Conor
Lamb's win of a House seat in the Pennsylvania 18th District, a
heretofore completely Republican blood red district, was thrilling! He
was a perfect candidate for that deeply conservative district reminding
me of Gene McCarthy for whom I stumped in the NH primary in the late
60's. The anti Vietnam War student movement of that era propelling Gene
McCarthy to come in a strong second in the NH Democratic primary sent a
message that the government could not play with and send young lives to
their deaths by the thousands in a futile foreign policy never ending
adventure without being held accountable. To my chagrin, the protest
movement that birthed Gene McCarthy turned violent presenting a ruffian
image the electorate hated. It saw, as Connecticut Sen. Abraham
Ribicoff said from the Chicago Democratic presidential convention
podium, "Gestapo
tactics in the streets of Chicago" to put it down.
Those in our
student movement protested the
wrong candidate as Vice-President Humphrey may have stopped the Vietnam
war he hated. Instead, Richard Nixon capitalized on the
cultural divide that ensued. He won the presidency and prolonged the
war even expanding it into Cambodia. Before he was through thousands
more died handing a defeat to this nation from which it has never
recovered. The Vietnam War took 50,000 American lives and a million
Vietnamese lives. Worse it lead to the formation of the so called
"Moral Majority" allowing the Republican Richard Nixon the presidential
win. The modern day Republican Party with its Tea Party sidecar, has
morphed from it into a mostly white supremacist, gun-loving group with a
penchant for right wing extremist violence egged on by a mendacious,
conflict-of-interest ridden, treasonous Russian Manchurian president who
encourages the madness.
The student movement gathering
blistering steam today following a brutal high school assault rifle
killing of 17 innocent students in Parkland, Florida presents, unlike
its late 1960's forebears, a gentle, non-violent but strong, articulate
and well groomed image appealing to many in its attempt to gain
political power to change policy and ultimately dethrone a con man clown
from a presidency he won with Russian assistance and support of his
Republican Congressional lackeys blinded by Citizens United
boundless coffers of cash. Trump is using the presidency as a cash cow
and Republicans do not have the fortitude to reject the money and take
their
Party back from crackpot crazies. We will lend an assist.
Most
of America rejects crass, crude, mendacious and violent politics as they
rejected the same in the 1960's. Conor Lamb's victory gave the
Democratic Party a kind, smart, articulate, impeccably dressed and
nicely coiffed candidate with a sterling Marine Corps and federal
prosecutorial history. Democrats should take note from Lamb and from
the new non-violent and articulate student protest of 2018 over insane
gun NRA owned policy to wrest Republican seats in the House and perhaps
even the Senate from their flypaper grip on gerrymandered seats that
should be earmarked for Democrats.
We as Democrats bide our time
until we take Congressional power to impeach this
embarrassing excuse for a president and neuter his administration. Eric
Schneiderman Attorney General of NY
is waiting in the wings to prosecute them in New York state with no
chance of presidential pardons to negate their horrific crimes. They
will face prison. Huge congrats
to Conor Lamb for his impressive Democratic victory and for giving
Trump with his hair netted son a reminder that they are not kings!
Conor Lamb came in as a lamb and left as a lion. May we all benefit
from the example his win taught.
