for most of today's problems.

His interference in the Viet Nam peace talks without any consequences, the Powell Memo, the war on drugs - making insane policies acceptable, the "if a president does it it is legal" attitude and finally the pardon for any crimes no matter what.

All that set the blue print for so many avenues for Republicans to explore and push the envelope to bursting and then do it even more so.

But you are right - the North situation certainly did set ground work for massive lies told with bravado works.

It was that after all the "in your face" illegal activity that originated from Nixon himself, he was given a pardon. This sent a signal to those who would engage in such activities in the future to go ahead- no consequences. Regan just gamed on this later with his negotiations with Iran to hold the hostages while he was nothing but a citizen and had no official status and which was really treasonous. It just goes and goes with Republicans seeking or in power. Whatever works is their only direction-not if it is legal, against the law, ethical or even moral. North was just one expression of this.

Last edited Sat Jan 28, 2017, 02:33 PM - Edit history (1)

But I believe you are underestimating the relevance of Oliver North's testimony. It's not just that he was disobeying the law. It's the fact that he was celebrated as a hero. People were wearing buttons that said "Ollie for President."

The issue is how the American people process certain information. How and why some people can get away with doing terrible things, even when we know they have done them. And how and why some people can have their reputation destroyed over utter nonsense and fake scandals.

I think Oliver North's testimony was a real turning point in that regards.

Last edited Sat Jan 28, 2017, 02:40 PM - Edit history (1)

the GOP infraction.

LBJ didn't know how exactly to announce that one of the two major candidates was capable of doing something like that. And he was a former Vice-President of the United States.

Obama knew the GOP officials at the FBI were out of control. And also at the State Department Inspector General's Office. How do you handle that? If you fire them the Republicans will scream bloody murder--and a majority of Americans will probably believe it.

That's the problem. A majority of people believe what sounds and feels right to them, even if it is not what is truly accurate. That is what happened with the fake email scandal. And I believe this dynamic started with Oliver North and the reaction to his testimony.

he is a disgrace to a uniform that we unfortunately share.

Fucking traitorous, ass-kissing weasel.

eom

And when they stole an election, the Dem leadership let them get away with that too. (Lot's of brave Dems tried like hell, but our so-called "leaders" left them swinging in the wind.

And so the corporatist/reactionaries became even more emboldened. And when the stole another election.... and when they tortured...

And here we are.

Until the Democratic leadership recognizes that refusing to fight the "good fights" was a TERRIBLE mistake, they will keep making the same TERRIBLE mistake.

When you really "get" that you seriously fucked up in the past, you are HIGHLY motivated not to make the same mistakes in the future. Trying to "look forward, not back" is a recipe for disaster.

I agree about the dangers of "looking forward, not back."

Let's not forget the destruction of ACORN.

... to kick it higher on the "last reply" list, even if too old for home page.

The spectacle of so many Democratic members voting with Republicans to cut off funding to ACORN was truly heartbreaking. I saw it as a symptom of "battered Democrat syndrome."

"Battered Democrat syndrome" really took hold with the rise of RW talk radio and FOX. For years, we've watched members of the Democratic Party cower in fear of the "beating" the Republican Noise Machine will give them if they take a meaningful stand. The refusal to take a stand against the attacks on ACORN was just one of the countless ways they have tried to appease the monster. But however much they appease the monster, the beatings still come.

When deciding whether to "fight the good fight," the Party leadership's tendency to ignore the potential positive response from most of the electorate, and instead focus on potential negative response from "the other side," predates the rise of the Republican noise machine. Perhaps the extremity of the hell we face as a nation is encouraging "recovery," but I don't think we will see a real shift until there is "mea culpa" for past failures from the top.

All I am attempting to do is encourage a recognition of how wrong and destructive the rationalizations for inaction have been. I think it is vital to expose how counter-productive "can't win, so don't fight" is; to point out the extent to which fear of 'backlash' blinds them to the benefits of demonstrating the courage of their convictions; to put up a mirror to help them see how absurd notions like "I opposed Alito by casting a losing No vote on the floor (even though I refused to join the filibuster that would have actually stopped him)" are. If we can put a "stake in the heart" of the rationalizations that keep them from fighting the good fights, we will either see a whole lot more action, or a new set of irrational rationalizations for inaction will crop up (and need to be torn down).

The next time a progressive organization is wrongfully attacked perhaps they'll stand up and defend, but if the leadership doesn't "get" how wrong they were not to stand up when ACORN was attacked, I fear we would just see a heartbreaking repeat of the shameful episode.

I don't know why I'm harping on to you. You get it. Perhaps I just needed a breather from the flamers over on my thread.

Sad but true.