GO GET 'EM, DR. DEAN

I am a Liberal and proud of it. I just don't agree with a single Conservative Issue and I'm sick to death of Moral Indignation. I've lived too many years to think that teenagers will live up to a vow of Abstinence; believe wholeheartedly in Sex Education in schools, homes, churches or anywhere else; I do not care if Gays get married and wish them well; I think they should be able to raise a child as capably as myself; I think privatization of Social Security is a one-way ticket to starvation; I hate the War in Iraq and think it was totally unnecessary and totally plotted by a bunch of old money-hungry politicians; and I don't trust anyone who proclaims himself a Christian, then hobnobs with crooked corporate bosses.

The tricks that have been played upon the public by this administration are making this old liberal heart beat with fury. To pay radio show jocks to spread "the message"; to obviously hire a phony reporter to ask pre-rehearsed questions at Press Conferences; to give Halliburton free rein in Iraq with our tax money.....all of this is just plain downright shameful.

The latest victim of the Republican Hate Machine is the AARP, taking the place of the ACLU, which has been accused of being the Anti Christian Liberal Union, trying to wrench Christ out of Christmas and replacing it with Happy Holidays. What a crock! When the AARP sided with Bush on the Medicare Prescription Plan for Seniors, there wasn't a word said about their "liberal" tendencies. But, since they have opposed the privitization of Social Security, the Bush Messengers on television are painting the AARP as a liberal organization. Since they claim that forty percent of the AARP members are Conservative, they are hoping they will oppose their group's advice and favor privitization. Maybe even shred their magazines.

I was watching CNN not long ago and I'm darned if Larry King didn't gather a small group of clergy for a full-hour show. Yes, for an hour, they sang the praises of George Bush. "A decent man, a Christian", said one of the ministers. The word "decent" must have gained a new meaning since I read my dictionary. In my book, "decent" doesn't run a country into mammoth debt, crawl in bed with corporate leaders at the expense of the people, and send oil rigs and lumber trucks into public lands. Nor, might I add, does it invade other countries.

I think I could forgive Bush his domestic policies, which are disastrous, in my opinion, if it weren't for Iraq. The WMD's forgotten, we have suddenly become humanitarians. We saved the world from Saddam, a monster. Perhaps so, but we sat back and allowed millions to die in Rwanda and are doing the same thing in Sudan. Our humanitarianism seems to reach as far as the oil wells.

One of the things that bothers me most about the rightwing ideology is their "Pro Life" stance. They claim this Pro Life title, oppose abortion, oppose birth control education for youths, oppose the Morning After Pill.....then approve cutting off all programs that would help feed and shelter these babies. Is that Pro Life? Seems warped to me. In fact, they have spent more time and money fighting for the feeding tube of a brain dead woman in Florida than they have worrying about the huge cuts in the Head Start Program, which at least gave those precious underprivileged children one hot meal daily and a jump start on their education.

There is one bright light in the darkness of this country's future. That is the election of Howard Dean as chairman of the Democratic Party. At last, we can stop trying to be "moderate". We can go back to being Democrats. We can holler the truth about the inequities and injustices of this rightwing trap we are in, and hope that the voting machines are at least as reliable as a slot machine next election day.

Because, when a rightwinger complains about all of the social programs instigated during Democratic tenures, giving me the old "teach a man to fish and he never goes hungry" platitude, I always tell them the programs were put in place because of the disasters caused by Republican Administrations. This is true. Welfare was instigated by Roosevelt because of the disasters of previous Republican leaders. Social Security was put in place because of the economic disasters of Wall Street during Republican leadership. And, after George Bush is just a memory, other social programs will have to be created, to stave off the poverty and need created by this crony of men like Ken Lay.

For a group who yelps constantly about "personal responsibility" and "accountability", the rightwingers seem to feel these values apply only to average American citizens, but do not apply to their leadership. They have an "Anything Goes" philosophy, the ends justify the means, and even the media treads lightly as though on eggshells, lest they feel the retaliation of the Bush Bunch....the Karl Rove treatment, you might say.

Yes, I'm Liberal and I'm proud of it. I am not going to allow a misguided group to paint me as a devil-worshipping evil do-gooder with Socialist tendencies. I'm a Liberal because I care, because I don't hide immorality and illegality behind a heavy curtain of religious prose.

So, good luck, Dr. Dean! Let's take 'em down, make 'em run for cover with their tails between their legs. Let's make this insanity a thing of the past, a mere half page in a history book.

Remember, we have the power!