Ed Garvey--Dems Must Do What's Right, Not What's Safe

[rodeodance]

He asks "So where are the leaders of today?"



http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0927-26.htm

E-mail: [e-mail]

Published on Tuesday, September 27, 2005 by the Madison Capital Times (Wisconsin)
Dems Must Do What's Right, Not What's Safe
by Ed Garvey


Why do we revere Hubert Humphrey? Was it his middle-of-the-road positions or his leadership in forcing the Dixiecrats to walk out of the Democratic Convention in 1948 by making it clear the Democratic Party would not yield to racism?

Do we remember and honor Martin Luther King Jr. because he sat and waited for integration to happen "with all deliberate speed" or is it because of his letter from a Birmingham jail, his march on Washington and his willingness to give his life for the cause of humanity?

When we think of Gene McCarthy, is it for "going along to get along" or his gutsy challenge to a sitting president of his own party to halt the carnage in Vietnam?

Did we honor Gaylord Nelson for his timidity in protecting our environment or was it his tough leadership and his concept of Earth Day?

Ah, there are so many. Eleanor Roosevelt and her battle for the poor; Kay Clarenbach fighting for women's rights; LBJ when he announced on national television "We shall overcome"; and Bobby Kennedy, who risked and lost his life in the cause of equal rights and economic justice.

[rodeodance]

1. he sees these as the leaders.

......So where are the leaders of today?

Nearly all that come to mind are outside the formal political structure. To name a few: Jim Hightower, Jesse Jackson, Michael Moore, RFK Jr., Amy Goodman. They lead by example or by "belling the cat." They stake out a position and do so boldly.

[tatertop]

3. and please do not forget Cindy Sheehan

[Anywho6]

2. Amen and a kick!

I know, it's times like these that I miss Paul Wellstone even more...

:kick:

[smirkymonkey]

4. Is that Ed Garvey, Male Prostitute?

:evilgrin:

[tom_paine]

5. kick

:kick: