Category: News

A Slate article tries to address a question I’ve had for months now – how has battlefield medicine impacted the mortaility rate of soldiers, especially when compared to prior conflicts?

The holiday season is a wonderful time for reflection, and as we move in to Christmas and the New Year’s holidays, I hope we take a few moments to ponder the situation that our country and our world finds itself in today. As recent events have reminded us, the situation in many places is tenuous. And while we all stand by those who work day in and day out to defend America, we should take a look at who’s responsible for bringing us to where we are now.

I haven’t written much lately, and certainly very little related to politics. With election fever having reached such a high point, and the ensuing disappointment, I haven’t felt much like delving in to the topic. I’ve kept up, reading faithfully the articles and blogs that I started following ever more closely over the summer. But I haven’t felt a need for remarking on policy or issues myself as of late.

Granted, with the election results, I remain concerned about the direction of the country. I think we’re militarily distracted and bogged down in fighting an unnecessary war that has put us more at risk than we were before. Social Security “privatization” (aka transferring money I would otherwise receive to fees for the financial services industry) and the general decline of fiscal conservatism has me deeply concerned as well. And I’ll post more thoughts on these as the dialogue develops.

However, as has been true for nearly four years, what I find most discouraging is the general lack of leadership and vision within the Democratic Party. There is an incredible amount of material that could be used to make a point as an opposition party, a number of pinciples and positions that can be taken that would garner significant support, bu the Dems remain unable to talk about issues and unwilling to try. They cede far too much ground before they even step on the field. This has nothing to do with whether the party should move Right, move Left, or dance around in circles. I’m not sure I would care where it goes, so long as it starts going somewhere.

Isn’t it nice to know we can trust the Republican Party to be the bastion of sound accounting principles?

I turned on the radio in the car on my way to the basketball game to see if the game would even be covered tonight. No dice, but the talk show host caught my attention. He was belatedly praising Democrats, specifically Tom Daschele and John Kerry, for viewpoints he shared with them that disagreed from the Republicans. In fact, he went beyond that, inviting people to not blindly vote in the future for candidates simply because of the letter next to their name on the ballot. He labeled the Republicans the “borrow and spend” party, decrying their complete lack of fiscal conservativism and their pandering to other countries’ corporations.

The guilty party? Michael Savage. I think we’ve just entered a parallel universe.

I read the most disheartening yet accurate quote regarding the decline of the legislative branch in a CNN article today.

He [Sen. Bill Frist] added that Specter, as chairman, “has a clear obligation … to take what the president nominates [and] get that nomination through committee.”

Nonsense! The Senate isn’t a rubber stamp of the President’s picks for any office, let alone appointments to the judicial branch of government. The Senate’s role in the confirmation process is to serve as the opposition, to provide the check to the President’s power. It’s a sad day when the Senate willfully becomes a rubber stamp for any President.

Campuses are still a bastion of liberal suppor, but at least the students aren’t as apathetic as they have been.

Concession speeches, while great political theatre, are nonbinding. Nonetheless, barring any amazing turnovers in the final counting and certification of the ballots, George W. Bush is heading to a second term.

From a very selfish point of view, I know get to watch as our President reaps what he has sown in the world. From Iraq to al Qaeda, he now has four more years to be in power while his mistakes catch up with him, and the rest of the American people. While some of the trends he has set in place may take decades to be fully realized, we will begin receiving some clarity on how disastrous the foreign policy of this President has been. Furthermore, Republicans have always thrived by being in the minority. Now fully controlling all the levers of power, they will no longer have any scapegoats when their policies fail. From their uncontrollable urge for pork to their expansion of the role of the Federal government over the states and support of wealth over work, they will eventually reap the benefits of their policies.

The Democratic Party, on the other hand, now has some serious soul searching to do. With the leaders of the Democrats in both the House and the Senate gone, while remaining out of the White House, they now have to address a leadership void while finding an agenda that speaks to the American people. This election cycle, I refused to donate to any campaigns precisely because the stockpile of innovative ideas within the Democratic Party appeared empty. A significant component of the losses of the past three elections (2000, 2002, and 2004) have been the inability of Democrats to put forth a compelling agenda.

On this point, I have been impressed with the Republican party and the institutions that support it. While I disagree with nearly all the nonsense these groups spout, they have been fantastic in their ability to put together a coherent, organized response to their opposition. They do cross the line, they have fought dirty, but the Democrats need to sharpen their killer instinct. All while ensuring that they have a clear, compelling vision for the future. It’s that vision, clearly articulated, that will win elections. Those institutions will serve as a platform upon which future Democratic candidates can stand.

Is today disappointing? Yes, very much so. But in the not-too-distant-future, I’ll take Joshua Mitchell’s advice, find a group or set of groups to support, and urge all my fellow Democrats to do the same.

An important answer to an important question.

Well, it’s nearly three in the morning and I’m signing off, as we wait to see if we’re in for another extended mess. Some news organizations are calling Ohio, others aren’t. The poll workers of Iowa have decided that there are mechanical problems and they’re tired, so they’ll finish up the counting sometime tomorrow. And neither candidate has that magic 270 number in the electoral college. Maybe by the time everyone reads this we’ll have a resolution. If not, there will be plenty more for the news organizations to talk about for a few more weeks.

Long story short, I’m tired like an Iowan poll worker.