The "Angry Left"

The other night President Bush referred with contempt to the "angry left" in his address to the Republican convention. Of course the Left is angry - as are many Americans who would never identify themselves with the Left or liberals in general. We're angry that this president and his administration have hijacked the Constitution. We're angry that they've subverted basic human rights - for citizens and detainees alike - in the name of national security. We're angry because this administration has made ideological orthodoxy the litmus test for government office. We're angry because the Justice Department was crippled by unethical and illegal conduct. We're angry because the Bush administration is responsible for the deaths of thousands of American soldiers - and many more thousands of innocent citizens of Iraq and Afghanistan. We're angry because Bush and Cheney have turned back the clock on efforts to protect the environment. We're angry because this administration's energy policy caters to the interests of "big oil" and "big coal" while scarcely acknowledging the necessity of developing alternative energy programs. We're angry because Bush and the Republicans pander to the anti-intellectualism of the fascist, evangelical right wing. And the list goes on and on and on. The Republican party should take the opportunity this week to apologize to the American people for the last eight years, while promising to right the wrongs of the Bush administration.

As for McCain and Palin . . . McCain has drifted farther and farther to the right in an effort to appease the fascist wing of his party, reversing his previously moderate views on numerous issues. Moreover, while he talks about fixing the mess in Washington, neither he nor his campaign advisers have offered specific ideas on how that might be accomplished. In fact, four years of John McCain would look very much like the last eight years of George Bush. A responsible energy policy? The Republican convention crowds' chants for more drilling suggest otherwise. Tax reform? McCain would make the Bush tax cuts permanent, benefiting corporations and the wealthiest Americans.

And Palin? Her daughter's pregnancy, as Democratic leaders correctly intoned, is a non-issue and has no bearing on her ability to serve as vice-president. However, her anti-intellectualism, as well as her views on abortion, gun control, and evolution, should have disqualified her from consideration. For example, shortly after taking office as mayor of her small Alaska town she investigated the possibility of banning certain books in the local public library, while trying to fire the librarian as well. Is this the kind of person we want just a heartbeat away from the presidency? Someone who is so ideologically short-sighted and intellectually limited that she would even think about pulling books from library shelves simply because they don't square with her evangelical, conservative mindset? This is neither Nazi Germany nor Soviet Russia. No thank you.