By Menzes Sweet


Democrats are so afraid of losing the Presidential election that they have become like:

    A. Stampeding cattle
    B. The zombies in Night of the Living Dead
    C. Lemmings

All of these creatures possess a uniquely focused and unalterable mission. In the case of stampeding cattle, it is to Run, Run By God, and crush everything ahead. For zombies, the mission is to eat brains and turn other people into zombies. Lemmings, they hurl themselves off cliffs.

Lemmocrats

Amazingly, a vast swarm of relatively intelligent Democrats have chosen to behave the same way this election year. These Democrats rally under the blue banner of Anybody But Bush, but their campaign is Group Think taken to an unnaturally aggressive level. At any moment, you can observe them chasing blindly after John “ `Nam ” Kerry, attempting to devour the brains of others on the Left and force them to run along with the herd.

These Dems say: “Now is not the time to support third party candidates.” And upon anyone who commits that sin (supporters of Ralph Nader, for example), the Dems dump piles of abuse, scorn, even hate. It’s the language of fear, insecurity and intolerance—the same things they accuse George W. Bush of perpetuating.

As a conservative, I enjoy watching this. It means we’ll have an easier go of it with the Dems huffing and puffing and blowing down their own. Kerry, taken as a whole, is not even a valid candidate. Personality? You could grab a sock puppet with more. Politically? His record in the Senate is abysmal. On important issues—war, education, terror—he supports Bush’s positions.

So Kerry really is anybody but Bush—meaning you could snatch any scarecrow look-a-like off the street and he’d probably be just as below average as John Kerry. You know what? While we’re talking about it, let’s reveal this Anybody But Bush thing for what it is. The ABB slogan almost accurately depicts the vapid march of today’s Left. Those on the left chant Anybody But Bush, but the oppressive undertone of their cry is easy to discern. What they really mean is Nobody But Kerry.

The fervor with which the Democrats quash minority opinions in their own party is astounding. This turmoil within the vague and shambling territory of the Left is all unnervingly un-Democratic, at least in light of how the Dems have described themselves: as an inclusive party of tolerance and enlightenment. It is supposed to be a grown-up party, isn’t it? The United States has rarely seen such a large political group ruled by pure emotion. The Dems seem to be pushing a campaign of Total War, Victory at All Costs.

If they are so worried about Nader and truly fear that Kerry could lose the White House on a few far-Left voters (recall how they drone on and on about how Al Gore lost in 2000 because some people actually voted their conscience and picked Nader) why don’t they work to embrace those stragglers rather than alienate them by labeling them traitors to the cause?

What the Dems are missing is that very Clintonesque talent: co-option. Bill Clinton was a master at emasculating his opponents by stealing their ideas and re-branding them as his own. Now the Dems find themselves in a spot where they should co-opt Nader’s ideas and bring his supporters into the fold. Instead they drive Naderites and others farther Left. Apparently Clinton stole more than linen and china when he vacated the White House —he took the party’s political brain, too.

But then, strategy is not something the Democratic leadership will be remembered for this time around. This year, we’ve witnessed the birth of a new species of Leftie. He/she/they/gay/transgender/etc. all wear blinders and look like Morelocks from Wells’ `The Time Machine.' You could dedicate an entire program on the Discovery Channel to the mindless rituals of followership and cannibalism they practice. In the end, the Left will be remembered not for a spirited fight against Neo-cons, but for de-evolution, for taking a giant step backward, for bending to a weak candidate, muffling their much-loved “diversity” of voices and goose-stepping to the tune of Nobody But Kerry.

Oddly, the Dems’ Victory at All Costs plan will probably backfire. If Bush wins the Presidency, as is likely, the energy with which Dems have terrorized and policed their own will implode. On the Day After the election, the Left will crawl out angrier, more divided and more damaged than ever. It could take years for the Left—and the Democratic Party—to recover.

Sitting here on the Right side of the river, that seems fine to me. It even promises to be entertaining, and I sort of hope the Dems don’t realize what they’re doing. The way things look now, I think it’s safe to say they won’t.

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