Dear Editor:
It is almost a cliché that, in politics, organization trumps ideology. You can propose the most absurd programs, be plagued by scandal and even have incompetent candidates - if you can convince enough people to ring doorbells and stuff envelopes, you can even overcome a certain amount of cash shortfall.
After the legendary defeat of Barry Goldwater in 1964, the Republican Party was in shambles. They swallowed their pride, submerged their differences, systematically went after every office in the land and began their phoenix-like ascent to power.
Fewer than two decades later they elected Ronald Reagan to the presidency. We are seeing now the full destructive effect of the rise of a mean, lean, uncompromising Republicanism. Political defeat had a restorative effect on the Republican Party that could never have been anticipated after Goldwater.
I suggest voters offer just such a challenge to the Democrats in the next election. In spite of Obama's sudden conversion to Progressive rhetoric, everyone knows his boss is Goldman Sachs, not the people. The same is true of Romney. If re-elected, Obama will resume his tack to the right while Romney will most likely move to the left.
Obama v. Romney is a distinction without a difference. I am happy for one thing in this upcoming Presidential election: the tired, old Democrat "lesser of two evils" scare tactic no longer applies when the two candidates are so equally evil. Only the most mentally challenged believes anything either says in campaign mode.
Here is what I propose for Democrats who still retain some vestige of a desire to save their party's original principles and vision: Vote for Romney and vote out every Democrat in the Congress. What the Democrats most richly deserve today is a sound spanking. Their being out of power is the only wake-up call they can understand.
Taking a page from the 1964 Republican Post-Debacle Playbook, they can then begin to rebuild their base along a truly Progressive platform of popular support for the 99 percent instead of their present service to the one percent.
What this country truly needs is a revolution. If the Democrats refuse to lead it within traditional electoral processes, there are others less timid, less traditional and (some even) less non-violent who are waiting in the wings to take advantage of the intransigence of both parties.
Kennedy said it, "Those who make peaceful revolution impossible make violent revolution inevitable."
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