In Praise of Oliver Willis

Oliver wrote a stirring piece today (entitled "It's Time to Stand") that I think sums up how I feel quite accurately:

I am not one of the people who feels Karl Rove is a political genius. I think he’s a talented political operative with a good dose of luck on his side. That said, does anyone believe the flag amendment and his attack on the Democrats just happened out of coincidence? Rove’s legacy will be tied to George W. Bush and right now he sees his great triumph, Bush’s re-election, currently stuck in the second term blahs. The few legislative achievements he’s got are paybacks to his supporters, but not the sort of transformative work Presidents want written in their obituaries.

The Republican party stands for nothing if they aren’t demonizing the Democratic party as anti-American. They did it when Bill Clinton was President, and they’ve done it since the moment George Bush obtained the White House. That is what they’re doing now. They’ve got nothing more than passing legislation that does nothing to actually help America, preferring instead to gin up the slack jawed folks who are their most ardent supporters with a neverending river of bigotry, hate, and bile. To date the left has become their enablers, preferring to play to some form of mythical “moderation” while these idiots defecate on our national foundations. Many Democrats (including myself in the past) have preferred the path of least resistance, trying to appeal to the mythical center while at the same time ignoring our core values.

We have to stop this now. In order to preserve this nation, we must stop giving in to the Republicans and their hatred of America’s diversity of race, thought, ideology, and values. In the early part of the 20th century, those who championed racist hatred were in the majority. For many, the “right” thing politically would have been to walk in lockstep with the klan and their ilk. But they were wrong, and the people who supported them were wrong. We have to stand up for the right things, even if you’re in the minority, even if you’re not doing the politically expedient thing, because standing up for what’s right is the moral thing to do.

To the Hillary Clintons, Harry Reids, John Edwardses, Joe Bidens, and other leaders of our side - it is time to draw a line in the sand. It is time, at long last, to cease with the smiles and the well-wishes and to make clear that the time to declare open political warfare on these people is long past due.

Thanks to both Skippy and David at In Search of Utopia for pointing this post out.