It is urgent for Democrats to begin to walk the talk now! It is far past time for them to stop tiptoeing around Democratic senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema. Democrats are tiptoeing around these senators because of their razor thin senate majority. They are afraid to offend or upset these senators in any way due to the fear that if they do, they might decide to change Party. Well, they just might do that.
The question is, are Democrats going to allow these two senators to make cowards of the entire Democratic Party?! Are they going to allow them to cause all of us to die a thousand times like a coward would rather than to die once, if need be, standing on our feet while fighting for principle and what we believe in: while fighting to preserve the American democracy?!
Democrats must fight for what we believe in and we must do it now! We must fight now while Democrats are still in power and have leverage. It is possible that very soon, that time of power and leverage may run out. Who will stop this crazed Republican Party then?! Will anyone have the power to stop them or will we have seen the last of the American democracy?! Will this then be Trump’s America; a new authoritarian country with the former The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America at the helm?! Come on Democrats; where are you?!
If senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema want to become Republicans and stand with Republicans and Mr. Donald Trump in supporting and continuing to perpetrate his ‘Big Lie’ upon the American people, then let them. Yes, it is a tough call for Democrats to make but since senators Manchin and Sinema have already made their choice as to which side of the ledger that they will stand on, then why not force them out into the open so that all of the American voters can see who they really are and whose interest they really represent; their own and those of the Republican Party or those of America and the American people?!
If it is their own interest and that of the Republican Party and not the interest of America and the American people, then polls indicate that most voters, whether they are Democrats Republicans or Independents, would not stand with them. That would then mean that those senators and representatives that these voters elected to represent them, if they are reflecting the will of the people and not that of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Leader Kevin McCarthy – would work in a bipartisan way to govern effectively and not simply obstruct. If they continue to simply obstruct, then voters – whether they are Democrats, Republicans or Independents – must step up and vote them out of office. If we don’t do that, then we will lose this American democracy; it’s as simple as that.
I must admit that I likely watch to much cable news. That notwithstanding, I have never been so tired of hearing politicians talk but do nothing; even while the very foundation of the American democracy is being openly dismantled before their eyes! It’s as if they just love to hear themselves talk while they flaunt their importance. They want American voters to know how knowledgeable they are about this republic, governing and the American Constitution. They talk fondly about how strong this American Republic is and opine about it as if it can never fall. If they want to wrap their importance around them like they would a warm and cozy coat in the winter and wear it around with them wherever they go that’s fine. But to talk fondly and opine about America and do nothing while she is being attacked and systematically, although it may be slowly, destroyed is unacceptable! I do not want to watch what they say! I want to watch what they do!
I know that I am not the only American who feels this way. I know that there are many others who would like to see our government function in the way that it is meant to function. That is not meant to imply that all of them want to see the same kind of policies put into place that I want to see put into place. Many of these other Americans that I am referring to agree with me on very few things if they agree with me on anything at all. But isn’t that what democracy is all about. Can’t we disagree with one another and argue about which path we should take and yet be civil about it? Can’t we still operate on the majority rule premise, even though we might huff-and-puff and stay upset about that decision for a long time after it is made? All of us deal with this sort of thing with our individual families. And sometimes these family issues are never completely resolved; but we keep trying.
As the American family, we must approach issues that involve the American people in this same way and with this same resolve. We must elect politicians to office who feel this way and insist that they work hard and with this same resolve no matter the Party that they belong to. Whether we are Democrats, Republicans or Independents, we must insist that these politicians place the interest of America and the American people above their own and that of their Party. We must insist that they subordinate their personal ambitions to true statesmanship. However, to elect politicians who will have this resolve and represent the will of the people rather than that of themselves or their Party, most of us – We the people – must commit to this premise and method of operation. We must recommit ourselves to this great Republic, America, and to all those good things that she has stood for in the past and continues to stand for now.
Voting is the American way of letting our elected officials know the direction that we want America to travel in and which policies we want to see put into place. This is normally accomplished by way of voting in a free and fair voting system that is honestly and carefully monitored by people – elected, appointed or otherwise selected, who assure that those who vote are legally authorized to do so. Once it is determined that these voters meet all the required standards, the votes are counted, the vote count is certified and those individuals, bills etc. with most of the votes win.
Since Mr. Trump’s election in 2016 and the 2020 election, because Mr. Trump lost the 2020 election and Republicans see their electorate shrinking to the point where they might not be able to ever win another election – or at least, not win one in the near future – they have decided that they should choose their electorate rather than have their electorate choose them. Therefore, they have unilaterally decided to dismantle America’s current election system and replace it with one that is more to their liking. They have decided to replace election officials in as many states as possible that were elected by the people of those states with those selected by the Republican Party. And after their hand-picked puppets have been installed, they have given them the power to overturn or decertify vote counts that they don’t like. America is in the midst of a Constitutional crisis right now! Where are you, Democrats?!
Sure, Democrats in every state in the United States want to be fair and recognize those Republicans who are not all about retaining their power at all cost and everything else be damned. But Democrats, let’s not be so determined to be fair to those few Republicans who, after all, are only doing their job that we allow naivety to blind us as to what most Republicans are doing! They are attempting to destroy America as we know it and put the former The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America back in charge. We Know what happened when he was in charge before. So other than being blinded by naivety, why in the world would we put him in charge again?!
It does not take all the Republicans in the senate to stop simply obstructing and allow reasonable governance to occur. It only takes ten…well, maybe twelve; because there is always the Manchin-Sinema factor that Democrats must account for. So, let’s stop talking about ‘good’ and ‘bad’ Republicans and move forward to save our American democracy. Where are you, Democrats?!
Eulus Dennis – author, Operation Rubik’s Cube and Living Between The Line