However, most ethereal of all has been watching the Republican Party become the Party of Cut and Run. After lambasting Democrats for almost two years as "cut and runners," winking that Democrats were traitors for just suggesting that the U.S. set some schedule for merely redeploying troops - even to the extent that dear Jean Schmidt (R-OH) implied in her red-white-and-blue scarf that decorated war veteran John Murtha was a coward - after all that, now Republicans are falling over themselves proposing we look at plans for bringing the troops home.

Gee, it's amazing how losing an election, losing control of the House and Senate, losing their own races in two years if they don't respond to the country's shouting - "End this war!" - how all that can suddenly turn the traitorous and cowardly Cut and Running into a prayer for peace.

Gee, it's amazing how "Stay the Course" has suddenly disappeared from the language.

Gee, it's amazing hearing Republicans suddenly criticizing the war effort and Donald Rumsfeld.

And that's all well and good. But it's missing a critical element: the acknowledgement that others have said the same thing for a long time and been called traitorous and appeasers to terrorists. In case it's not clear, "Others" is a euphemism for "Democrats."

While I don't expect the hear Republicans say, "They were right," the fact that they don't leaves their acknowledgements of problems appreciated but empty.

It's the same for Republicans calling for bipartisanship. Democrats should act fairly - because everyone should, all the time. (Republicans must be thankful right now that Democrats are bleeding hearts. And not...well, Republicans.) But who among us thinks we'd hear these same calls for bipartisanship from Republicans if they held Congress?

Republicans don't want bipartisanship. They want to get re-elected in two years.

But acting fairly is different from painting a target on your chest. When a bully finds himself cornered and says, "Let us be friends," you don't share your baseball bat with him...because he'll use it to smash you over the head again. You play fair with him - but hold on to the bat.

As the shock fades for Democrats, a warm glow of hope for the future has begun to grow inside. What they do with that future is up to them and their efforts to be fair with the new-found Cut and Run Republicans.

"Always do right," Mark Twain once wrote. "It will gratify some people and astonish the rest."

But hold on to the bat.

best regards, Timothy Flanagan   
Box 22 / Lake Oswego, Oregon 97034-0003
phone:  503.697.1670        ICQ#: 41518726
Active Resource

Active
Resource
Blog