We're mad as hell and we're not going to take it any more!
Robert Rouse
January 08, 2006
There is an old adage that says if you give someone enough rope they'll hang themselves. And while I believed several of Bush's recent missteps showed he was nearing the end of his proverbial rope, it finally appears as if the tide is changing. This week, an AP/Ipsos poll showed that Americans want Democrats to take control of the House of Representatives by a margin of 13%. We are unhappy with the direction of the Iraq war, domestic spying without warrants and corruption.
Tom DeLay who vowed to return to his post as House majority leader saw the writing on the wall (probably the wall of his future prison cell) and has decided to step down for good. The Abramoff prosecution sent shivers up the spines of Republicans (and some Democrats) everywhere.
Bush on the other hand seems to be either blissfully unaware of what the majority of Americans want or he just disregards the wishes of the people out of hand. More voters than not are opposed to the continuing war in Iraq, but the fact that Bush has vowed to continue the illegal eavesdropping on American phone calls and e-mails over the objection of the majority (56% to 42%) speaks volumes about how the President feels about the people he was elected to represent. Lincoln was smart enough to know that this is a "government of the people, by the people, and for the people" but I'm not really sure Bush has ever heard that phrase and if he did, he thought it was surely some kind of mistake.
Even some Republican lawmakers such as Pennsylvania's Arlen Specter are concerned about the law being subverted by the administration. Specter has vowed to question Bush's Supreme court Nominee Samuel Alito about the legality of the wiretaps when the confirmation hearings open on Monday, Jan. 9. Back when Alito was working for the Justice Department under Reagan, he wrote a memo defending such wiretaps. The simple fact of the matter is that Americans are becoming more and more concerned about the ethics of the Republican party and perhaps it will take people like Specter to save the remnants of the GOP.
Some are speculating this may be a perfect opportunity for a third party to gain a foothold. One scenario sees Sen. John McCain forming a third party to challenge both Democrats and Republicans if he fails to win the Republican nomination. While I don't know if something like this will occur, I do know we are fed up with the Greedy Old Party. Something must be done to return our civil liberties to where they were before the Patriot Act and our legislators must come up with a plan to stop future administrations of any party from circumventing the laws to further their own agendas.
Tom DeLay who vowed to return to his post as House majority leader saw the writing on the wall (probably the wall of his future prison cell) and has decided to step down for good. The Abramoff prosecution sent shivers up the spines of Republicans (and some Democrats) everywhere.
Bush on the other hand seems to be either blissfully unaware of what the majority of Americans want or he just disregards the wishes of the people out of hand. More voters than not are opposed to the continuing war in Iraq, but the fact that Bush has vowed to continue the illegal eavesdropping on American phone calls and e-mails over the objection of the majority (56% to 42%) speaks volumes about how the President feels about the people he was elected to represent. Lincoln was smart enough to know that this is a "government of the people, by the people, and for the people" but I'm not really sure Bush has ever heard that phrase and if he did, he thought it was surely some kind of mistake.
Even some Republican lawmakers such as Pennsylvania's Arlen Specter are concerned about the law being subverted by the administration. Specter has vowed to question Bush's Supreme court Nominee Samuel Alito about the legality of the wiretaps when the confirmation hearings open on Monday, Jan. 9. Back when Alito was working for the Justice Department under Reagan, he wrote a memo defending such wiretaps. The simple fact of the matter is that Americans are becoming more and more concerned about the ethics of the Republican party and perhaps it will take people like Specter to save the remnants of the GOP.
Some are speculating this may be a perfect opportunity for a third party to gain a foothold. One scenario sees Sen. John McCain forming a third party to challenge both Democrats and Republicans if he fails to win the Republican nomination. While I don't know if something like this will occur, I do know we are fed up with the Greedy Old Party. Something must be done to return our civil liberties to where they were before the Patriot Act and our legislators must come up with a plan to stop future administrations of any party from circumventing the laws to further their own agendas.