DEMOCRATS GIVE WAY TO CORPORATE AGENDA AND LOSE THEIR BASE

It looks bad for the Democrats come election day. Here in Maine a right-wing tea-bagger is expected to be our next governor. He wants to privatize public eduction, doesn't believe in climate change, and wants to run welfare recipients out of the state. It's going to be rough.

All across the country similar stories are in the offing. Right-wing religious zealots are going to be elected to the House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate and to several other governorships. The tea-party, made up of angry white folks, are fired up and ready to start shooting if they don't win on November 2.

The Democrats have little energy these days. Obama is crossing the country fast and furious, replaying his worn out "progressive message" that worked well in the 2008 election, but is having little impact this time around. Large portions of the progressive community are virtually idle at this time - not able to stomach campaigning for a party that has betrayed its base on virtually every issue and then publicly smacked them down when they dared to express their disappointment.

Already Obama is sending messages via the media that he is eager to work with a right-wing controlled House of Representatives following the collapse of his party. It will make passing legislation to gut Social Security and the few remaining social programs that much easier. He will likely find strong "bi-partisan" support to continue to expand his war in Afghanistan-Pakistan and any talk of troops returning home in 2011 will be gone with the wind.

The Democrats are learning that their fall into the eager arms of corporate capital is having a direct result in them losing their activist base. Just two years ago pundits were predicting the demise of the Republican Party after the sound beating they took in the national elections following a strong vote for the Democrats who largely ran against Bush's costly wars. But once in power the Democrats turned on their base and sat on their hands as the wars expanded and further cutbacks in social progress were coupled with massive welfare checks for the banksters and insurance companies.

The truth is that real progressives have virtually no one representing them today and many will choose to either stay home on election day or pick and choose very carefully when they enter the voting booth.

An economically collapsing America, already dangerous to the world with its eager to kill military empire, will become even more of a threat following this election. Here at home civil liberties will be in even greater danger as the right-wing consolidates power and will embrace the worst elements of the corporate police state. The most we can hope for is that the confused middle class, who are now turning to the tea-party candidates in droves, will quickly learn that the new "rulers" have no intention of making life better for them as these politicians will eagerly give way to the demands of the corporate oligarchy who pumped big money into their campaigns.

For the rest of us it is not the time to cower and hide. The coming period will call upon us to display uncommon courage and determination to stand up for those who are being cast aside by the corporate agenda.