Are Democrats Fit To Govern?

Last year when Florida and Michigan Democrats decided to move their presidential primaries up to January, the national party warned them that they would be in defiance of party rules and their delegates would not be seated. Both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama agreed to this. The two states' party leaders none the less thumbed their noses at the decision and went ahead with the early voting.

Not seating the delegates may seem like a harsh punishment, but rules are rules. Still, both states went ahead with their early voting and Clinton won both contests--though no actual delegates. At the time no one said squat about it because it was fully expected that she would wrap up the nomination early, and the Florida/Michigan thing would be forgotten.

But reality decided to rear its ugly head. As Clinton began to fall behind in the delegate count, it suddenly became apparent that those two state mattered a great deal to her. So what to do? Simple: Start clambering to change the rules you had previously agreed to. And to make it sound like a noble cause, start talking about how the voters of Florida and Michigan are being unfairly disenfranchised, and that such things are unfair in a democracy.

Well, boo-f*cking-hoo. If Clinton is so damn concerned that all votes should be counted, why didn't she speak up last year when national party leaders first made their decision? Why weren't her supporters protesting in the streets then? Let's also suppose for a moment that the situation was reversed, that it was Obama who was just a little behind. Would Clinton still unselfishly be seeking to change the rules and make sure all votes are counted?

So on Saturday the Democratic National Committee revisited the issue, and they decided to change the rules. Now the delegates from Michigan and Florida will be seated at the convention later this summer, but will only be allowed a half vote.

That is just stupid, and a further indication that Democrats have absolutely no balls. None. Zero. Zip. Nada. They may as well just run off and join the frakkin' Vienna Boys Choir and sing soprano. Is it really that difficult to stick to your own rules? Faced with an opportunity to show some decisiveness, the Committee instead decided on a course that pissed EVERYONE off: Obama supporters are upset that the rules were changed this late in the game while Clinton people are furious they're not getting the whole thing.

Granted, the half-vote compromise is not likely to alter the outcome of the race. Even giving the delegates a full vote probably wouldn't have mattered. But that's really not the point.

Party leaders made a decision to enforce the rules by not seating the delegates; Hillary Clinton and her campaign people agreed to this. To demand a change in those rules now is just wishy-washy. It's like her decision to vote in favor of the Iraq war back in 2002 and her recent attempts to come up with excuses for it. Sorry, but it's done.

What is it about Democrats and their inability to exhibit a backbone? It's like back in 2004 when the Swift Boat people started running ads questioning John Kerry's valor and whether or not he deserved the medals he got in Vietnam.

I kept waiting for the Democrats to fire back with a devastating salvo of their own. And guess what? I'm still waiting. All they would have had to do is run an ad asking how many medals George Bush won in Vietnam, then answer their own question by pointing out he didn't win any. Hell, the man never even went. His entire Vietnam war record consists of a dental appointment in Alabama. Yet somehow Bush is the one who gets portrayed as a war hero!?!?! Would it have been that difficult for Democrats to defend themselves?

Lewis Black said it best: "The Democrats not being able to find somebody to defeat George Bush is beyond belief. It's stunning. It would be like finding a normal person who would lose in the Special Olympics.""

And in 2006 Democrats won both houses of Congress largely on promises of getting us out of Iraq. Well, guess what? We're no closer to bringing the troops home now than we were two years ago.

And while former Bush administration officials are tripping over one another writing books chronicling this President's misdeeds--misdeeds that have cost thousands of lives--the Democrats themselves are doing nothing: No impeachment hearings, no serious investigations, no nothing. And when an occasional Democrat, like John Murtha, does speak out, the other members of his party scurry for cover, leaving him isolated.

So help the Democrats get some balls. If you want to make a donation to the party, don't give money. That's not what they really need. Instead go to this site and pick out a tasteful gift for the Democratic candidate of your choice.