The Bush* 'mafia' knows they're 'untouchable'

[Q]

- They're like mafia bosses who KNOW that no one can or will mess with them. They're not bound by any law or rule and they want their 'enemies' to know it. If you're 'with them' you get protection and a piece of the action. If you're against them...you get smeared or destroyed.

- Perhaps this is why there is no real opposition in America? Are they afraid of the Bush* Mafia? Afraid for their lives? Their jobs? Families?

[Paradise]

1. Bingo! :) nt

[Q]

2. Notice that congress is not DEMANDING Bush* torture memos?

...and seem ready to back off if they refuse to give them up? This is the way it has been since Bush* TOOK POWER after 9-11. No hearings or real investigations...just going through the motions and trying hard NOT to implicate the Bushies in any wrongdoing.

- How many times have we seen this now? And it's not just with Democrats. Even many Republicans seem afraid to say anything bad or tell the truth about the Bushies.

[Cocoa]

3. slick misinformation, Q

"it's not just democrats."

In fact, it's NOT democrats, it's republicans, that are covering up for Bush.

Making the two seem equally complicit, or even making the dems seem MORE complicit, is a lie.

[Q]

5. Sorry to disagree...but it's not a lie...

...to say that Democrats are 'complicit' in allowing the 'Bush* mafia' to get away with crimes against the state. You're still excusing them for their inaction and that's not very realistic. It's not enough for them to simply COMPLAIN once in a while. Only a few Democrats have stood up to the Bushies...and the rest of the party has quickly put them down as 'radicals' or simply ignored them.

- It's a LIE to suggest that Democrats can't do anything unless they're in a majority. There are HUNDREDS of Democrats in DC that could join together and demand accountability using the Constitution as their instrument of power. But 'some' in the Democratic party actually AGREE with the Bush* agenda. Others are simply too afraid or cowed to speak up.

- How can we ask the Republican party to be responsibile when we ignore such things in our own party?

[sangha]

16. Yes, it is a lie

The Democrats forced a vote on adding an amendment to the Defense bill to force the release of the torture memos. The repukes voted it down. IT IS A LIE to make positive assertions when you don't know that they are actually true. If you were honest, you would check your "facts" before stating them. You never do.

[Q]

7. We've had this 'debate' before...

...because you make it sound as if the Democratic party is helpless to do anything. But the very least they could do is keep up the pressure for hearings and investigations. They should be DEMANDING that Bush* turn over memos and other evidence of this administration's condoning of torture and the unnecessary slaughter of innocents.

- Not just a few Democrats...but the entire DEMOCRATIC PARTY should go on the record as being opposed to the Bush* Doctrine, torture and the so-called 'war' in Iraq.

[ixion]

11. yeah, I agree with your thesis statement, Q

It's long seemed to me that our current political system in general is organized along the lines of a mafia 'family'. Thing is, we probably have never even heard of the Don, because the true powers that be prefer to remain anonymous, which allows them to act.

And as for the Democrats...I think the leadership here has sucked a**. Pelosi, Daschle, Gephardt and especially LIEberman and Miller have all acted as enablers at one point or another, by either remaining silent, offering little to no resistance, or by flat out carrying the GOP talking point. There has been nothing close to what I would call an intelligent discussion about the events that have taken place over the course of the past four years. There has only been photo-ops and empty rhetoric, by and large. There have been those, like Wellstone, Byrd and Kennedy that have bee vocal opponents, but their voices have been drowned out in a sea of static and apathy and status quo.

The status quo of the power structure is the heart of that issue. No truly progressive participants allowed. Only those who will ask irrelevant questions that side step the issue.

People speak of our two party system, when in fact that is not the design of our government. It's a multi-party system, that is supposed to be representative of We, the People. That, however, has been subverted by those in power to eliminate true opposition and discourse.

This is the primary reason the so-called 'War on Drugs' has been allowed to persist for 20 years, destroying the lives of millions of people, eroding civil liberties, and paving the road for the next war of abstraction: the 'War on Terror'.

These things are not created by Democrats or Republicans. They are created by the true powers that be, the Men Behind the Curtain.

[Q]

14. "...drowned out in a sea of static and apathy and status quo."

- Gore, Byrd, Kennedy, (Wellstone)...they're despised by the 'new' Democrats and they're virtually alone in their dissent. MOST of the Democratic party 'leadership' has remained silent in the face of the most corrupt, partisan executive branch in US history.

- What could they possibly do to make a difference? Stop listening to the BAD, appeasement advice of the DLC and DEMAND justice.

[sangha]

17. Not "drowned out" - It's called "outvoted"

I think Q may be the only American who hasn't noticed that the majority in both houses of Congress are repuke. He thinks the minority can force investigations. He's even been foolish enough to say that the minority of Dems should impeach Bush*, even though it takes a super-majority to do so.

[Q]

21. Well...I noticed that both houses were lost in 94 during the Clinton era..

...when the DLC took control of the party. Coincidence?

