Saturday, February 26, 2005

My rant from DailyKos

Originally posted at my diary on Daily Kos on Thu Jan 27th, 2005 at 12:00:31 PST




Okay, having read stories and diaries about who exactly is "welcome" here at dKos, I know I'm going to be catching it for this.


I'm not a Democrat.


I believe in personal responsibility. I believe in not spending what you don't have. I believe that you can't pick and choose which of the Bill of Rights you want, that defense of any of them is equally important.


So why am I posting this?


Senator Barbara Boxer.


Look, I'm a Gen Xer. When I first registered to vote, I registered Decline to State because I honestly didn't see any difference between the two parties.


I come from a poor family. My mother has MS, and was raising us by herself. I would be the one to go in with her for her appointments with Social Security Disability, Medi-Cal, and Medicare. The bitter shame and humiliation that we felt is part of my memories of growing up, and I wished that no one would have to go through what we went through.


But not like this!


Politically, all I would do is vote, and that reluctantly, and usually for Cthulhu. When a friend of mine voted for Clinton, and got upset because he went back on his campaign promise to allow gays in the military, I told her, "He's a politician, what do you expect?"


The past five years have been different. Although it's taken me longer than that to get here (I've been telling my friends that "friends don't let friends vote Republican" for fifteen years), it took the 2000 elections to show me that there were differences, fundamental ones like the rule of law, respect for our military, the place of the United States in the world community. Fundamental issues that the new Administration were on the wrong side of.


Another quote from Moody Loner circa 2002: "Lost interest? Things have gotten so bad I've lost apathy."


What does Senator Boxer have to do with this? She showed me that, although we disagree on things like guns, there are basic issues with which we speak with one voice.


This is a nation of laws. No one is above the law.


War is the last resort. Preemptive war is wrong. Preemptive war based on lies is a disgrace to everything America is supposed to represent.


Torture is so wrong that a stance against it doesn't need justification.


The liars and torturers and war profiteers in the Admnistration need to be confronted and held accountable for the lives and treasure they have wasted.


Maybe there's room for me here, after all. And maybe, just maybe, there's room in the Democratic Party. I won't join the party of Leiberman, Feinstein, and the apologists. I might join the party of Senator Boxer.




Update [2005-1-27 19:0:16 by Moody Loner]: Came back to take my medicine, and apparently the posts and diaries I was reading earlier about the welcome non-Democrats receive was dKos on a bad day.




Okay, guns: While I don't own a firearm, and have been interested in getting one, my view is less "you'll take my gun only from my cold, dead hand" and more "don't weaken the Constitution by watering down the Second Amendment". When I have my ducks in a row, I'll do a diary on the subject.




Okay, abortion: There is no right answer. The least wrong answer is pro-choice: Legal, safe, and rare.




Okay, apologists: While there is something to be said about "at least they're not a DeLay or a Santorum", if you elect a Democrat to a Congressional seat that votes with the Republicans, uses the Republican talking points, allies with Republicans on and off the floor against Democrats, and sticks up for Republican malfeasance, then you've elected a Republican.




Looks like I didn't have to come back and explain Cthulhu. I don't think it ran in 2004, couldn't handle being the lesser evil.
Yeah, I play role-playing games. Played AD&D in the eighties. Maybe I'll do a diary on religious intolerance too.





Yeah, and about "Moody Loner"... Guess what my childhood was like?

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