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THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
November 30, 2000
An Open Letter to Democrats
By Dennis Prager
You finally made a big mistake.
You probably never thought you would live to see middle America
and mainstream Republicans galvanized to resist your ongoing
takeover of America. But like other power-hungry groups in history,
you didn't know when to hold back. Your party and its standard
bearer, Al Gore, have attempted to thwart an election not in
the quiet of the night (as in 1960) but in daylight, before the
cameras of the world. And finally we have begun to resist.
Most of us have never attended a political demonstration. Most
of us are not particularly political, preferring work, family,
sports, and communal associations to political activism. But
now we are angry. By golly, even Bob Dole is angry. Republicans
are actually organizing demonstrations. Such activism is so rare
that "conservative activist" is an oxymoron. But for
the time being you have changed that. Call it the Chad Revolt.
In fact, it is thanks to your changing ballot-counting rules,
your emphasis on hand counts in only those Florida districts
you dominate, your invalidation of military ballots, your sending
of Jesse Jackson to rouse race-based anger and of Alan Dershowitz
to smear Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris, that many
of us have decided, finally, to fight back.
We have watched in silence as you have undermined our children's
schools, taking more and more money to pay for union members
who teach our children less and less. We have watched in silence
as you have taken over our once-great universities, as you have
substituted political correctness for pursuit of truth. We have
watched radical students in university after university shout
down the few conservatives ever invited to speak on campus --
while liberal college presidents and deans defend this censorship
of speech.
We have watched in silence as the fires of racial hatred and
anger have been repeatedly stoked by "civil rights leaders" such
as Al Sharpton and Kweisi Mfume. Most recently we saw the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People run an ad on
American television associating George W. Bush with the lynching
of James Byrd. This ad was perhaps the most venomous political
ad ever shown on American television, yet no liberal or Democrat
offered a condemnation.
We have watched in silence as organization after organization
has been taken over by liberal and Democratic activists -- from
the American Bar Association, to the League of Women Voters,
to the American Library Association, to the American Psychological
Association, and on to virtually every academic association.
We have watched in silence as you attempt to destroy the Boy
Scouts, one of the only groups helping boys, especially inner-city
boys who have no other constructive outlet for their energies.
We have watched in silence as you have made war on the "masculinist" culture
of the military, leaving a demoralized and less effective military
in the wake of your social experimentation.
We have watched in silence as you've taken over children's courts
and the ranks of social workers. Many of these people believe
that children are better off with no parents than with parents
of a different race. They believe that children should almost
always be given back to blood-related parents, even those who
horribly abuse them.
We have watched in silence as trial lawyers take over more and
more of American life, leaving citizens prey to lawsuits they
cannot defend themselves against. We watch them dominate the
Democratic Party, and we watch them become judges who substitute
their wills for the democratic process.
We have watched in silence as the White House and its sacred
rooms have been put up for sale to Democratic party donors and
Hollywood stars, as the presidency has been degraded to the point
where young people could ask the president of the U.S. on national
television what type of underpants he wears. We watched Bill
Clinton respond to that question. Likewise, we watched Mr. Gore
attempt to demonstrate to the nation that a prolonged and probing
kiss before a large national audience somehow dignifies the office
of president.
We have watched in silence as the leading news media have become
indistinguishable from liberal spokespeople, to the extent that
NBC news anchor Tom Brokaw actually said "we are ahead" when
speaking about Democratic electoral gains on election night.
We have watched in silence as the Democratic Party has relied
on fomenting anger among Americans for its victories. The more
that blacks are angry at whites, the more they vote Democrat.
The more that Jews fear Christians, the more they vote Democrat.
And the more women distrust men, the more they vote Democrat.
Given all this silence in the face of your attempt to control
America, it is no wonder you thought you could litigate your
way to the presidency. And maybe you could. But lo and behold,
the rest of us are beginning to fight. Not enough yet to take
back the schools or the courts or the professional organizations
or the news media. But enough to let you know that we are out
here. Yes, that large block of America between New York and California
that in your hearts you believe to be racist, bigoted, anti-Semitic,
homophobic and misogynist, is fighting back. You think that way
because, in your arrogance, you confuse liberal with decent.
But tens of millions of us have a different view of liberal --
as increasingly nihilist.
And now, thanks to Mr. Gore not having the decency to do what
Richard Nixon did 40 years ago, much of America might still find
you frightening, but they no longer find you intimidating.
Thankfully for America, you made a big mistake. |
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