Will there be an 'O8?

Empire Notes: "Instead of talking about who should run in '08, the Democrats should be asking themselves if there will be an '08.

The storm gathering on the horizon is already breaking. And it will get a lot worse before it gets better. The agenda on which Bush intends to spend his political capital is not privatization of Social Security or making the tax cut permanent or even reversing Roe v. Wade. Those are mere epiphenomena of the true agenda -- the systematic transformation of American society and culture in a more authoritarian, more fanatical, more overtly imperialist direction, and the consolidation of the right wing in power to the point that it cannot be challenged.

Many on the left have already written about what lies ahead and the purported need for unity with the Democrats in the face of this threat. They are missing the point. In order to have a chance of facing this, the left needs to do its job and to make the Democrats do theirs. Whether it's selecting Harry Reid or rolling over for Alberto Gonzales, the Democrats have made it clear that they won't do their job, even though it's their heads on the block, unless they are dragged kicking and screaming.
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