Wednesday, November 27, 2002

We all watched in amazement on election eve as George Bush almost single-handedly handed the Democrats a defeat of enormous proportions. We in Georgia were especially awestruck as we watched the stranglehold of the Democrats come to an end after 130 years.

Governor Roy Barnes, seemingly invincible in his imperial robes and sitting on a huge war chest, was booted out by Sonny Purdue; Senator Max Cleland was soundly defeated by Saxby Chambliss.

In the wake of that astounding defeat, the Democrats immediately looked around for reasons why they lost so big. They blamed each other, blamed the weather for suppressing the turnout, and even blamed African-Americans for staying home on election day. We heard phases such as, "Our message was not conveyed clearly." We heard this repeated over and over again during the days immediately after the election

The problem for the Democrats is that finally their real message is finally getting through. For the first time, their left-wing agenda is becoming more transparent to more Americans. Americans are beginning to perceive the Democrats as they really are: socialists, who want to destroy the American family, dilute the greatness of America and weaken her as a superpower, and ultimately make her just another country on the roll at the U.N. somewhere between Uganda and Zaire.

For years, the traditional liberal media overtly and conscientiously managed the news, always presenting the Democrats in the best light, while presenting the Republicans in the worst light possible.

While Water Cronkite was telling it the "way it was" the apparent guardian of traditional American values he was all along apparently a closet socialist. As long as the Washington Post, the New York Times, and the Los Angeles Times controlled print media, and as long as NBC, CBS, and ABC controlled the airwaves and together they controlled the news the Democrats could say and do whatever they wanted and always be assured that their words and deeds would be portrayed to the American people in the best possible light.

The reason that the Democrats and their true agenda have become so transparent is that more and more people are getting their news from nontraditional, non-liberal media, with talk radio and Fox News leading the charge. In the last election, thanks to Fox News and other unbiased news outlets, Americans saw Democrats for what they really are.

We were all appalled as we watched Rep. David Bonior (D-Michigan) and Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Washington) criticize President Bush while visiting Baghdad. To paraphrase Senator John McCain: to criticize the President's decision on the floor of the House is fine, but not in the capital of our sworn enemy, Iraq.

When President Bush asked Congress for the authority to use force against Iraq (House Joint Resolution 114), the resolution was approved by the House of Representatives by a vote of 296 to 133. Of those voting against the resolution, all but six were Democrats.

The Democrat-controlled Senate blocked George Bush's appointments for judicial vacancies. The Senate Judiciary Committee, stacked with ultra-liberal senators and chaired by Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), kept Bush's appointees bottled up in committee.

The Judiciary Committee waylaid appointees such as Dennis Shedd, nominated by Bush for the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals. He is generally considered to be a strict constructionist he interprets the Constitution the way it was written. Since Democrats want a socialist state, and the end justifies the means for them, they prefer judges whose rulings contravene the Constitution.

Despite the cowardly attacks on our country on 9/11, the Democrats don't seem to care about keeping Americans safe. When President Bush proposed the Homeland Security Department, integrating 22 federal agencies and departments and making them more efficient, the Democrats immediately opposed it. The President wanted hiring and firing power over employees, while the Democrats did not. They were more concerned that employees be given civil service status.

The Democrats love to portray themselves as being fair and sensitive to the needs of the little man, as well as the advocate of the downtrodden, of the environment, of the sexually disoriented, and of animals (but never of the unborn!).

Americans saw the true nature of these hard-core socialist Democrats at the so-called memorial for Sen. Paul Wellstone of Minnesota. Remembering that the end always justifies the means for Democrats, the people in charge of the "memorial" turned it into a raw, unabashed political rally.

Jesse Ventura, the independent governor of Minnesota, was so put off he left the "memorial" early and commented that the Democrats should "hang their heads" at the unseemly display.

In short, the Democrats can whine all they want and cast blame in every direction for losing the election. The truth is, America finally heard the Democrats' message loud and clear. Fortunately for our country and for our way of life, Americans did not like what they heard and rejected the Democrats' message.

Lawrence A. De Marino

Peachtree City

[Lawrence A. De Marino is a freelance writer and local businessman.]