Liberal is a Lonely Word

Remember the Bush years? Those were scary times to live through. On an almost daily basis, Bush 43 and his special-ed Jedis worked on stomping individual freedoms while planning future disasters they mistook for ingenious ideas. It was like being in the back of some giant station wagon being driven by stoners. And most of the 'Merican kids in the back had caught passive highs and were just as dumb-f*cked as the driver. But there was always hope even then. There were always solid, unequivocal voices of opposition to defy the madness.

In the early aughts, the liberals presented an alternative agenda of sanity and there was always a chance that the stubbornly deluded public would listen. One day, they might be made to see sense if we just kept trying... Maybe America would make the wagon pull over and hand the keys to the folks who kept patiently pointing out how god-awfully wrong the Republicans were about everything. Cue: 2008.

But Obama sold us a giant lemon and scuttled off quickly to stage right leaving a trail of abandoned campaign promises in his wake... (No. I'm not going to go on again about what a disappointment Obama has been. I'm over that stage in the grieving process. You can take that as read.) I'll just say I'm feeling pretty damn lonely these days and under-represented. Who the hell is speaking for me?

For a time, there was hope in Wisconsin. There was a very real possibility that Scott Walker and the Koch suckers had met their class war Little Big Horn. But no. That hope seems to have evaporated leaving behind only a greasy miasma of animus directed at teachers and other hard-working, productive members of society. The battle seems lost. We seem to have surrendered and just layed down in a self-hating fug to wait for the GOP/corporatist juggernaut to roll over us... Where are the voices to remind us that we should get up and fight for our own interests? Where are the people with power and patience enough to get us to stand up? Where'd they go???

Yes. It's been a bad week for liberals.

All the smug little conservative Quislings have delighted in reminding us that America is not a democracy, it's a republic, so we should quit bitching and let Scott Walker can do whatever he likes. But where are the big guns on our side? Why isn't every voice on the """liberal""" media speaking up? Do we still have Liberal advocates for the people? No. Only mute a**holes it seems.

Like...

Obama announces that the Bush-era dungeons will stay open for business and, with a big pinch of Stalinesque logic, tells us that the guys in Gitmo with no evidence against them will have to stay forever because they can't be tried in court. Fine. If 'terrorist' has become the new 'witch' and if Gitmo is the new Salem... throw that Muslim in the river! If he drowns, he's innocent. If he floats, he must be a terrorist! Barack Obama: Liberal advocate for the people? No. Such a giant a**hole even Fox News are 'morally outraged'.

And then...

NPR execs get Acorned by James O'Keefe (it's like being tea-bagged only nastier). But where are the grown-ups? Who's speaking out for the liberals and for common f*cking sense? I'm sorry, NPR, but if you're so lame, so amateur and so powerless you can be brought down by O'Keefe's pathetic sting op, you deserve to be defunded. NPR: Liberal advocates for the people? No. Giant supine a**holes.

And and then...

Carl Kruger, gay Democrat state senator from Brooklyn, and his live-in bottom get busted for bribery. Ironically, it's the same Carl Kruger who fought so valiantly against civil rights for gay folks by helping bring down same-sex marriage in New York. Carl Kruger: Liberal advocate for the people? No. A giant hypocritical a**hole.

OK... I've had enough. I'm sure even more supposed liberal advocates for the people have shriveled like old party balloons this week and helped grease the wheels for the corporatist juggernaut. But I'm too frigging depressed to think about it any more.

It's the early aughts all over again: let's just shut up, inhale and let the stoned driver get on with driving the station wagon into the nearest brick wall.