not one single consistently strong-voiced Democrat springs to mind. A few have spoken out here and there for brief periods, but then meekly quieted under the scorched earth attack tactics of the Republicans. That is precisely the problem. We citizens fear for our freedoms, our financial well-being, and our safety. We express our concerns constantly to each other and many of us contact our elected officials, but nothing seems to change. When will the Democratic leaders get the message? Wake up! The elections are only a few months away and should the Republicans regain the Senate and keep the House, this country, as it has existed, will be severely threatened from within.
What are the Democrats waiting for? It has been reported that George W. Bush is so popular, that the Democrats can't find any issues that work for them. What a crock! Every issue works for the Democrats. All the Democrats have to do is lay out the case of his failures. The poll numbers, issue-by-issue, support this fact and the overall Bush approval rating will drop when the facts are presented in a coherent way.
And what about the war? How successful was the Bush war strategy? The front page of the Sunday New York Times featured the announcement by an Al Qaeda spokesman that bin Laden is still alive, ninety-eight percent of their leadership is safe, and that the U.S. military operations in Afghanistan had failed to dent their organization. Al Qaeda also took responsibility for an attack on a synagogue in Tunisia in April. Taking into consideration that this information cannot be verified and very well could be Al Qaeda propaganda, it still shows that Al Qaeda is a very real threat. So what did the attack on Afghanistan accomplish? Perhaps it accomplished the real goal in that the Taliban was overthrown, a new leader with former ties to the oil industry was installed, and the oil pipeline is proceeding.
Then there is the "first strike" war policy being bandied about. How in the world can this do anything but cause more problems? It is simply another attempt to find a rationale for attacking Iraq. Who do they think they are fooling? This policy will only lead to more hatred of the U.S. and it follows that more terrorism against us will be the result.
A new study conducted by the FBI reports that the number of major crimes increased in 2001 for the first time in a decade. Major crimes were up by two percent, including an increase of 3.1 percent in murders. These statistics should prove that now is not the time to cut federal funding for law enforcement agencies. This report also shows that the shift of FBI focus from traditional crimes to fighting terrorism could not come at a more inopportune time.
How close is the FBI to arresting the anthrax mailer? Not very, it would seem. A new report indicates that the mailed anthrax was manufactured within the last two years. This is troubling because the culprit seems to have the ability to manufacture more and strike again. "We're still looking for someone who fits the criteria of training, knowledge, education, experience and skill," a government official said. They still believe that the culprit is a loner and familiar with the Trenton, NJ area where the mailings originated. Dr. Henry Kelly, president of the Federation of American Scientists, stated, "It's astounding that they haven't been able to narrow the field. There aren't that many people that could have been involved." Absolutely right, it certainly is astounding.
There are enough questions on the 9/11 attacks for even the survivors to look for answers, yet the Democrats shy away from questioning the failure to protect our citizens. Survivors have gone from grief to anger to questions. They are holding rallies, press conferences, and demonstrations. Yet, the Democratic leaders rarely speak out. Perhaps they are waiting for the appropriate moment based upon the outcome of the confidential Congressional hearings. Is that the right thing to do or just the politically expedient thing to do? The Republicans and the media have excoriated those who have had the courage to ask probing questions, such as Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney. Is the answer to be intimidated into silence? Every Democrat should be asking pertinent questions!
The New York Post is reporting that families of the victims of 9/11 who are suing the airlines are facing government attempts to restrict their cases. The U.S. attorney's office sent a letter to a federal judge asking to temporarily stop the families' lawyers from seeking any documents in the suits filed against United Air Lines and American Airlines. The government is arguing that discovery of documents raises "grave national security concerns" and warns that the government will "intervene in these cases." The move angered the families and their lawyers, who accuse the government of not playing by the rules, trying to subvert the legal processes to prevent more intelligence failures coming to light, to push victims' families into the federal compensation fund. More strong arm tactics of the Bush administration!
Joe Conason is reporting that an independent commission to investigate the 9/11 attacks is a dead issue, at least for the moment. It seems that several key Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee are enjoying the spotlight a little too much and will not support an independent commission until their work is completed. Opposed are Senators Bob Graham, Evan Bayh, Dianne Feinstein, and John Edwards. It is ridiculous to argue that these senators are as qualified to investigate this as the experts from the Hart/Rudman Commission. This is a disgrace! Shame on you Senators!
