We are in full swing election mode, and Green Party candidates are getting hammered once again. Was the last two years of blaming not enough? I am sure the Democrats will even find a way to blame Greens for this upcoming showdown with Saddam. Hell, those pesky Greens control the senate right? Green politics aren’t perfect I know, and I’ll admit that I have been quite frustrated with many Green Party leaders and organizers in the past. But those feelings do not even compare to my anger at our current opposition party’s policies. Their reluctance to represent has taken its toll on many, and us Greens have been too nice for too long. We’ve taken heat for Gore’s loss, and hits every time Bushie fouled up, while those Dems have rarely attacked their own party’s follies.
Yes we have the same complaints as before, but we are going to add a frightening new one, one that will shape our future foreign policy and the world forever; the democrat’s support for a war with Saddam. I was chatting with a chipper democrat the other day about our upcoming war, and he said to me, ” I can see why the Dems have to support the Iraq Resolution. With the election coming up, they can’t risk looking soft on terror;” as if being re-elected could ever be more important than an immoral war that will kill thousands. This is typical democrat double-speak; defend the party at all costs, even when the majority of elected Dems will never represent their interests, because those damn Republicans are too scary. It’s that old lesser of two evils argument over and again.
I am sick of taking low-blows from Dems and their cowardly ilk. They have an amazing displacement talent— blaming others for their own misgivings. It is way past due for real liberals to blame them for theirs. Sure there are democrats who are doing good things, but a vote for a Green is a vote for the abrogation of the Democratic Party as a whole. It is way too late to “build from within.” We must reject any attempt Dems make at bringing us back on board. The Democratic Leadership Council’s grip on their party’s future is too great for a few remaining congressional liberals to beat, with this resolution vote being a telling sign. If democrats truly want to win the liberal fight, they must join the liberal party, and abandon their own. The world’s future depends on it. If we don’t build and support this alternative now, the USA will forever be plagued with terror, and ultimately be marked as a world menace, deserving of abolishment.
JOSH FRANK is a 24-year-old writer and activist living in Portland, Oregon. He can be reached at: frank_joshua@hotmail.com