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.
Nice post, Joshua. Probably too big a gulf for most people to cross, but at least you tried.
Don't worry. It will all happen in the new Heaven and the new Earth. (Revelation Chapter 21)
Is your ACORN group now in a bind?
Congratulations on your win. You worked hard. you got it done. Now, let's see your party's plan. I can think of absolutely nothing we agree on. And I'd sooner work with snakes [not you personally] than Democrats.
And if FDR had listened to Churchill about Stalin during WWII,the Cold War either wouldn't have happened or would have been much less perilous than it was.
I check my wallet, myself.
That's wicked funny. Don't zot him yet. He's entertaining!
Had I my druthers, It would have been thumb screws, boiling oil, pulling out of all of his/her fingernails, and then setting his/her hands ablaze; upon which I would NOT spit.
I have a very long memory, as well as a vast fund of historical knowledge. The Dems have stunk up the world for centuries. Wilson ( Woodrow, not Joe ), was responsible for every war and every promise of war, that we have had to live with and fight, since 1919 and that's just for starters!
After that...nothing. No political party has been so consistently wrong about everything.
Regards, Ivan
How about you just go over to DU and sing Kumbyah with them and get off FR? That would make you and the rest of us here very happy.
Ditto that! :-)
He's probably all of 12.
You must be young, not that there is anything wrong with that!
I don't think that I've ever seen a Wal-Mart truck....clean or otherwise. :-)
I agree with you on Cleveland and all of the rest you wrote.
BUMP!
Only 9 more days to go!
For what?
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
Like all the civility and dignity you've all displayed these past 12 years, right?
Spare me.
Having deep root canal work done without anesthesia comes to mind, too...
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