Resistance to the Bush Borg is not futile
The media are reminding us constantly how many millions of dollars the Bush "Re"-election Money Machine is raking in.
In six weeks the Bush regime raised more than $32 million, "more than the nine Democratic presidential candidates combined collected from April through June," the Associated Press recently reported. The AP reported today that Bush is projected to take in $200 million for the Republican primaries alone.
That's not too surprising, since Bush is the incumbent; since he faces no competition for the Republican presidential nomination (campaign contributions toward the Democratic presidential nomination, by contrast, are now split among nine candidates); and since the capitalist weasels (that's redundant) who support Bush's make-the-rich-even-richer-and-the-poor-even-poorer policies will give Bush millions to try to insure their status as exploiters, and they can afford to give a lot more money than can the average exploited hard-working American.
Notes the AP: "While the Democrats will be spending their money in the primaries, the Bush-Cheney campaign can bank most of its cash. Once the Democratic nominee becomes apparent, Bush-Cheney can then spend the money on attack ads until the Republican convention in August."
I don't think it's as glum as all that. We progressives need to acknowledge the work that we have ahead of us, but we can take back the White House.
I see encouraging signs.
First of all, I've never seen progressives, myself included, take as much interest in the Democratic primaries as early as they are now.
Bush's planet-threatening policies, I think, have had the unintended consequence of firing up progressives who were lulled to sleep during the Clinton-Gore years.
Speaking for myself, so far I have given John Kerry $135 dollars and I have pledged to myself to give him at least $35 a month. That may not sound like much, but I've never given money to a presidential candidate before, so for me, it's significant.
Bush has "inspired" me to do that. I think of it as insurance: A second Bush II term could very well mean the death of Social Security and Medicare, which I've been paying into since I was a teenager. If Republicans continue to occupy the White House, I don't expect that I'll ever see a penny of the money that I've contributed. (From my last paycheck alone, more than $145 went to Social Security and almost $35 went to Medicare. [More than $250 went to the federal government so that it can continue to illegally, immorally and imperialistically continue to occupy Iraq.])
So, $35 a month is nothing compared to what I most likely will lose if we don't stop the Republicans from shamelessly stealing the people's money.
What the plutocrats don't have that we average exploited hard-working Americans do have is numbers. There are relatively few of them and a whole shitload of us, and if we give what we can to progressive candidates, we can match or beat the Bush "Re"-election Money Machine's take.
I urge you to give what you can, even if it's only $5 or $10 a month, to your favorite Democratic candidate. It's an investment in your -- in our -- future, and it's a much better investment in your future than, oh, say, Enron or WorldCom.
My brother has a good idea: If you are the recipient of one of the 25 million checks from the Internal Revenue Service to parents who qualify for a child tax credit rebate (up to $400 per child), beat Bush at his own game by giving what you can of your rebate check to your favorite Democratic candidate! It's what my brother is going to do with his check. (My brother also recently gave John Kerry $100, and I, not to be outdone by my brother, also gave Kerry $100.)
The child tax credit rebate checks amount to nothing more than a bribe, like a student council president up for re-election handing out free candy bars, and further, the checks are only going to worsen the huge federal budget deficit; Bush gets a short-term political gain from the bribes, but in the long term, he's seriously fucking our future.
I'm doing more than giving John Kerry money. I also intend to become active in his campaign to the extent that my time and energy allow. I'm going to start by attending the John Kerry "Meetup" in Sacramento on July 24. (As of this writing, John Kerry "Meetups" with five or more people having expressed their interest in getting together at 7 p.m. on July 24 are scheduled in 179 communities all over the nation.) So far, 33 people in the Sacramento area have signed up.
This might not seem like much, but I've never done anything for a presidential candidate's campaign, so for me it's significant. Bush has "inspired" me to do that, too.
I'm doing other things for Kerry, too. I write about him in this blog, of course, and I purchased John Kerry bumper stickers and signs. I've given out a few bumper stickers to those who have promised to display them, and a John Kerry sign is displayed in one of my apartment windows. A lot of people in the surrounding apartments see it.
Every "little" thing we do helps, and it all adds up.
And if Kerry doesn't win the Democratic nomination, I will give my time and energy to the Democratic candidate who does (unless, God forbid, it's Joe Lieberman).
If we progressives do what we can and don't rely on others to do it, we can beat the Bush Borg.
3:05:39 PM 
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