First they *ignored* us (for about 15 years)

[Jack Rabbit]

25. Manny, Manny, Manny

They've been ignoring us for more than 15 years. It's been closer to 70.

That takes us back to the end of World War II. The Nazis, the Italian Fascists and the Japanese militarists were defeated, and we needed a new enemy and the Communists made a good enemy made-to-order. Of course, they couldn't just say that Uncle Joe was a problem , but they had to let us know that all all liberals were socialists, all socialists were Communists and all Communists were Soviet spies marching to Stalin's tune, until 1953 when Uncle Joe kicked the bucket and the Soviet Union entered into a period of collective leadership; then it was just the "Communists." Anyway, we lefties became pinkos, fellow travelers and Communist sympathizers. Oh, yes, and spies and traitors.

The Democrats were so spooked at the House Un-American Activities Committee, the John Birch Society and other far right watchdogs protecting Americans from thoughtcrime that they put a world of daylight between them and their left wing. The Democrats couldn't afford to be seen to close to people who thought war was only a last resort. No, the Republicans insisted that to be a real American, you had to want to kill a Commie for Mommy. So, Kennedy went into the Bay of Pigs and Johnson went into Vietnam. That showed 'em we Democrats weren't wimps. The Bay of Pigs and Vietnam were both total disasters, but the Americans knew they could count on the Democrats not to be wimps.

The Cold War ended, but have no fear, it still wasn't a perfect world and September 11, 2001 was just around the corner. Now there was a war on Arab terrorists. Watch out. Anybody wearing a turban may be hiding a bomb under it. If you questioned President (sic) Bush's response to terrorism -- invading an oil rich Arab nation that had nothing whatsoever to with Al Qaida --then you were a terrorist. And Dick Cheney, when he wasn't frightening children at Halloween parties, was always there to intimate that the Constitution, at least the parts written in invisible ink, gave the President the power to detain any one indefinitely without due process and we pro-terrorists lefties had better shut up.

Unfortunately, the Democrats again were spooked by all the Republican blustering and put daylight between themselves and the left once again. The Democrats listened again to those who counseled them not to be wimpy, to advocate sending in the Marines first and asking questions later, if it wasn't too embarrassing and by all means, don't talk about raising taxes. Collaboration with the Republicans who stole an election from us, that's the ticket. Look how the Republicans send in the Marines and fire the Cruise missiles and never raise taxes. Why, those Danmed Lousy Collaborationists asked, couldn't the Democrats be more like the Republicans? Of course, Reaganomics and the war on terror were just a couple of more disasters, bit that still doesn't seem to bother the Rahm Emanuel Marching and Shouter Society.

The fact is that the Left was right whole time. Now, those of you who have gotten behind all these disasters, it's time to shut the fuck up, sit down and listen to us. Don't worry. We are civilized people. We would never insult unfortunate people who were born with serious learning disorders by calling Rahm Emanuel a retard. That's really unnecessary.

America is in trouble. Bankers are robbing the middle class world wide. They keep pretending that money is wealth, not merely an instrument that measures wealth. The fossil fuel industry is killing the planet and not only pretending that they aren't responsible for any part of it, but denying there is a problem. Obama was elected almost five years ago and opportunities have been squandered due to the sinister influence of big business, a Republican Party that has nothing constructive to offer and still block any piece of legislation from getting anywhere. Oh, yes, and some of this is Obama's fault, too. He has also squandered opportunities. Not one crooked banker has gone to jail since the world economy collapsed in 2008, where has the attorney general been all this time? Why hasn't he prosecuted these criminal. Is there a connection to the lack of action against bankers and the fact that the former Chief Prosecutor now has a cushy position with a Wall Street law firm?

In the last week, the President turned to diplomacy rather than bombs to solve the problem of chemical weapons in Syria. It worked a lot better than tons and tons of bombs dropped on Syria ever would have even in a neoconservative's wildest wet dreams. The President so graciously accepted Larry Summers' withdrawal from consideration as chairman of the Federal Reserve. So much for that silly Reaganomist disguised as a Democrat. Of course, the Rahm Emanuel Marching and Shouter Society would have us believe that the President never intended to bomb Syria or nominate Larry Summers.

And I am a retired Kamikaze pilot.

Lefties, we're on a roll. Nevertheless, we have three years of hard work to do. The goal is elected a president who, with the backing of a truly progressive Congress, will prosecute Wall Street bankers, use war only as a last resort when national security is really at stake, clean up the environment, restore civil liberties and strengthen the American middle class, presently on the endangered species list. We will turn back the Keystone Pipeline and the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Next time a group of shady businessmen in corporate suites wants government leaders to negotiate a secret trade deal, the answer from the United States will be an irrevocable No, we're not interested. When our leaders say no to the corporations, the corporations will know that the government speaks not for narrow Wall Street or corporate interests but for the American people.