That’s the debate being waged in liberal circles these days as we are trying to figure out how to “right the ship” and rebound after loosing the last two presidential elections. A lot of people are arguing that we need to embrace the middle ground and try to capture some of that moderate right vote – the people who may not be comfortable with the James Dobson’s and Pat Robertson’s and all the influence that they wield in the Republican Party these days. And, I agree we need to reach out to those people, but I don’t think we should do it by trying to embrace the “rights” policies. I think we need to do it by articulating our own policies. If we need to move more to the right, what does that say about all the issues that we’ve fought for and believed in for the last century?
That we’re wrong?
Now, I know some people out there would say that’s exactly it – we’re wrong, but think about that for a second. Is what we stand for wrong? What do we stand for? Equality; Tolerance; Freedom; Personal Liberty; Equal Opportunity. Those aren’t bad things. Those aren’t things I want to throw away just to pick up a few votes. I’m not willing to compromise on those issues because, THOSE issues aren’t mine to compromise on. They are fundamental human rights! You don’t get rid of equal opportunity to control the White House. You don’t trade away Civil Liberties to control the Senate. You can’t negotiate with those things because they are non-negotiable.
The problem isn’t our ideals; it’s our lack of cohesion. Right now we don’t have two equal combatants in this market place of ideas. You have a well funded, well organized “radical right” that’s spending hundreds of millions of dollars a year to shape the messages we hear every day. Then you have a group of really smart and really smug individuals who all think they each have the right answer to the worlds problems – and if you don’t share their answer your just as bad as the idiot in the White House.
That’s the attitude we need to stop.
We need to start compromising, but it needs to be with each other not with “the right.” We need to come together and form a cohesive unit and realize that while I may not agree with everything you say, by working together we will be a lot better off than we would be alone. By working together we will be a lot stronger than we ever could be as individuals.
And we need to start now!
We can’t afford to waste any time. We need to use every opportunity we have to get our message across.
We need to come together, we need to work together and we need to go on the offensive. We need to quit being so timid that we’re even afraid of being called liberal. When they call us a “tax and spend” liberal, ask them what they are – a “big deficit” conservative?
When they say “You’re pro-abortion” tell them that no one is “pro- abortion” and ask what they are doing to cut down on the need to have abortions. Ask them to join you in supporting real sex education and access to birth control. If they’re not willing to do that, ask them who is perpetuating the abortion industry now.
When they say “You’re being divisive” tell them hell yeah you’re being divisive because it’s not your job to support stupid policies. It’s not your job to sale your kids down the river so that Bernie Ebbers and Ken Lay and Dick Cheney can all get richer off of their backs.
And when they say “Your being unpatriotic” because you question the president” remind that America was founded by people who disagreed with their government. What could be more patriotic than that?
We NEED to stand together now and just say NO. We need to tell the radical right that we are not buying the bill of goods their trying to sell anymore. Now is the time for us to be Churchill and not Chamberlain.
We don’t need to move to the right.
We are Right.
cross posted at (The Cranky Liberal and Bring It On)
