Al Gore's strange anti-American rant may have earned him a pretty penny, but to the Posse it bespeaks a deeper problem: the increasing disloyalty of the Democrat Party.
The Posse has mentioned this before, and though the self-immolation of the Dems continues to benefit the Republicans, over the long haul is ultimately poisonous to the body politic.
A few weeks ago the Posse engaged Kevin Baker in a debate as to whether the left was preparing to take their disconnection from reality into a more violent direction. We said then that we didn't believe it was so: the left is too cowardly to actually fight. Their decision to quit the field in the Cartoon War reinforces our belief.
To put it bluntly, there is no cause for which the American left will put themselves in the slightest danger.
But they will put others in danger, and that is the real peril. They do this by underfunding the military, sapping its morale and readiness, refusing to use it when appropriate and generally deferring action until it is too late.
The Clinton years were all about avoiding responsibilty, ducking the threat of terrorism and essentially hiding from the outside world until it came back with a vengeance.
Far from being "reality-based," the left's plan was to hide from reality, to pretend terrorism could be checked by international courts, warrants and tough talk. After the USS Cole was attacked, then-Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's response was this:
We are operating in a world that is filled with a variety of threats, but that doesn't mean that we can crawl into an ostrich-like mode. We are eagles, and I think that it is very important that the United States stay involved, that we understand the threats. And we will continue to do what we have to do.
Eagles without claws, as it turned out.
This is the real danger the left presents.
The question remains: can the Democrats recover? Can they once again find pride in their nation to the extend that they are willing and eager to stand up and defend it? Will they once again develop the sense of patriotism that causes them to assume the United States is in the right until proved otherwise?
In the short term, we believe the answer is "no." The Democrats will not reform until they have experienced still greater losses. Only when they have no other options and the current, myopic leadership has left the national stage will they move forward.
The Posse views this as regrettable, but unavoidable.
Just as Europe will get worse before it gets better, so the Democrats must go deeper into the night before they dare to stir themselves to strike a match. Until then, they will curse the darkness in vain.
"The question remains: can the Democrats recover? Can they once again find pride in their nation to the extend that they are willing and eager to stand up and defend it?" The Democratic Party hasn't been willing to do that (with the notable exception of FDR/Truman) at least since they nominated McClellan to run against Lincoln in 1864.
Posted by: Andrew Upson | February 16, 2006 at 12:25 AM