SHAFTWAXER

Hey guys. It has been a while since we have talked. We’ve been through a lot together, especially everything since that pesky election of 2004. I was pretty disappointed with how things went down there, but not just in the result. I was a little disappointed in you.

Don’t get me wrong, I still like you, and I for the most part believe in the cause, but sometimes you are starting to make we wonder what you are up to. See, unlike the mentality of a good chunk of the country, I can disagree with you and still like you.

When I heard that Howard Dean was going to be the new head of the DNC, I was pleased. Again, not always 100% behind him, but I really liked how he managed to do something that almost every other candidate was not able to do: initiate interest and dialogue with the younger members of the country. The internet became his tool to get his message out, coordinate efforts, raise funds, and connect other like-minded liberals together to get them legitimately excited and involved in the political process. That was impressive. It was time for something like that.

I think one of the biggest issues we have right now in our state of politics is that we, the voters, the taxpayers, the people who ARE PAYING YOUR SALARY, don’t feel like we are able to be heard or be part of the process. Granted, when our government was set up by our Founding Fathers, instruments and safety measures were put in place so we wouldn’t have to deal with the minutia if we didn’t want to. It’s a hallmark of a representative form of government. But when we have a representative form of government, by its very name, there is the implication that we are being represented.

I want to feel like you are really looking out for the people, not the corporations. But beyond that, I want to believe that you would be willing to take a stand and make the voters not roll their eyes in apathy. Say what you want about Howard Dean, but as a candidate, it seemed that he was willing to speak more clearly and more straight to the point than a lot of the other candidates were. I was really hoping that he would have retained that quality as chair of the party, but it seems that he is starting to embrace talking points as well.

I don’t want to hear talking points. I don’t want to hear lots of words and no content. I want you to answer the fucking questions. Be honest. Just tell us straight up what is going on. Sometimes you are going to have bad things to say. Guess what! We are all adults here. Some of us would like to be treated as such. I’m willing to go along with you if you’ll just give us a shot. I’m willing to sacrifice if I know why and to what ends it would go. It just seems like you are so afraid of having a small nugget of difficult honesty get turned into fodder for an attack from the right. If your convictions and rationale are in place, you should be able to defend this, so what’s the big deal?

Speaking of the right, I’m also a little pissed off at you for that mess that was the energy bill and the highway spending bill. What was that shit? The energy bill was a complete joke. Nowhere in there did it do anything to address energy policy. All it did was encourage car companies to not push forward on things like hybrid vehicles and reduced incentives for selling them to consumers. Hell, it even went as far as encouraging car manufacturers to making bigger SUVs! Even though they are getting billions in profits, the oil companies are given even more incentives and tax breaks. Where were you guys?!? How come nobody stood up and said that it was bullshit? Not one of you! And if you did, you apparently didn’t try very hard because nobody covered it. I know that the right says that you’re not doing anything to offer your own ideas or alternatives, and I understand that since the House and the Senate are run by some rather narrow republicans, you CAN’T move your own legislation forward because they wont even let it hit the floor. I understand this. But if you wanted to, you could go on a media blitz. You could hold press conferences. There are outlets where you could get your message out, take your ideas to the people, and show that you have great ideas for the future. Why don’t you do this? Why don’t you fight back?

If you want to win back the House and the Senate, I think you need to take a long hard look at yourself. It’s time to present something to the American people, similar to what Newt did with the right in 1994. We need to redefine the Democratic party as the party of fiscal responsibility and efficiency. Show the country we will be the ones who will go after corruption no matter which side of the aisle it comes from. That means that some people are going to have to account for that travesty that was the pork infested highway appropriations bill. How could you guys be part of that? All that pork? Shameful. Show the country this is coming to an end. Fight the corruption. Make our government and corporations accountable for the wasteful spending in Iraq. Find the companies who are screwing over the environment and the health of the American people and expose them.

It’s time to clean the house. If you can speak to us like adults and show some accountability and efficiency, you will gain respect. I want to believe in you, and in the end, you know I’ll still be supporting you, but you have to help me out here. You might have to make some unpopular choices with some of the corporations that have their hands firmly cupping your balls, but so what.

You work for us. Not them.