... it is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing.
William Shakespeare Macbeth. Act v. Sc. 5.
Many people and bloggers have been commenting on the manner in which Howard Dean and various other Democratic spokesmen and women, along with large parts of the MSM which are allied with them, have continued their quest to explore the limits of irrationality in the political domain. Amnesty International, the New York Times, Newsweek, and so many others continue to push the idea that American servicemen and women are brutal torturers of devout Muslims, perhaps some of whom were innocents inadvertently picked up on the battlefield, but all of whom deserve legal representation in our courts. They continue to push the idea that Bush lied about our reasons to go to war with Iraq. They continue to push the idea that the Bush administration is a theocracy or at least moving in that direction. Their ideas, if fantasies that have never been supported by facts can be characterized as political ideas, are well known. The MSM does its best to keep the memes "in the air". Aside from the fact that this is alienating many people who were once self-identified as liberal Democrats, (and notice how "successful" this approach has been to fund raising) I believe there are even more serious consequences in store for the Democratic party, and in the longer run, to the health of our democracy.
Returning to Shakespeare, what does all this noise, the "sound and the fury" signify? At a first approximation, the left is desperate to find some arguments with traction that they can use to undermine the Bush administration; as I have pointed out elsewhere, the collateral damage to our position in the world and our ability to conduct a war is secondary. However, it is important to recognize that there is another agenda being expressed, as well. At this moment, the Democratic party and the MSM have absolutely nothing to offer in dealing with the threat that Islamic fascism represents to them and to all of us. In fact, if the Democrats run on the platform that the New York Times seems to endorse, close down Gitmo, give every terrorist a lawyer, withdraw from Iraq, appeal to the UN to do whatever it is the UN does (aside from corruption, rape, faux outrage, etc), then the next election, should the Republicans nominate someone who is not easily demonizable, would end up in further Republican gains in the House, Senate, and probably another Presidency.
Even a Hillary run in 2008 would not change the basic fact that the Democrats have effectively allied themselves with America's enemies and have no suggestions for how to win the war on Islamic fascism.
The sad truth is that the Democrats are likely to fractionate into a small band of increasingly shrill and potentially violent far leftists, with the potential to become pale copies of the Islamofascists in their increasingly nihilistic hatred of all things Bush, Republican, and indeed American and a larger fraction of confused liberals, lost without a coherent philosophy to guide them, who will either have to separate from American political life or accept marginalization.
The saddest truth is that, except for those who think the Republicans have all the answers to our problems, we will all lose if the Democrats follow this path. The essence of the American system has been, and continues to be, the harnessing of competition for the greater good. We need the Democrats to offer competitive ideas, not just negation. It is the only way to keep the Republicans honest and ultimately protect our country and way of life, and as a bonus, maybe some of their ideas will actually help us win this war.
As long as the Democratic Party expends their energy in strict opposition and makes no effort to offer anything resembling new ideas, we are left with a one party state, and that is good for no one.
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