If not us, who? If not now, when?

It’s 4:00 EST on Monday January 30th. It’s a momentous time. We’re balancing on a precipice, and the next few days may show us which way we’ll be headed for years to come. Will we fall further towards fascism, or will we take the first real steps toward creating a different world? If Bush is able to slide through this moment, if Alito is confirmed, and his State of the Union Address is well received, and the illegal spying is swept under the rug, then Bush could solidify his position.

Needless to say, I’m finding it hard to concentrate at work.

In a half hour, at 4:30, Senators Kerry and Kennedy will attempt to filibuster in order to prevent a vote on Alito’s nomination to the Supreme Court. (NPR was already calling it a “failed” attempt this morning.) Bush is hoping to have Alito’s nomination confirmed before his State of the Union Address tomorrow evening.

I almost wish Kennedy and Kerry had not decided to try to filibuster, because their move has once again given hope to liberals and progressives that the Democrats will rescue them. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t want Alito on the Supreme Court. And the filibuster is our only hope at this point to keep him off. My problem is with the chronic dependence on the Democrats to “save” us, despite the fact that they let us down over and over and over again. I actually heard one person say that Kerry’s “got courage after all”. Today, I received an email which included the following quote from an anonymous blogger who participated in a conference call with Kennedy about the filibuster:

This is an uphill battle, but one in which we can at the very least achieve a moral victory. Approached with principle, with passion, and with vigor, a moral victory is not a hollow victory. As Senator Kennedy told us, "You don't ever lose fighting for principle, for what is decent and right. You don't ever lose when you have the power, the force of being correct."

I’m sorry, but a “moral victory” is not going to help us one bit if we fall into the pit of fascism. If we’re going to apply “principle, passion and vigor” to a fight, I want it to be the RIGHT fight.

The first step is recognizing that if we want to change the direction this country is on, we can’t wait around for someone else to do it for us. What’s that quote? Oh yeah: We are the ones we are waiting for.

Too many people are still depending on the system to work. Too many are still hoping the Dems will pull through. This includes people who have been disappointed and hurt and screwed time and again by the Dems. I asked one friend of mine, who was sending emails around about the filibuster, if she really believed the Dems would filibuster, because I didn’t believe they had the political will to do it. She replied,

“This is my last attempt to work with them. And I hope you are not right. But even if you are wrong, and they do somehow get the courage to filibuster, it will only be because of what we the people have done. And Eves Apple, and I am really serious, just what is it that the people can do at this point? The elections are totally rigged. Most of the left does not even believe that. The elected officials are for the most part stupid and dishonest. I find even the few good ones hopeless on most issues - including, of course, the rigged elections.”

I say that it’s time to think out of the box. It’s time to actually do what that old button suggests and “subvert the dominant paradigm.” It’s time to stop compromising, and giving our time and money and energy to a system that – let’s face it – is never going to give us the kind of world we really want. The one that we dream about. Another world IS possible.

If you still need convincing, then read this small excerpt from Nancy Pelosi’s “Pre-buttal” to the State of the Union, given last week at the National Press Club.

First and foremost, America must remain pre-eminent in the world, with a strong national security that keeps America safe and a strong economy that produces good jobs. Nothing is more urgent than keeping America #1.

Whoa! Wait a minute! How is this different from the Neo-Cons’ desire for Empire?

For over a year, Democrats have been working with leaders in business and the academic community to put together an aggressive plan to maintain America's leadership in innovation, and unleash the next generation of discovery, invention and growth. This is our Democratic Innovation Agenda - our commitment to competitiveness to keep America #1.

So, while Bush & Co. have been illegally spying on citizens, justifying torture and “extreme rendition” and crafting their “unitary executive” theory, the Dems have been holed away thinking about…innovation?

Nothing less is at stake than America's economic leadership. The dynamic cycle of investment, leading to innovation, leading to jobs is what has secured our status as world leader. That status has remained unchallenged - until now.

WAKE UP PEOPLE!! No politician, whether Democrat or Republican or Green or Independent, really wants to change the system. The status quo benefits them, and they are invested in maintaining it.

That’s why neither Gore nor Kerry challenged their respective stolen elections. Because to do so, to fundamentally question the system, would be more earth-shattering to them than to accept defeat at the polls.

Mainstream groups like CodePink and UFPJ who are invested in the Democrats are encouraging people to stay at home on Tuesday night, have a party, and play drinking games while watching Bush on TV. Yes, yes, that’s exactly what we need to do to stop Bush. Get drunk and play games.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. The only people who are really doing anything that could make a difference are The World Can’t Wait – Drive Out the Bush Regime.

"There is no escaping it: the whole disastrous course of this Bush regime must be STOPPED. . .We must, and can, aim to create a political situation where the Bush regime's program is repudiated, where Bush himself is driven from office, and where the whole direction he has been taking society is reversed. We, in our millions, must and can take responsibility to change the course of history. . .The future is unwritten. WHICH ONE WE GET IS UP TO US.

That which you will not resist and mobilize to stop, you will learn — or be forced — to accept.” --from the Call for The World Can't Wait - Drive Out the Bush Regime

I'll be in the streets February 4 - won't you join me?

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Here’s an article that digs more into what it means to continue to capitulate to the Dems over and over again. I don’t agree with every point, but it’s a good overview… In the name of "ABB:" Liberal left "fights the right" by chasing after it