Mickey Z.

Do you ever get the feeling that the voting booth is a lot like those buttons you find on some big city street corners? You know, the ones you push so you can obey the law while pretending to make the light turn green more quickly?

From high profile veterans to the suddenly energized young folks brandishing Obama bumper stickers on their fuel efficient (sic) vehicles, the Left—in almost all its guises—drank the Kool Aid again. Not just the lesser evil fairy tale but also the “Democrats can be pressured by popular movements” fabrication. No demands are placed on Democratic candidates for fear any hint of leftist tendencies would make them unelectable. Instead, we hear: “Let’s get them in office and then pressure them with our time-honored and battle-proven protest methods.” Sheer, unadulterated fantasy. Not a shred of evidence to back it up but it’s put forth every time America elects (sic) another president.

Question: Was any pressure exerted on the last counterfeit lefty, Bill Clinton?

Answer: Token, at best.

Question: Did such activist pressure – as wretchedly feeble as it was – have any impact on Bubba?

Answer: NAFTA; the repeal of welfare; the bombing of the Balkans, Iraq, the Sudan, etc.; Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act; Defense of Marriage Act, abandoning his pledge to consider offering asylum to Haitian refugees; backing away from his most high-profile campaign issue: health care; reneging on his promise to "take a firm stand" against the armed forces' ban on gays and lesbians; the invasion of Somalia; increasing the Pentagon budget by $25 billion; firing Jocelyn Elders; dumping Lani Guinier; renewing the sanctions on Iraq; ignoring genocide in Rwanda; passing a crime bill that gave us more cops, more prisons, and 58 more offenses punishable by death; the passage of the salvage logging rider; continuation of the use of methyl bromide; weakening of the Endangered Species Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act; lowering of grazing fees on land; subsidizing Florida's sugar industry; reversing the ban on the production and importation of PCBs; allowing the export of Alaskan oil; the telecommunications bill; unconditional support for the Israeli war machine, and not pardoning Leonard Peltier.

I could go on for hours but either you get the idea by now or you just don’t wanna hear it. And don’t forget: much of this happened while Mr. Bill was enjoying the “advantage” of a Democratically-controlled Congress in 1993-4.

Ain’t democracy swell?

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Mickey Z. is the author of two new books, CPR for Dummies and No Innocent Bystanders, and can be found on the Web at: www.mickeyz.net.