Crossposted from Docudharma
There is an infamous Chinese character (Jackie Chan I believe) that says that in every crisis is opportunity.
Well we had/have the crises.....a surplus in fact, and so we had/have a surplus of opportunity as well. The opportunity to rebuild the health care system, the financial system, the Justice system, and to a lesser extent the political system.
If the "Health Care Reforms" just signed in to law are any indication, we are achieving a ratio of waste to opportunity that roughly echos our energy system and our food system....iow massive waste.
Why are "we" wasting this massive opportunity brought about by the massive crises perpetrated by the Republicans under Bush? Because the Democrats are GIVING power to those same Republicans. (With help from the media of course, who are relishing the food fight.) Whether they are allowing the Republicans to have power out of mere political incompetence, or out of the very real fear of having...and thus being accountable for...power themselves, they have allowed the Republicans to act as if they have the power of actually representing someone.
Ok, the Republicans DO represent someone. Teabaggers and Corporations. Two entities whose power could be easily broken if the Democrats ALL just stood up and told the truth about them. Imagine a Congress of Graysons standing up and telling The People just how much The Corporations have bought our government.
Things would, to say the least....Change.
But the Democrats, under the guise of "not wanting to tear the country apart" (in other words caving to the Republicans teabaggers who have torn it apart) refuse to tell the truth, refuse to challenge the Republicans and worst of all....refuse to prosecute the Republicans.
They refuse to use the opportunity for radical change and reform that the incompetence, perfidy, and criminality of the Republicans have handed to them on a silver platter, to bring real reform to the systems that the Republicans have routinely destroyed, for profit, while they held power...as they always do when they are in power.
Instead they have opted to be, well....sneaky. To pretend bi-partisanship when they know it won't work. To break the power of the Republicans by allowing the Republicans to slowly destroy themselves, to waste precious time and opportunity by allowing the Republicans to die a slow death, instead of performing the political euthanasia of direct challenge that was/is so needed, and so richly deserved.
Which leads us to the title...
The Dems have now broken the power of the Republicans.
IF
They press their advantage and make bold moves while the Republicans are on their heels after their loss on HCR. The time is ripe to introduce REAL HCR reform (PO)and fight it out, REAL financial reform and fight it out, REAL Justice by exposing the criminality of the Bush years and fight it out....
And REAL efforts to save the planet and fight it out.
The Republicans used all their chips, all their capital, put everything they had on the table to block the bill being signed today, and lost. They have nothing left...for now. Now is the time to finish them off, IF the Dems chose to. Finish them off by making them rise to a real challenge, by introducing what would be extremely popular "draconian" financial reforms. And pushing hard for them. Making the Republicans defend the extremely unpopular banking and financial industry. Killing two birds with one stone. Making the Republicans admit to the teabaggers by their actions that the Corporations are their real constituency, not them...and..well...achieving real financial reform.
Or...
They can continue to grant the Republicans and their corporate masters and teabag army power that they do not have.
And continue along the path of proposing incredibly mediocre half-assed 'reform' of virtually every system of government, justice, economic opportunity, and politics that make up our society. And thus usher in an Age of Mediocrity that accomplishes Small Things in a time when Big Things are needed.
Satisfying no one, and allowing the Republicans to get off the ropes and find a way to rebuild and take back power.....since things will not be seen to have gotten better, as a populace starving for dramatic change is feed......cake. And then revolts against and throws out of office not the people who created the crisis, but those who did not do enough to fix the crisis. Which will result in the tragedy of the two party system, putting those who created the crisis back into power as the only alternative.
All this, all this unsatisfying mediocrity that wastes a crucial tipping point that The People, the country and the planet desperately needs to have tip....all this as the planet (the only one we have) makes its not so slow downward spiral into the REAL crisis that "they" continue to assiduously ignore.
Now that achieving mere mediocrity is defined as success, as the opportunities presented by the crisis slip into the past.
The Democrats have the opportunity to be bold, successful, and to change the entire world in the next few years. They also have the opportunity to be timid, fearful of taking responsibility and settle for mediocrity at best, in this time of crises on every front.
Which will the Democrats choose?
Place your bets.