Reply #32: They have not begun to give the public's outrage a voice [View All]

There is seething anger within the American electorate. This election hints at the depth and breadth, but the failure of our political leaders to give voice to the alarm and outrage continues to sow cynicism and hopelessness that anything will really change. (Establishment Dems are actually doing their best to put the lid on the anger with their pablum about "bipartisanship" with fascists.)

When no one gives voice to the things people are angry and passionate about, the floodgates remain closed. But when a public figure speaks out and taps into the energy, whoosh!

I saw a microcosm of this after the theft of the 2004 Presidential election. I was on a Democracy for America conference call. From the back and forth, it sounded like there were maybe 5 or 10 people on the line as they talked about this or that agenda item and possible things to focus our efforts on. There was little energy.

As the moderator neared the end of the agenda, someone piped up "What about Ohio? What about the stolen election? What does Burlington plan to do about that?" Suddenly there was a chorus. Dozens talking at once. It was unbelievable. It sounded like there were about a hundred people on the line.

If no one had given voice to the anger, no one on that call would have thought that anyone else cared -- they would have withdrawn in silence. And the "leaders" would have been able to tell themselves the stolen election just isn't something that people are interested in. Because they were hell-bent on "moving on" they would have walked away from the call, believing everyone else was on board with the "let's move on" agenda, which was the opposite of the truth. In fact, the mother lode of energy was with the "It Ain't Over 'Til it's Over!" people.

We see this over and over again in ways large and small.

The unprecedented and amazing response to Keith Olbermann's first "Special Comment" is one such event. When he gave voice to the outrage, outraged Americans came out of the woodwork in numbers that so shocked the programmers they realized they could significantly boost weekend ratings by replaying the segment.

Whenever our leaders touch on the theft of Florida or Ohio in public appearances, whenever they even tip toe near a call for impeachment, the audience bursts out in cheers and applause that is usually the loudest and longest of the event. Leaving that kind of energy untapped is political insanity.

There is enormous public support for impeachment. We can see it in the anger at Bush. We can see it in our Republican acquaintances who think Bush "needs a good spanking." We can see it in the polls (even with the desperate opposition to impeachment coming from our Democratic "leaders," a majority of the nation wants impeachment to be a priority in the new Congress (http://january6th.org/oct2006-newsweek-poll-impeach.html">Newsweek poll)

Until members of Congress who are sworn to defend the Constitution speak the truth, accuse Bush and Cheney of their crimes, and take up the fight for impeachment they will only have an inkling of strength of the outrage.

As long as they fail to give us voice they can continue to believe the opposite of reality, that Americans prefer to trade away the Constitution to avoid the "negativity" of impeachment.