If you have decided that you will vote Republican in 2004 no matter what comes out about the use of "cooked" intelligence to deceive the American people and to justify the invasion, and if you will vote for George Bush even if the deficit reaches $600 billion and unemployment hits 8 percent, then please stop reading.

Stop reading because I want to talk to Democrats, Greens, progressives and independents. Anyone not afraid to be labeled as a "liberal" or "progressive." It is time to get serious and to start planning.

Why? Because George Bush is in meltdown.

I think it is safe to say he is now or soon will be the underdog in 2004. Everyone who is reading the newspapers knows that he lied about Iraq in the State of the Union address. They know that he lied about the economy in order to pave the way for his tax break for the wealthy.

Six months ago it seemed like a cakewalk in 2004 for the Bush team, but now he has exposed himself as a man who has trouble dealing with the truth. That is fatal in a political figure.

Truth is, there is no chance of getting Bush's numbers below 50 percent until there is a Democratic alternative, but once the primaries are over and there is a nominee, the polls will change.

If we work like hell between now and next January, we will have nominated Dennis Kucinich, Howard Dean or John Kerry. (Let's face it: Joe Lieberman has no charisma and talks like a Republican. While Dick Gephardt is a good, solid, liberal congressman, there is no fire in the gut, or if there is, he has an internal sprinkler system to put it out more effectively than Tums.)

Now each of the three has faults, because we all do. Believe me, those faults will be exploited by right-wing talk show hosts and people who would like to see those of us on the left divide in three different directions.

My plea to those of us who believe that stopping the Bush-Cheney march to disaster is imperative: Get ready to win. Translated, if Kerry is the nominee, let's not start bashing him as if he were an enemy of progress. If Dean wins, let's suppress the negatives that someone will dredge up. If Kucinich wins, let's get behind him.

In the meantime, support one of the three but don't dump on Kucinich, Dean or Kerry in the process. It won't affect the outcome in any event. And once the process is over, we must work together if we want to win.

And I want to win.

As for a Green candidate, I would urge the party to take a break. Not from activist politics but from naming a candidate for president. While the major parties are way too similar for my taste, there is a difference. We need to defeat Bush because we are one Supreme Court vote away from catastrophe on a whole range of issues. Visualize a Chief Justice Scalia. That's the splash of cold water in our face.

The federal district courts and the courts of appeal are being stacked with extreme right-wing ideologues. And with one, two or even three Supreme Court retirements coming soon, look out.

They could indeed reverse Brown v. Board of Education, not to mention affirmative action. Women's rights? Quaint idea, but back to pre-Roe v. Wade.

And with three appointments, Bush could change America not just for us but for our grandchildren.

The extreme right knows the power of the judiciary. And they are not shy about using that power. They complain about activist judges and appoint them every time they get a chance. Hypocrisy has never been an impediment.

No need for me to write about Iraq and Afghanistan, you know the drill. We have moved from the most loved and admired country in the world to the most hated and least trusted in just three years. Imagine what the next four could bring. Korea, Syria, Iran? Whoa, Nelly!

So here is my suggestion. Let's start a national dialogue with all who consider themselves liberal, left, green or progressive. Let's take the lead at Fighting Bob Fest on Sept. 6 in Baraboo, where hundreds and perhaps thousands of those desperate for change will congregate to hear great speeches and share ideas.

Someone must start the national conversation among the sensible. You know, people who want Head Start to thrive, who think we need more money flowing to our schools than our prisons, who want national health care for everyone, who believe the Patriot Act must be repealed and John Ashcroft sent back to the Phyllis Schlafly charm school.

This is an appeal to avoid defeating ourselves. We cannot get trapped in the right-wing plot to win in 2004 by getting us to fight one another. (Remember, they haven't won a presidential election in 12 years. Let's make it 16.)

And now a word to our sponsors, those who put millions into the presidential campaigns for Democrats. You were angry when some said there was no difference between Bush and Gore. OK, I understand that feeling.

But rather than condemn those folks, don't even think about forcing a Republican in Democratic clothing down our throats. Let the people decide the nominee and we will win in 2004.

I don't know about you but I don't want four more years.

Ed Garvey was the Democratic candidate for governor in 1998 and is editor of the Web magazine FightingBob.com

Copyright 2003 The Capital Times

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