Just Another Outrage

There are times when I almost want to give up on representative democracy. Yesterday, the senate wasted a lot of time condemning the MoveOn ad, as if it mattered. We have rethugs filibustering important bills such as restoring Habeas Corpus (the most basic principle of law) and giving our over stretched troops a reasonable amount of time off, but the media calls this a "failure by the democrats". Our shrub is preparing to veto children's health care and blame democrats for his veto. So the democrats turn around and condemn an ad that accurately reflects the opinion of the majority of the American people? Nice job.

We live in an era of "gotcha" politics, where a good sound bite trumps substance. Never mind the working class Americans worried about losing their homes, Forbes has a list of 400 billionaires. Never mind that Iraq is awash in death and destruction, we must say nice things about our generals. Health care? Only when somebody can make a profit off of it. Greed is rewarded and honesty is attacked. Somehow, the word "liberal" is an insult, as if caring about people is inherently evil. The phrase "family values" is used to discriminate against anyone who won't follow a strict christianist doctrine. Product safety? That might cut into corporate profits. "Death to the poor" is the rethuglican mantra.

With all the problems deserving senate attention, an ad by MoveOn is beyond trivial. Doing the people's business takes a back seat to grandstanding to score a few "gotcha" points.

We Deserve Better!