My conservative usually non-political best friend is upset over Plame and Gonzales

[Hepburn]

Shock of my life!

She called yesterday morning and wanted to makes plans for shopping and going out to lunch. I told her, I was watching the Plame hearing that Waxman was doing and could not talk to her at the moment. I would call her later when it was over and make plans then.

So about two hours later, she calls me and she is ranting ~~ of all people in the world, she had been watching the Plame hearings, too. Tells me she has to get back to the hearing and will call me later and she wants to "talk" to me. I mean ~~ she is OUTRAGED.

You gotta understand this woman's background: Former Jehovah's Witness, pretty much totally non-political, and mostly conservative in her views about things ~~ particularly abortion ~~ and prior to yesterday, just about absolutely NO interest in politics. Well, beyond thinking the war in Iraq was a mistake and having no love lost on GWB, she is one of the most a-political people I know.

Like me, my best friend is a senior. The last time she got interested in any kind of politics was watching some of the Watergate hearings back in the 70s. Yesterday ~~ after watching Valerie Plame, she was on fire and ranting. Angry as all heck...and asking the questions that Waxman and his committee had been asking. Could not stand "that idiot from Georgia" and ranted about that "Victoria" woman. And...wanted to know how and why the WH did NOT look into this ~~ and noted very clearly that GWB had said he was looking into this.

So, we spent lunch with me catching her up on a LOT of things she had missed. Her mouth just kept dropping open and she asked the questions about WHY the MSM did not carry this, WHY more people had not heard about this, etc.

And....we got to Gonzo and the firings of the US Attys. It was like watching political "shock and awe." Question after question literally poured out of her mouth and we talked so much that we both each took over half of our lunches home in doggie bags.

So the point of this? There is something in the air. Things feel differently ~~ like they felt back when Watergate exploded. I can feel it ~~ the tide is turning. And I was kind of thinking this before the events of yesterday. But...I can tell ya, if my best pal is interested and upset over the conduct of the WH, there is an under-current out there who are FINALLY waking up! And...they are ANGRY!

Yesterday? One of the most eye-opening days I have had in a long time. Between the Plame hearing and my best gal pal doing a turn around on politics ~~ it rocked.

[babylonsister]

1. Great, hopeful post-thanks for sharing! Nom! nt

[CrazyOrangeCat]

2. Wow.

That must've been something to behold.

Things really are changing . . .

[SusanaMontana41]

3. One of my favorite sounds

is the sound of an awakening.

Your friend had something going for her that the 30 percenters don't: She has an open mind. And a functioning brain.

Good on her! And good on you too, Hepburn. I'm happy for you both.

:pals:

[no_hypocrisy]

4. Congratulations on having a friend share her epiphany with you.

As much as she is probably disappointed (to say the least), she now realizes that she has been lied to despite her good faith support and free reign of the current administration. Nothing hurts like being betrayed by someone you used to admire, trust, and to some extent, to whom you delegated your responsibility as a citizen.

I hope she now knows it isn't red/blue, republican/democrat. It's American.

[Fovea]

5. The big difference between 2002 and 2007

is that the protestors in 2002 were peacful and non-violent. Having been told to Cheney themselves, in 2007, I predict not so much Ghandi, and a lot more Malcom X.

This is true not just because the original protestors are infuriated, but they are going to be joined by people who were not originally protestors, but have always been gun owners.

Katrina alone has a lot of rage trapped below the surface, and trying to spin and shuck it away has only made it darker, meaner, and less likely to feel inclined to compromise.

I have been expecting 1968 to return with a vengence. I don't think I have a lot longer to wait.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

6. I'm looking forward to the demonstration this afternoon

in Jasper AR--I wonder if we'll have some of those folks who were on the other side of the street taunting us in 2003.

[Hepburn]

7. Thanks for the interest in this....

...and for the K&Rs. I am so proud to share this with my fellow DUers. It meant a great deal to see the "awakening" that took place yesterday. I wish the Waxman hearing had been carried all over the networks. If more people knew what the heck has been going on, IMO, a lot more would be outraged.

