Monday, August 10, 2009

The People vs. the Democratic Leadership

Democratic congressmen, faced with mounting opposition from their constituents at the town hall meetings being held during the August recess, have taken to aping the tactics of the late Byzantine emperors by surrounding themselves with mercenaries, SEIU goons apparently being the bodyguards of choice. Meanwhile, the Democratic leadership has pulled out all of the stops in their campaign to ram socialized medicine down our throats, slandering the thousands of concerned citizens who are showing up at these meetings, comparing them to Nazis, calling them un-American, and attributing their numbers and their ire to astroturfing by “powerful special interests” (the whole time, engaging in relentless astroturfing of their own). One can easily imagine the outcry in the Press if George Bush, during his second term, had issued a call to members of veterans’ organizations to harass anti-war protestors at similar congressional town hall events (perhaps suggesting that they march, in military formation, into the meetings wearing full battle dress). The indifferent response in the MSM to the cowardly tactics of Democratic congressmen and the thuggishness of their union henchmen is, sadly, unsurprising.

But the thing that really does take my breath away – even more than the ham-fisted intimidation tactics which, after all, have been the mainstay of the Democratic tool-box for years – is the genuine, red-faced anger that the Democratic leadership is demonstrating toward ordinary citizens. I recall few, if any, instances in my lifetime in which the contempt of the Democratic oligarchs for the people has been so wantonly obvious, so carelessly displayed in all its polemical and ideological excess. The savagery of their verbal assaults upon anyone possessing the temerity to disagree with them has been a wonder to behold, and, perhaps ironically, gives the rest of us grounds for hope. The Democrats have made, I think, two fatal errors: they have come to believe their own mendacious propaganda, and they have grossly underestimated the intelligence, and the courage, of the American people.

And to those errors, I will add one more: in their zeal to impose legislation on the people in whirlwind fashion – thousand-page bills that no one person has read all the way through, amendments passed in the dead of night – the Democrats have effectively conceded the unpopularity of their vision of an even larger State, further empowered at the expense of individual liberty. This highly visible mockery of the deliberative process, in conjunction with an ideology that is, yes, un-American, reveals the desperation of leftist politicians in both houses of congress (and in the White House, too) as they sense their historical moment slipping away from them. They may still succeed in passing some watered-down version of a health care bill (and cap-and-trade, for that matter); however, I believe that the damage to the Democratic Party will be – already has been – substantial, and the erosion of the party’s credibility will offer conservatives at least a foothold in their effort to climb out of the pit into which they fell in the last election.

Perhaps the legacy of the Tea-Party movement ultimately will prove to be this: that the people, even in the absence of real leadership, paid attention when it was truly important for them to do so, and did exactly what they needed to do in order to make their voices heard, undaunted by the forces arrayed against them. Watch closely, because we could be looking at one of democracy’s finest moments.

13 comments:

JeffS said...

The Dhimmicrats are making mistakes galore, and it appears that some of them are realizing the enormity of their stupidity. I'm with AP on this one:

"...my contempt for Pelosi is such that I think she really might be so stupid and renegade as to think calling protesters “un-American” is a winning strategy, with Obama now forced to clean up her mess — especially with some town halls of his own looming this week."

So, maybe -- just maybe -- these thugs and oligarchs are backing down. But I wouldn't relax. These people have held power for a long long time, and they won't go quietly into the night.

Like you, I am pleased to see that many Americans know what to do in the face of would-be tyrants: Fight back! With words, preferably. But not limited to words. That's an American tradition which reaches back to 1776.

Just one quibble: their assaults have not been all verbal. The vast majority, yes. But not all. If this does escalate into violence, though, I am certain as to whom will not take the first step in that direction: the members of the Tea-Party movement.

Of which I am proud to be a member.

Anonymous said...

We the people have always paid attention, and pretty well seen through the politicians blather, but this lot is telling us they know better than we do. We the people are tolerant, not stupid.

Retread

Mike Dubost said...

I think that there is hope that the politicians are seeing the anger out here.

I live in a Congressional district that stretches from the SF Bay Area to the Central Valley. My "Representative" accepted a post in the State Department, so there is a special election comming up. One candidate has signs with the slogan "No More Bailouts". Granted, a more conservative candidate has a snowball's chance in you know where, but the fact that he thinks this is a vote-winning slogan tells me that the message is beginning to percolate into some of the less impervious craniums.

Anonymous said...

Paco, have you sen the letter at Theo's place? It's called "Lesten. Because we are coming. We the people are coming".

I found a few minutes ago, it's worth the read.

Retread

Paco said...

Retread: Here it is.

bruce said...

"Watch closely, because we could be looking at one of democracy’s finest moments."

From this side of the world I agree. I believe "Jeffersonian" democracy is the magic which underpins the modern world as we know it, inside and outside the USA. That way is certainly being severely tested right now, but it will only disappear when the desire for freedom dies in the hearts of the people, and as we are seeing that is not yet, not yet. Godspeed all.

Isophorone said...

It's an interesting predicament. The attitude towards the Town Hall protests is really no different than Obama's statements about the Cambridge, MA, police department. I mean, anyone who opposes their messianic vision for America and the world simply must be ignorant, stupid, controlled by some evil force, etc. Maybe these leftists have surrounded themselves with enough of their "yes men" (and women) that they believe their own propaganda.

I am a little concerned as to where this is going. An uneasy voice inside of me says that these union thugs are going to stage an "agent provocateur" incident in which someone gets killed or seriously injured and then blame it on Obama's opponents. On top of that, Obama and his forces are going to feel even more pressure to step up the propaganda (and other kinds of) war. If they are forced to let up, they will collapse like a house of cards. Machiavelli had some interesting commentary on these kinds of people.

Paco, if you want to get together for coffee, check out the contact link on my blog. maybe I am going blind, but I couldn't find a contact link for you.

Paco said...

Isophorone: There's an email link under "View My Complete Profile", somewhere on the right side-bar, maybe halfway down the page. But I can contact you, too.

Anonymous said...

Very well said Paco.

I love watching American democracy with a small d in action.

K

kc said...

I've always admired your writing and analysis, Paco, ever since the old days at Blair's. In this one, you have outdone yourself, and I HAD to link it at Pixie Place...which means 2 people who don't already read this blog may find you now!

Well said, and thank you.

RebeccaH said...

Some of the Dems may be noticing the change in the winds, and are adapting to it, but can we really trust them at this point? They'll say anything to get elected. We don't know what they'll do after they are.

Gary from Jersey said...

Health care "reform" is tangental to the real story: getting, keeping and expanding power. Some of us have been battling Obamists in the local papers and online for weeks, asking specific questions and making referenced comments to that bill. Not one Obamist had answers for any of it. Most of them resorted to insults, name-calling and topic changes. So health care is secondary to their collectivist power grab.

They have no clue about socialism, yet the howl when it's even mentioned. They're oblivious that voting Democrat is electing their death warrant. Obamists couldn't care less about the sick, elderly, the poor or anyone else. This is about feeding their self-righteous smugness.

People like that are impossible to reach, but they're organized and itching for a fight. Don't back down, Americans. This could get very, very ugly.

Bob Belvedere said...

God, I hope you're right Paco, and that I'm just being too damn negative. I still worry because the Left has always had to achieve their radical ends through stealthy means and they've most often succeeded. Maybe—hopefully—I'm just too steeped in the history of the Left and Leftist thinking to see the forest through the trees.

Quoted from and linked to at:
http://www.thecampofthesaints.com/2009.08.09_arch.html#1250090896762