Will Progressives Answer the Call to Arms?

What does it take to make progressive Americans understand that they are unwanted in today's Democratic party?

What does it take to persuade progressives to form their own party?

If the recent bleating of the official White House spokesman, Robert Gibbs, sitting in his office in the West Wing, hasn't done so, what on earth will?

Gibbs berated the "professional left," whatever that is.

"I hear these people saying he (Obama) is like George Bush," Gibbs prattled.  "These people ought to be drug tested.  I mean, it's crazy."

Mr. Gibbs, when you come down from whatever you're smoking, please tell us in precise detail how Obama's Iraq and Afghanistan policies differ from Bush's; how his position on executive secrecy, detention without trial and  suspension of habeas corpus  differ from Bush's; how the appointments of Timothy Geithner and Robert Gates to cabinet posts differentiates him from Mr. Bush; how his justice department differs from Bush's in failing to reinstate citizens' rights; how his refusal to consider what he himself acknowledged is the only true health care reform, i.e. single payer, distinguishes him from Mr. Bush; how his authorization of assassination of American citizens differentiates him from Dick Cheney. Other than skin color and hair cuts, how do you tell the difference between the two presidents?

Gibbs said the "professional left," whatever that is, is "not representative" of progressives  who organized, campaigned, raised money and voted for Mr. Obama.  As one progressive who did all of those things, I find Gibbs's remarks insulting, arrogant and obscene.

"They," he said, invoking Glenn Beck's favorite pronoun, "will be satisfied when we have Canadian health care and we've eliminated the Pentagon.  That's not reality."

Sorry, Gibbs, but reality is the fact that Canadian health care is substantially iuperior to ours, and less costly.  Realty is an unchecked Pentagon  spending us into the poor house and running amok with decisions and policies that should be overruled by the Commander in Chief.

"They," said Gibbsie, "wouldn't be satisfied if Dennis Kucinich was president."

Wrong again, Gibbsie.  I would be quite satisfied if Dennis Kucinich were president; I urged him to run nine years ago, campaigned for him, raised money for him and voted for him in the primaries.

The reason I join the "professional left," whatever that is, in criticizing Dr. Kidglove's performance in the White House is precisely that Dennis Kucinich is a friend of mine and, Gibbsie, Barack Obama is no Dennis Kucinich.

The United States is the only advanced democracy in the world that no longer has a political left.  Both parties in our two-party system are right of center -- and drifting further to starboard with each passing day.

If Gibbs's impertinence doesn't trigger the formation of a new, Progressive Party in the United States, (headed, I hope, by Mr. Kucinich), there will never be a viable left in this country.

When liberal ideals are forever lost to a people, democracy is dead as well.

How Feckless Freddie Hit It Really Big

Freddie Jingo was the star of the high school class reunion this year.  The very same Freddie Jingo who was the class clown, the guy who would never amount to anything, the loser.

Freddie showed up for the reunion driving a Bentley convertible, wearing bespoke threads and tripping the light in skin-thin Italian shoes.

"Did you hit the lottery?" everyone asked.

"Heck, no," Freddie replied indignantly.  "I got rich the Murrican way.  Entrepreneurship.  I spotted a need and filled it.  I'm founder and CEO of TEA, Inc."

"Wow!" everyone said.  "How rich are you?"

"So rich that the socialist administration wants to let my tax cuts expire."

"Like Blankenfein's and Hurd's?"

"Exactly."

"What is TEA's line?"

"We manufacture 'Trendy Euphemisms and Acronyms.'"

"Sounds high tech."

"Cutting edge," said Freddie. 

"What 's your market ?"

"Republicans mainly.  The people who make this country great.  But we keep expanding -- governments at every level, defense industry, consumer goods,  military.  There's even a growing market in education."

"How did you get started?"

"Well, frankly I wasn't doing all that well in sales. . . ."

"That would be when you were peddling hot knock-offs of Rolex on the sidewalks of Manhattan?"

"On Wall Street.  In front of Goldman Sachs."

"And. . . ."

"Well, one day this guy in an aluminum suit stops by and browses my goods, and finally he says, 'If you can sell these things, maybe you can tell me how to unload all the bad loans we're holding.'  Quick as a wink, I say, 'They're not bad loans.  They're credit default swaps.'  'You're a genius!' the guy says, and offers me a job working on the Chinese Wall.  Paid big bucks.  My first specialty was analyst signals.  I gave 'em the CVR II and the TRIN Thrust, among others.  Eventually, I decided to go out on my own."

"That's when you started TEA, Inc.?"

"Right.  I leveraged it with Hot Fund shares and Toxic Turtle Soup."

"Sheer genius! But what got you into politics?"

"One of the Goldman shills was laying heavy bread on his buddy DeLay and Tom mentions this dilemma.  Seems they've dusted off this old Draconian bill that repeals the Bill of Rights, but they don't think it'll pass without a catchy title. So the shill tells Tom,' I know just the guy for you.  But you'll have to repeal Glass-Steagall to get his name.'  'Consider it done,' says Tom, so the shill gives him Freddie Jingo."

"So it was you who coined. . . ."

"Yep.  The USA PATRIOT Act -- the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001. My personal masterpiece."

"And your fortunes continued to soar throughout the Bush Administration, right?"

"Right. We expanded rapidly.  Created separate departments for euphemisms and  for acronyms."

"Might you have helped Rummy on 'collateral damage'?"

"They very first product to roll out of our new DOE."

"What are you working on now?"

"Our newest client is Obama's deficit reduction commission.  They want a title for legislation to pay down the deficit by eliminating Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid."

"A tough one!"

"Yes," said Freddie, "because 'Compassionate Conservatism" is already taken. They're  considering something that's a joint product of our two divisions.  'Social Conscience to Reduce Economic Woe.'"

"Love the acronym!"