Today, I got an IM from this pal ~~ and she is reading all over the place on the scandals and other political things. It's like she has become nearly the political junkie I am. Of course, I gave her a link to the DU!

I am just smilin' like crazy! So great to see someone have their eyes opened...and NOW? I have another topic that is so meaningful to me to share with my very best pal!

[SusanaMontana41]

11. Turning your pal on to DU

is one of the nicest things one friend can do for another. (I graduated college but got my education here.) Props!

[cascadiance]

13. Sounds like a bumper sticker...

"Friends don't let friends stay hidden from DU"!

[Warpy]

8. You can bet she's going to tell everybody she knows, too

I love it when eyes start to open, don't you?

One thing you need to tell her is that no matter who's in control and how well things seem to be going, we the people have to keep our eyes on these bastards every minute because there's something in the air and water around Washington DC that corrupts the purest of hearts and turns them to thievery, at the very least.

I've lived in the DC area twice, and I don't even want to go back for a three day protest event. It's a horrible place, stuffed with men who are blind to everything but their own vital importance to the universe plus a lot of very poor black folks. I quickly learned to despise the former and hang with the latter who'd tolerate me.

Something about that town turns elected officials just plain mean. Maybe it's the system, but I'm going with the toxic water supply acting on all the marble in the halls of power messing with their heads.

Tell your friend to pass that part along, too. Everybody who goes there is corrupted. Some are still able to toss us crumbs now and then, like Kennedy, Feingold, Waxman, Kucinich, Sanders, and Conyers. The rest spend their time schmoozing on the social circuit and holding corporations upside down to shake campaign cash loose in return for tax cuts.

(Saturdays are for cynicism, I guess)

Good work on piquing your friend's interest.

[Pierzin]

9. I Wish I could turn my family around like that,:(

They are die-hard conservatives. The thing that bothers me is, America is at a real moral crossroads here. Many things that are happening must be answered according to a moral compass. It's no longer about the Left or the Right, it's now about what is the honest to God, truth be told course.

So frustrating! I am glad for you Hepburn, that your friend woke up and saw the light!

[Robbien]

15. You could send Hepburn's post to your family

along with the link to CSpan's Plame investigation.

It might peak their interest.

[spooky3]

10. It is almost like Helen Keller's W-A-T-E-R moment. Good Teacher!

[femmedem]

12. That's wonderful. And it's probably because

she watched it herself instead of getting it second hand from the media. She probably had another epiphany today when she read the press coverage of what she'd seen and heard with her own eyes and ears.

[Robbien]

14. That is why GOPers are warning Dems not to have too many investigations

GOPers know what effect first hand viewing of these type of investigations can have on the uninformed public.

[Morgana LaFey]

16. GREAT Story -- thanks so much for sharing it

I particularly liked (appreciated) this:

There is something in the air. Things feel differently ~~ like they felt back when Watergate exploded. I can feel it ~~ the tide is turning. (snip) there is an under-current out there who are FINALLY waking up! And...they are ANGRY!

Just imagine how angry they're going to get and how many years it will be before Republicans are allowed back in power! There again, not unlike Watergate.

And you know what else. People don't like to feel betrayed OR made wrong. Bush is making so many people who voted for him simply WRONG about their judgment. They're going to be angry over that, too.

[johnnydrama]

17. I agree 100%

These two stories in particular, the Plame story and the US Attorney story kind of transcends politics.

They are pretty easy to understand if you take a few minutes to understand them.

Out of all the Bush outrages the past 6 years, these are the ones that I personally have taken the time to understand,
and can argue about them with the best of them.

[Hepburn]

19. I think you hit it on that...

...the facts behind Plame and Gonzales are easy to understand. The time lines really set it out. And that chart in the Waxman hearing yesterday? Oh, so perfect! What in the WORLD were all these people doing taking about Valerie Plame...why would she be of so much interest if she was just a "desk jockey" and her husband was a "liar?"

