Posted on 11/08/2006 2:53:58 PM PST by landeraepi
Full disclosure, I'm a democrat, so get over it. I'm not here to insult you, and I'm certainly not here to gloat. I'm not here to trade barbs, undermine Free Republic, or infiltrate your ranks. I'll be honest — I disagree with most FReepers on almost every issue.
So, why am I posting a new thread?
Because I — we — need you. We at Democratic Underground and Daily Kos, and all of the lefty blogs you love to hate, and who love to hate you. We need you to acknowledge that if there's one thing we're learning about our country's political system, it's that there's way too much corruption. Too much greed. Cronyism. Lying. It's on both sides, folks — I'm no apologist.
Yes, the Democrats won. Yes, we're very happy about that. It means we get to put the emergency brake on what we see as runaway irresponsibility in our government. Some of you FReepers see it, too — the Bush administration is spending like Paris Hilton on a bender and Harry Reid is spending his afternoons thinking about how to double his real estate money instead of how to lead his minority majority. Result? America's losing its ethical center.
Indulge me for a moment: we at Daily Kos and Democratic Underground are ecstatic for one particular reason that it may be difficult for FReepers to understand. Candidates like Jon Tester, Jerry McNerney, Paul Hodes, and Jim Webb were all relative political unknowns — guys with great ideas who just had no "street cred" at all. The lefty blogs — dKos and DU, chiefly, coordinated the fundraising and did the canvassing, calling, and late-night video posting on YouTube.
We wanted this one like rabid dogs, and we got it. You guys will win again, and win big, but this time it was the democrats. If Jon Tester and Jerry McNerney begin taking money from lobbyists and accepting flights on Learjets, do you know what we'd do?
We'd castrate them. We'd end them. Ask a DUer — if these guys let Washington's corruption get under their skin, we'll vote against them.
But the truth is that they won't. I know this because that's why we picked them. They're committed to bringing some civility and dignity back to our country's political system — and so am I.
And, hopefully, so are you.
So, today, I'm reaching across the aisle, in earnest, and in what I hope you will realize is good faith. America isn't America without all of us, and I'm not about to let this election force us to self-segregate and turn into the epitome of what we hate. This country wasn't founded on ideological differences. America was founded as a place for people with unpopular beliefs. That's why the Puritans came here — and why everyone else followed.
Disagreement is no justification for acrimony.
If Free Republic joined with Daily Kos and DU to denounce corruption, cronyism, and dishonesty in government — regardless of our political stripes — we'll all be better for it.
I'm cross-posting a similar thread to dKos and DU in the hopes that the netroots on both sides can come together to reorient our government's ethical compass. Let's agree to disagree, but let's do it in an American way — in a way that helps all of us. We can (and should!) continue to fight for our personal morals, beliefs, and ideas — but we must ensure that our government, no matter which party controls it, is still a government of, by, and for the people.
So, come on, FReepers. Let's fix this country. Concentrate on common ground instead of ideological divisions. What do we all believe, and how can we leverage the immense power and respect of the blogosphere to do the most good?
I wish you all the best, and I'm sorry if I've ruined your day.
Stop. Stop...can not catch breath from laughing....
Go away!
You haven't ruined my day.
Complaining is easy, leadership is hard. Good luck.
You are a persistent cuss, I'll give ya that! (and the same answer from the other thread!)
William Jefferson. Alcee Hastings.
Borders?????
Not the Mexican one..the one between liberals and conservatives....let's finally build that wall....now there's something we can agree on......
After all of the crap you and your ilk have dealt for the last twelve years? You're ridiculous, and our fun is just beginning.
go away! I don't need you steenkin hand. Your victory is one of the most marginal in U.S. History.. look at the numbers. We will retake it from you next election cycle.
Looks to me like the result of ... wait for it ... GLOBAL WARMING!
Bwahahahahahahaha......no wait......Bwhahahahahahah......hahahahahahahaha.
Oh I forgot.....I'd spit on it.
I agree about corruption. I'll give you that.
We hate tolerence and mixed-breeding, don't ya know? /s <(in case you're from Rio Linda, that was sarcasm)
You voted to stab American warriors in the back in 1974, and turned the sacrifice of 52,000+ patriots into a defeat, and now you've done it again.
You are a traitor. I can only pray that you get dusted with fallout and suffer a long, lingering death when "Jericho" morphs from "television drama" to "reality show."
I will do unlike most here and try to take you seriously for a moment. OK, so we agree on corruption. Any ideas how to deal with it?
Term limits. That's how to ease that issue.
Now we know what to think, how to feel, what to do.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
You are a lib and you don't like corrupt politicians???????? (Excuse me while I laugh at you.) How can you belong to the democrat party if you don't like corrupt pols? Your party is the home of corrupt pols and always has been. Our side has them too but we can't hold a candle to your side. ROTFLMAO!!!!!
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