It appears the Bush administration rushed into the idea of a Department of Homeland Security without much preparation on the details. Congress will have to struggle for a while on this one. On Thursday, the transportation subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee met to examine the initial record of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the first governmental entity created in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. Subcommittee members were furious with the stewardship of John Magaw, undersecretary of transportation for security, and the initial record of the TSA. It seems no one is giving this agency high marks since more than $400,000 was spent to build a new office suite for Magaw and his staff. A more pressing concern was that 79% of the agency's attorneys are earning more than $101,000, which means that 51% of the agency's initial hires are making six-digit salaries. This discovery blows the implausible Bush administration claim that the creation of this massive new Cabinet department would bring no additional administrative costs.
There is a provision in the bill creating the Department of Homeland Security to exempt the employees from whistleblower protection. Does that mean they don't want any more truth tellers like Coleen Rowley coming forward? Why is there a tinge of secrecy in most actions taken by the Bush administration?
Speaking of secrecy, the British media is reporting that U.S. political cartoonists are under intense pressure to "conform to patriotic stereotype and not criticize the actions of Mr. Bush in his war on terror." Those who refuse to bend to such pressure face having their work rejected, being fired or even publicly humiliated by the President's press secretary. Censorship anyone?
The celebrations that surrounded Congressional passage of the campaign reform bill may turn out to have been premature. The Federal Election Commission held a two-day session last week to create the rules that will govern this legislation. Pressured by both political parties, the FEC worked to create political escape clauses and came up with a weak spot. The bill was designed to prevent soliciting individual contributions of more than $2,000 for each primary and general election. The key word in that statement is "solicit." The FEC crafted a narrow definition where the only impermissible activity would be if the elected official expressly asked the donors for money. This new rule allows the official to give a speech, mingle with the big bucks folks, and then hide in the bathroom while the checks roll in. Yep, they found a way to totally undermine the intention of the new law. Aren't politicians wonderful!
The Center For Public Integrity issued a commentary on the threat to the Freedom of Information Act recently.(1) It concluded with the following statement: "There are simply a growing number of unacceptable incursions into the commonly held, always contentious but respectful space between Government and the Fourth Estate in the world's oldest democracy. The American people deserve much better, of course. Yet little will change for journalists unless Americans understand what rights they are losing and demand that these restrictions be lifted so they can be fully informed."
These are just a few of the stories recently reported that bring to light many issues on which the Bush administration and the Republicans are vulnerable. There are many others including: the environment, the economy, the federal budget, social security, health care, Enron, energy policy, and connections to big oil.
Americans yearn for principled leaders of integrity. The opportunities for Democrats to score major points on the issues are tremendous. Yet, they seem to stumble around with no coherent message. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that many Bush policies are destructive and dangerous. Take advantage of the opportunities! There is no time to waste!
We will be watching for strong Democratic leadership!
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The
Center For Public Integrity:
http://www.public-i.org/dtaweb/report.asp?ReportID=194&L1=10&L2=10&L3=0&L4=0&L5=0
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ANNOUNCEMENT: I will be a guest on Joe Jackson's radio program on KTKK AM 630, K-Talk, Salt Lake City, Utah, Tuesday morning, June 25, 2002 at 7:00 central time. If you live in that area, please tune in or give me a call.
CORRECTION:
In my column "In Their Genes" I mistakenly stated that it was
James Carville who interviewed Bob Barr on Crossfire. An observant reader
brought it to my attention that it was actually Paul Begala. I normally
research in detail every aspect of my writing, but in that instance relied
on my memory. I should have known better. I apologize to my readers for
the error.
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Rebecca Knight is a native Tennessean, who grew up in Nashville, and currently resides in a small town near Nashville. Ms. Knight's political awareness evolved through the civil rights movement, the Vietnam era, the Watergate era, and the cold war. The debacle of the 2000 election increased her sense of responsibility for political activism. You may contact Rebecca Knight via e-mail at tennessee_gal655@yahoo.com.
© 2002 by Rebecca Knight
