Let's see

if I can get this one straight: when wealthy conservatives give millions of dollars in campaign contributions to the GOP, it's a triumph of free speech; but when multimillionaire liberals - such as George Soros, who has recently written some fat checks to Democratic causes with the hope of unseating Dubya in the 2004 Presidential election - do the same, it's finally time to do something about campaign finance reform? The Washington Post's opinion editors have been writing some real humdingers lately, but what's especially cute about this one is the wide-eyed naivete on display with statements such as:

"For Democrats thrilled with the Soros millions, imagine conservative financier Richard Mellon Scaife opening his bank account on behalf of Mr. Bush."

Umm. Isn't he already doing that? And more to the point, what's with the right telling the left how to run their political campaigns these days? "Don't get too angry!" they admonish Howard Dean and his supporters, as if being bland (Joe Lieberman), acquiescent (Tom Daschle), or burned out (John Kerry) is going to somehow capture the hearts of the American people, many of whom by the way are pretty pissed off right now and getting angrier by the day. "Don't let those evil rich liberals and unions poison our democracy with their special-interest money!" they tell us, when their coffers are full to bursting with the wealth of America's new robber barons.

Well you know what? Fuck you. This is politics. Money changes hands, people get angry, hell, we might even say a bad thing or two about the policy and character of our current Commander-in-Chief during the course of the 2004 campaign. The fact that the repubs are going out of their way to dispense such "helpful" advice tells me one very important thing: they're scared. They thought they had this thing all sewn up in the wake of 9/11; now their boy Commander Codpiece is barely breaking even in the polls, thanks to a bullshit war and an economy that is only recovering on paper (unless you're one of the handful who got awarded a no-bid contract for the Iraqi reconstruction). The only way the left is going to lose the election is if we stop being angry, if we stop raising money, if we think twice before criticizing a man and an administration who are destroying our country and needlessly antagonizing the world in this bogus "War on Terror".

Democracy has always been loud and messy; anyone who tries to tell you otherwise should read a history book. Forget civility, forget fighting with one hand tied behind our backs, it's time to stand up for what is right. America used to be a open-armed promise to the world - now it has become a threat, a clenched fist, a belligerent bully with a chip on its shoulder. We have to turn this around, folks. Before it's too late.