Here Ya Go, Lessy...

Les Ismore:

You guys are so funny. If you think DU speaks for the Democratic party, you are probably the only ones in America that do... I mean, really, get a grip. Do you speak for the Republican party? I don't think so... (at least I sure hope not!) How about FR?

Try reading these blogs:

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/

http://atrios.blogspot.com/

http://www.firedoglake.com/

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/

These are representative of more mainstream Democrats. And believe me Morgan, Democrats don't see Republicans as the enemy.

Some Republicans have done some things in the last 7 years that would make T. Jefferson, A. Hamilton, A. Lincoln, and others spin in their graves--but that is just a handful of Republicans.

I think the vast majority are like my next door neighbor.

My Answer:

First of all, Les, I said the pieces I posted were not solely from DU; I visit a number of MSM, Democrat, Leftist websites and news sources. Secondly, I quote verbatim, so it's not 'we-guys' who think the posts are representative of the Democrat party. The Dems sound like Dems because it's Dems doing the talking.

Going to the websites you provided was cold comfort--and terribly sad--if the truth be told. Mostly, they all nattered about the candidates, trying to make ours sound as bad as possible. They all listed the polls as if they were gospel, naturally. And there was various mention of Michael Moore's movie 'Sicko' and AlGore's Climate Crisis concerts. There was the usual run-down of the Sunday morning political talk shows and their topics--and no shortage of spin given to make our people look like fools, dunces, or just plain incompetent. All this I expected, of course...

No, I had to look a little closer to see George Bush being likened to Neville Chamberlain, called a 'boy prince', 'Chimpy' ("You just know that bike-ride time is quiet time for Chimpy"), and accused of being "an inexperienced leader [who grows] increasingly arrogant, spurns lawmakers, grabs unprecedented power, bullies skeptics, stifles the press, and decides to spurn advice of seasoned hands and go it alone."

Cheney is called "an altogether more nefarious force who has used his unprecedented power as vice president to advance an agenda of official secrecy, non-accountability, untrammeled executive power, legitimized torture and general degradation of the rule of law." This administration is accused of killing "approximately 3370 US troops", countless Iraqi civilians, and turning Iraq into a 'siege state' where pregnant women are denied hospital delivery and health care, and where the people are being poisoned by bad water and poor food, within an infrastructure that is totally destroyed.

The biggest reason we're still in Iraq, it is stated in many of their comments--besides the mental illness of the President--is "to build mega-bases", which are "so conveniently located to the major oil pipelines, too!". The London/Scottish terrorist attacks are thoroughly downplayed (American security is hardly mentioned), the terrorists are palmed off as rogue incompetents not worth much thought, and the whole thing is chalked up to 'fear-mongering by the President' (or the supposedly right-biased MSM.)

In short, the websites you posted, Les, as representative of mainstream Democrat opinion asks, in thinly veiled accusations:

"Is our Constitutional framework of checks and balances under assault? Our Bill of Rights under siege? Well, yes; I guess they are. Is the Executive ignoring all limits, engaging in disastrous foreign wars, and threatening more, dragging our prestige through the mud, defying Congress and public oversight? And is our Vice President completely out of control and secretly usurping even the President’s powers? Uh, yes.

Has our Justice Department become so politicized that we cannot assume fair administration of law? Do we know they’re using DoJ to smear our party’s officials, shield theirs and drive our supporters from the polls? Check. Have they been violating the law every day by how they spy on us, how they treat detainees, how they make decisions on everything from mine safety to drug testing, to food inspections to environmental protection, to protecting national security secrets and on and on? Uh, I guess they are.

Have their judicial appointees broken all links to precedent, threatening to undo individual rights and public protections painstakingly built over decades, and keep doing it for decades? Check. But we all knew that; we predicted it; none of this surprises us anymore; nothing new here.

The 'cure' is considered to be:

"... I believe that to get at everything else we care about, the regime’s continued presence in office is the first problem that must be solved. The message is straightforward: the current regime has violated the trust prerequisite for remaining in office; they are hurting the country now and deserve to be removed and not replaced by more of the same. Everything the regime believes and does stands in the way of every goal the majority of Americans have: justice, international peace and security, fairness and economic security for our citizens, and a little thing like keeping the planet hospitable for humans."

Yep, we're characterized as evil incarnate. Now, how is that different than what I said they said?

P.S. Many of the sites you mentioned blog roll and/or recommend Democratic Underground, Daily KOS, Juan Cole, Andrew Sullivan--and Edward's bloggers at Pandagon ('Mary filled with God's white, hot, sticky holy spirit'... or some such) and Shakespeare's Sister (is she the blogger that called us Bible-believers 'Christofascists?) so they couldn't disagree with them too awfully much!

Like your next door neighbors??? These aren't people to whom I'd WANT to live next door!