The Complainers

Last Sunday night I was in Point Reyes, California -- a gorgeous part of the country filled with progressives. Several I met at a community meeting used the same words I hear from progressives all over the country: "Isn't it awful?" or "I've never seen it this bad," or "our country is going to shit." The good people of Point Reyes are taking some grass roots action through an impressive organization called "Mainstream Moms." But when people I meet around the country typically express outrage to me, they aren't doing much at all. They'll say "The Bush administration is taking this country down the toilet," but when I ask them "what are you doing about it?" they shrug.

These are the Complainers. You know them. They might be you. A Complainer is someone who is filled with bile for the Bush administration, the Republican congress, the Republican Supreme Court, global warming, the Iraqi War, spying on Americans, and so on, and complains incessantly about any and all of these things, but doesn't do a damn thing about them. The Complainer says "What can I do? There's no hope." Or "Democrats are just as bad as Republicans." Well, I have news for all Complainers. You're part of the problem. Get off your collective asses. A mid-term election is coming up this fall. Democrats have their faults but they're not as bad as Republicans. The country would be in a different place if the Dems held at least once house of Congress. Dems need to pick up only 13 House seats in November to give them control over the House, 6 Senate seats to give them the Senate. Both pickups are possible. But neither will happen unless the Complainers get to work.

A few weeks ago I was out in the 8th Congressional District of Arizona campaigning for a young feisty Dem named Gabrielle Giffords. Gabby is leading the Democratic pack and has a good chance of making this previously Republican district a Democratic one. Her election is likely to be one of the 15 we need. You don't have to be a rocket scientist or political scientist to find out where the close elections are. Send money. Donate time. Get on the internet. Get on the phones. Stop complaining.