I listen to the phone message from a local Democratic party functionary two or three times, wondering how to respond. They want me to volunteer to help out, working the phones, getting out the message.
My brother Keith was very active in the Democratic party, canvassing, polling, attending all the meetings. At his funeral, a local party rep--a man I'd never met before--told me his memory of Keith as a Democrat was his passionate support for the rights of the working class, that he worked as a sort of conscience for his fellow volunteers.
Keith was pragmatic; he knew the Democrats weren't going to save the world, but he genuinely believed they would at least try to do what was right, and he thought his participation would, on some level, make the country better. He thought it was his duty as a citizen, an act of patriotism.
So when I found this message on my answering machine, I was tempted to volunteer, as a way of honoring my brother's legacy, and to help defeat the Republican machine.
No. I can't do it. Sure, I desperately want the Republicans to go down, but the state of the Democratic party is such that I can't offer them any kind of support. Yes, I'll hold my nose and vote a straight Democratic ticket, because there really is no other choice, but they have offered no reason to believe that they are anything other than the lesser of two evils.
Actually, that may be giving them too much credit. They are offering nothing, absolutely no reason why we should vote for them, other than the fact that, hey, we're not Republicans. Many of them have tried to run on an anti-Iraq war ticket, but that only serves to remind us that the Democrats offered no meaningful opposition to the damned thing in the first place. On issue after issue, as the Bushinistas systematically dismantled the constitution, the Democrats stood by and let it happen. Crocodile tears were shed, but the balls to act on their so-called convictions were in short supply.
A week from today, if the Democrats have won, I'll probably feel a sense of relief, though I know nothing will be fundamentally different. And if they've lost, well, let's just say I won't be surprised. It's the destiny they've made for themselves.
