Bel, I admire your intentions
here! I'd like to see this focus on common ground happen. Would that we could ignore "party" when addressing
government and system corruption at this moment! You'd hope Republicans would scream that the ends don't justify
the means. I'd love for Republicans to be equally concerned to address this scandal, for example. But why should
they be? They won. Far from extending an olive branch, Bush and Cheney are just saying they have a mandate and
intend to ram home their right-wing agenda. So far his "gap-bridging" includes lame statements about reaching out to
anyone who already "shares" his "goals;" and about being "happy to explain why" he is doing everything exactly the
way he wants to. Otherwise any dissention, even within the Republican party by its own moderates, is already
starting to be treated more harshly than ever before.
There are certain things that are not "over" yet, and
shouldn't be, such as the voting irregularities controversy. After all, no matter how non-partisan we intend to be,
sometimes in history one party or another assumes prominence in corruption, and this is apparently one of them,
IMHO. It is unfortunate that partisan considerations are essential to the issues themselves at present. You can't
separate them. That could change if Republicans relax their "power concerns" after their coup -- and their
obliteration of democratic checks and balances, sure to continue in the courts -- and start thinking of the American
people. I'm struggling to be more optimistic here.
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