I cannot express enough my hatred and disgust with Alito's confirmation. Once again, Democrats have proven themselves completely ineffectual on the national and state levels. This is why we're doomed, ladies and gentlemen; the Democrats in Congress are for the most part so whipped into craven submission that they cannot even agree on a filibuster to stop one of the most appalling monsters nominated by Bush to be placed on a court that determines the law. Millions of Americans are affected by the decisions handed down by the Supreme Court. And because of this, Bush made sure he was going to stack it with the most batshit insane cronies he could.

And what have the Democrats done about it? They caved in, as usual.

Enough is enough. Folks, no thanks to most of the Congressional Democrats America as we knew it is dead. The GOP has killed it. There is no taking it back, not now.

We cannot count on Howard Dean to get Democrats motivated to fight back. He's a good man, but he's outnumbered by the cowards in the party leadership. They are like your standard abused spouse. You know, the one who no matter how many times or how badly beaten always convinces herself that he really didn't mean it, if she would only be a better wife and be more subservient things will get better. And then the littlest thing sets off hubby and he beats her even worse. That is the state of the national Democratic Party, and the condition of the party in individual states as well. Like I said, Dean is a good man but he's surrounded by defeated and broken "leaders" who are afraid of standing up and fighting back because they're afraid of losing what scraps of power they have left. They have forgotten completely how to launch an effective opposition.

The GOP is passing laws, as it has done in Ohio, to stamp out any and all ability to mount free and fair elections. The electronic machines are pre-programmed to deliver votes to Republicans no matter what the will of the people. They are the ones in charge of "counting" the votes. They are able to pass laws that make it harder for Democrats to register to vote and to vote. And they are making it all but impossible to mount legal challenges of rigged election results.

America is dead. Get used to the idea. Because the Democrats have lost virtually all ability to fight back. They've largely given up.

The time is now, ladies and gentlemen, to acknowledge that if we ever want to take back this country from those sworn to destroy it we are going to have to start over from Square One.

We will have to run for local offices, beginning with Precinct Committee Member (I'm doing it this year). PCM's do not get paid, at least not here in Ohio. And the position is pretty small potatoes. But it's the foundation on which the entire foundation is laid. Among the powers of a PCM is the ability to vote on filling vacant political offices, and voting on which delegates to send to national conventions. Chances are it will be wiser to run for PCM as a Democrat, since you'll be able to garner the backing of your local Democratic Party.

Once you've gained experience as a PCM, you can run for higher offices. Again, start local. Run for city council. This may necessitate moving to a different ward in your city if your councilperson does a good job and has supported you or policies you agree with. You don't want to burn bridges you don't need to burn. If city council isn't your cup of tea, try something else like your local school board if it's an elected one. From there, you can run for mayor, or you can run for a county seat.

Then of course from the county level you can run for state-level office (like state representative or state senator) and from there the national-level.

At some point, you'll want to switch your party affiliation. Most likely you'll have to do so once you're at the state level, unless doing so will throw control of your state legislature to the GOP. Use your power to FIGHT Republicans on every single democracy-killing action. Garner allies who are not afraid to risk losing their seats if it means doing what's right. Voters respect strength. Don't ask me why, because I can't explain it. But they respect strong candidates and typically vote against weak ones. Remember that if you sit down and shut up like "good little dogs," you will definitely lose. And so will those you represent. There is nothing to be lost, then, by fighting back. But there is a whole hell of a lot to gain.

The key thing to remember here is that you should not expect to see results for a very long time. The GOP and the neocons who infected it did not stand around pulling out their hair and gnashing their teeth when their guys Goldwater and Nixon got owned and ousted. No, they united their disparate factions and did exactly what I have just told you needs to be done (except they didn't change parties). It took them literally decades to accomplish their goal of obtaining absolute political power. It will likely take us just as long.

But you damned well better get off your ass and do it. If you care anything at all for what used to be the United States of America, you will get off your asses and FUCKING DO IT. When the GOP accuses you of treason for criticizing Bush & Co., throw it right back in their treasonous faces and point out how they've cut veterans' benefits, lied to get us in Iraq, abandoned the hunt for bin Laden, outed a CIA operative, etc. Throw Abramoff and DeLay and Libby and Cunningham and Frist in their faces, and let the voters know what the real party of morality, responsibility and accountability is. The Republicans do not waste time trying to curb their rhetoric so as not to be offensive, they do not tone down their batshit insane talk out of fear of coming across as being crazy. They're not worried about any of that; their goal is absolute power at ANY cost, so long as someone else pays it.

Where they lie, we will tell the Truth. Where they bully, we will fight back. It will take years, perhaps even generations. But this is what it will take to regain our beloved America.