And...then WHY lie about talking about her?

[SharonRB]

18. One at a time...

They'll wake up one at a time.

Welcome your friend to the light side!

[Schema Thing]

20. Tell her another.....

...ex-JW says Hi, and welcome to politics. It's a form of "service" thru which we can actually accomplish something for our fellow humans (as opposed to the "service" that she will understand I'm talking about). Ask her if yesterday made her feel like spreading the good news.... about a congress that is working again ;)


She's welcome to contact me if she'd like.

[Bitwit1234]

21. It doesn't always work that way tho.

I have three sisters, I had four but one passed away with breast cancer 18 months ago, and 1 brother.

The three sisters were always democrats. One, when he was campaigning she ran for 1/4 of a mile down a prohibited railroad track to shake Bobby Kennedys hand. But somehow when Reagan came along they started to change. One's husband was a real estate broker and had the big bucks, they still do. One's husband's and his family owned five hardware stores. I suppose the money went to their heads and they turned republican.

Now they live and breath by Fox News and Rush Limbaugh. I kid you not. No matter what happens with all the crookedness and corruption this administration has pulled they still worship anything republican and believe any and every thing rush tells them. I refused to go anywhere with the one sister and she could not figure out why. rush limbaugh was permanently installed on her radio.

[Polemicist]

22. Thank God for the Democratic Congressional Majority...

This Plame hearing, the US Attorney hearings, and many other hearings coming up in the near future, will be the first exposure many American will have to issues we have long debated on DU. As long as the outrage remained here and in the Progressive community, it could be walled off by the GOP and Bushites and marked down to "extremists".

The media refused to move the stories forward in any meaningful manner, focusing on the "defense of Libby", not the real story of the treasonous actions of the Bush Administration. Thank God for the Democratic Majority and their ability to focus the media on the real issues with hearings like we have recently seen.

Many Progressives have been disappointed by the "slow-walking" of anti-war legislation by our Congressional leaders. I also want the war ended immediately. But I have long felt that the way to best accomplish this goal, is to first allow these corruption hearings to focus the attention of the American people on just who has been running the country. It is very important we expose the actions of the Bushites leading up to the Iraq invasion.

For when the public knows what we know, they will agree with our conclusions. And part of that is that this war was the fruit of a poisoned tree and continuing to follow a band of criminals in control of our government in national defense matters or in any policy matter is contrary to the interests of our nation.

Then we can fast walk and end to the war. By mid to late summer, we should have impacted the nation's psyche enough to marginalize those who would support continuing this failed war policy. It might not be soon enough for everyone, but that's how politics in a Democracy work.

[SusanaMontana41]

23. I'm one of those frustrated Progressives

Then I do a calendar check and am reminded that we've had an opposition Congress for only two months. Rumsfeld gone, Gonzo on the ropes, subpoenas, investigations, hearings ... not a bad start.

[Polemicist]

24. We still have to fight for what's right...

Political inertia is a heck of a thing to overcome. Politicians for the most part, are risk adverse. They can do 1,000 things right and do one thing wrong and be booted out of office. So they are careful "walkers".

We just have to keep pushing. Keep marching. Keep calling our congressmen. Keep writing blogs, talking to our neighbors, and posting our opinions on DU. Keep pointing out the mistakes of the goofballs in charge and keep pushing for positive change for America. And when you get discouraged, think how much better it is now than 4 years ago. I haven't been called a traitor for outspokenly opposing this war for about two years now. For the first two years, I was called a traitor all the time.

Think about that. This war is now 4 years old. Longer than WWII. Longer than WWI. Longer than Korea. Too damn long.

I did notice one interesting thing in the Plame hearings yesterday. I saw Progressive Congressmen and Congresswomen leading the charge to bring this issue out front. I saw Progressive Congressmen that DU and the Netroots helped get elected in 2006, asking pointed questions, questions we've all wanted answered for years. I saw no "blue dog" Democrats asking questions. In fact, I didn't see any of them at the hearing, that I'm aware of.

