"Seriously, one of the reasons you're not seeing Democrats getting indicted in corruption scandals is that we've been out of the loop," says Rangel, laughing but not joking.
What no one in Congress knows -- and a lot of staffers I spoke to worried aloud about this -- is if Democrats will be any different in that respect than the Republicans if they win this November. The corruption issue is only part of it. More than anything, a lot of Democratic staffers are worried that ten years or so of having the light shut out on them by the majority, being frozen out of conference committees, having cops called to rouse them out of the library and being denied the chance to offer even the most harmless amendments -- that all of this will lead to a long, ugly period of payback time.
[...] The young Democrat sitting next to Rangel who looks at a Republican like a Crip lining up a Blood might be the future of politics generally.
Think about it; if there's ever been anything sadder than John McCain "taking a stand" against Bush on the torture bill a few weeks back, have you seen it? I sure haven't. McCain bent over faster than a college student on his first night in Attica. But I wouldn't expect anything better out of the Democrats -- at least not until they show they can act like men, and not like the hired clowns of their party's financial backers. Until that happens, we can expect more of the same: vicious partisan bitching while the cameras are on, obscene handouts behind closed doors.
"You can either govern or you can get even," says Rangel. "But you can't do both. I hope we make the right choice."
Note to Charlie: Get even. 'Payback' is a sucking chest wound. Anything short of that is JUSTICE with this Repuglican bunch, and the nation deserves it, wants it, won't settle for anything less. The Repugs deserve whatever they get. They need to learn that poor choices have bad consequences. Like jail, and worse, powerlessness. It wouldn't hurt the Dems to learn that object lesson, either.
It's not a 'choice'. It's your duty. Do it well.
Then govern.
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