As we enter 2010, I want to express my thanks to those who have been reading my posts here since my first entry in December of 2004. I especially want to thank those who have taken the time to leave a comment or two - yes, even those who disagreed with me. I have told the story on more than a few occasions of how I had pretty much fallen asleep after the resignation of Richard Nixon; assuming that my side had won and simply continuing to elect Democrats would be the solution to most any problem the U.S. might encounter. By the time Howard Dean came into my line of sight in the Spring of 2003, I (along with millions of other Americans) had watched a good man be run out of the Whitehouse by a former B-grade actor and a former Director of the CIA. Of course these men were Republicans so their actions - "Guns for Hostages", "Iran-Contra", massive budget deficits, and more - were simply to be expected. The election of Bill Clinton (I had supported Jesse Jackson during the primaries) would put the country back on the right path. Unfortunately along that path were the side trips to "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", "DOMA", NAFTA and the WTO, and an invention called the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC); an opportunity for certain Democrats to exchange their blue-collar wardrobes for more Republican business suits. By the time George W. Bush had stolen the Whitehouse, begun his assault on the middle class, allowed our country to be attacked on 9/11, and lied us into the invasion of a country that had nothing to with 9/11, I was on my 4th job in 6 years due to the Clintonian terms "outsourcing and off-shoring". I knew that I had to become active and take my place along side others who knew we were on the wrong path. Enter Howard Dean - and the call to action that awakened so many. "You Have the Power!"
Since December, 2004 I have tried to use this Blog as a venue for the expression of that power by calling out the wrongs on both sides of the aisle, both locally and nationally. The longest running theme here (unfortunately) has been my comdemnation of this country's invasion and continuing occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq. While leveling my sights on the Bush Administration, I have never lost sight of those Democrats who became enablers of that administration and yet felt no shame in seeking the suuport of the Progressive Community under the battle cry of, "If you think I'm bad, just imagine what you get if the other guy wins." This, of course brings us to the current admninstration - and the theme of this Blog as we move in to 2010.
For the past year, I have been watching with great interest for signs of the great change that we were promised during the 2008 campaign. You see, contrary to what I am told by many of President Obama's apologists, I do not believe we must "settle for what we can get" after 8+ years (some would say 20 years) of watching the country moving in retreat from many of the great socially Progressive models that set this country apart from most of the rest of the world. From a cabinet that looks like a rerurn of the Clinton Administration to a foreign policy that more resembles the GW Bush administration than anyone cares to admit. And so with the mid-term elections of 2010 on the horizon, The Left Shue invites you along for the ride.
Happy New Year!
Peace,
Chad (The Left) Shue