We now have voices in government. Let's support them and get more. There is much work to do, bad GOP laws to rewrite, social justice to be renewed, economic justice to be enacted, civil rights, medical rights, immigrant rights, and too many others to denote in this post.

We've got a lot to keep us busy.

[SusanaMontana41]

29. Of course you're right

I'm not advocating stopping anything.

:)

[Zan_of_Texas]

25. Investigate. Prosecute. Repeat.

That's my new mantra!

[SusanaMontana41]

30. Great mantra

pretty good bumpersticker material, too ...

:hi:

[calimary]

26. Yes. There most certainly IS something in the air (besides the stench

from the deteriorating bush body-politic). There IS something in the air. My best friend who I sadly more or less figured was a lost soul by now (so we NEVER talk politics, EVER) because she voted for bush twice, and would spew all the properly prescribed, prefab republi-CON talking points - is now an Obama fan. BIGTIME. And for all the good reasons. She's finally coming around, too. Finally saw enough to turn her stomach, as well as her political leanings.

Something HAS changed. HUGELY. And you CAN feel it everywhere. The sound of a hundred million Rip van Winkles finally waking up. And realizing the nice, respectable-looking teenagers with the enviable resumes and solid family connections whom they hired to house-sit have ransacked the place, stolen everything of value, fed whatever booze they didn't drink to the dog, and then set off for the hills.

Something BIG has changed. If things go the way they're going, I think we're going to get the White House back, PLUS an even larger majority in the House of Reps AND a decisive, hopefully lieberman-proof majority in the Senate. I think there's a LOT of people who are waking up with a shock, when they finally start to wrap their minds around what these shitheads have done in the last six years. They'll be shocked. Then they'll be angry. Then they'll get active.

[Hepburn]

28. I don't know your age...

..so I don't know if you were old enough at the time Watergate came down to have been involved in watching the hearings and reading about it. I was an adult at that time. Out of college and teaching HS, matter of fact.

The good news for me is that all of a sudden, I am getting the same gut feelings now as I got back then when the tide turned against Nixon. I have had this feeling about Bush for a bit ~~ and when my non-political and rather conservative best friend sat up and took notice, that told me a heck of a lot. It felt like when people turned on Nixon ... and you just knew he was a goner.

Like with your friend and Obama ~~ it was just the last thing expected from certain people.

Like you said: You can just feel it.

[calimary]

32. Fifty-three, my friend. I remember being glued to the TV that summer,

and it was the first time I was NOT happy about going on what would otherwise be regarded as a great family vacation. It meant I was gonna miss a LOT of the Watergate hearings. I clung to those I was around to see. I was college-age at that time, if memory serves. And yeah, it does feel an awful lot like the waning days of the Nixon era, when the pile-ons began.

[radfringe]

27. suggest sending her this story: Libbygate: Now Let's Get to the Real Story

Libbygate: Now Let's Get to the Real Story
http://www.commondreams.org/views07/0306-38.htm
by Dave Lindorff

So Scooter Libby has taken the fall.

Three and a half years and a long bloody war after he and a gang of war-mongers in the White House and Blair House, including President Bush and Vice President Cheney, set out to undermine and trash the reputation of an Iraq war critic, former ambassador Joseph Wilson, Libby has been found guilty of perjury, lying to the FBI and obstruction of justice by a Washington jury.

Now maybe special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald and what passes for journalists in the mainstream media can get down to the real business of finding out just why the entire White House smear operation was unleashed upon a minor state department official and why they went so far as to violate federal law and expose his CIA-operative wife, Valerie Plame, in the process destroying her entire network of contacts for monitoring the spread of nuclear weapons in the Middle East.

Because that's what this whole Libby story is really about.

[Hepburn]

31. Up-Date:

My best gal pal called me this AM and she has been on DU and on CSpan looking for more hearings on Plame and Gonzales! She is really into this and I love it! So....I am hoping there are a million like her out there who now have an interest in what the Bush WH is doing.

I am smiling BIG TIME! America IS waking up!