- Of course you need a majority to impeach...but that's not the issue. Even in minority status...Dems can DEMAND hearings and investigations to see if impeachment is needed. Impeachment need not be the end goal. The goal should be to see justice done...not to participate in the political protection racket.

- It's disturbing that so many Democrats accept the weakness of their party. Republicans hold a slim majority in both houses and all it would take to make the Bushies accountable is for a MAJORITY OF DEMOCRATS to call for an independent special prosecutor or real investigations into Bush* corruption.

- But the...yes, cowardly Democrats allow the GOPers to threaten and steamroll them every time. The Democratic leadership if AFRAID of the Bush* mafia. They and their apologists use the EXCUSE that they can't do anything while in the minority...but this is an outright lie. They simply need to uphold the law and do their duty as an OPPOSITION PARTY.

[seemslikeadream]

4. afraid of the Bush* Mafia? Daschel and the antrax

[Kahuna]

6. Of course they're untouchable. The entire government is run by repukes..

I blame Nader and the Greens for this. What made them think that an all republican government would be a good thing? That's just idiotic to think an all republican government would cause us anything but grief.

[Nlighten1]

8. Geez.

It never ceases to amaze me how people will reach so far to blame Nader for all of the Dems problems. The Dems have done this to themselves. It is time for them to accept resonsibility.

[Paradise]

10. Is that what they thought? nt

[Media_Lies_Daily]

12. Ask Nader who he would have voted for during the 2000 election...

...and then ask him why he was running in 2000.


Answers:

-Nader stated publicly, prior to the 2000 election, that he would vote for FratBoy.

-Nader stated publicly, prior to the 2000 election, that he was running to make sure that Gore lost.


Summary:

Isn't it fair to state that a majority of the Green Party rank and file in 2000 reflected the same values as their fearless leader?

[Paradise]

15. I wasn't questioning the veracity of your statement,

just had no knowledge that Nader had said these things. As always, I get quite an education on DU. Thanks for the insight.

[Q]

13. Hell...has the 2000 election fraud been erased from Dem memories?

- It's always about Nader...and never the THOUSANDS of voters defrauded of their vote. Isn't it ALSO important to history that we don't forget what Bush* operatives did to our election system AND civil rights in 2000? Not to defend Nader...but his only 'crime' was to run for election. The Bush* Team's crime was to pervert our democracy. Which is worse?

- Bush* and his GOP mafia have such unlimited power for ONE reason: the Democratic party allowed them to have it. It's time WE took some of the responsibility. GOPers have a slim majority in both the house and senate. You can't convince me or many other that THEY don't have the power (in numbers) to do something about Bush*.

[sangha]

18. Whatever you do, don't blame Repukes or Nader

Remember, always blame the Dems Q

[Q]

19. I call it TAKING RESPONSIBILITY...

...you call it assigning blame. But then again...you've never thought that Dems should be held accountable for anything. Everything is the fault of everyone else. Sounds rather like how the Republicans think and act.

- America and democracy simply can't survive if we continue to point fingers instead practicing what we preach. We lecture Nader and Republicans...yet our own party can't acknowledge our failures and weaknesses.

- Democrats like YOU continue to blame Nader for 2000. That's okay by me. I wouldn't vote for him in any election. But the fact that you and others won't acknowledge that Democrats didn't fight hard enough for our democracy and civil rights in 2000 speaks volumes about the party being in state of denial.

- You sound like the RWingers who demonize the left as 'blame America firsters' when all the left wants is a sane foreign policy and war used as a last resort. It's the same awful argument used by conservative Democrats against 'fringe leftists' who simply want the Democratic party to be a real opposition party, obey the law of the law and honor the Constitution.

[DeepModem Mom]

9. This is what scares me about the election (among other things) --

I'm afraid they know they can do anything with impunity -- they control the courts, if it gets to that point. And there are lots of examples today of print press articles shedding light on some of the worst Bush offenses -- things that endanger our country in so many ways -- appearing on the same pages with political articles that trash Bill Clinton, and our candidate John Kerry. It appears that when the press crosses a political line, that call comes from the White House and the press becomes a willing tool of Rove's office. It's only the press that stands in their way. The press could deliver the election, by a large margin, to the Democrats, and the power grip of the Bush right-wing cabal would be loosened. It's difficult to steal an election that's not close without very drastic measures.

[2Design]

20. yes Congress continues to roll over and give him anything he wants

only explanation...he has the rw look for 'dirt' and then uses strong arm....

also, threats of no loans for family or threats against family members or their backgrounds......

no one seems to tough any member of the bfee even though they all of such a long list of wrongs...

[nostamj]

22. anthrax

bushco are terrorists.
the purpose of terror is to instill fear.

.

[Q]

23. Then what we have is a one-party state...

...if the opposition party refuses or is incapable of opposing or providing checks and balances on the executive branch. They act as if it's an OPTION...but the LAW demands that they act in opposition to illegal decisions or criminal action of the executive.

- This is the very REASON that the COEQUAL branches of government exist in a democracy.