As opposed to many of the so-called ones in this country. I find it ironic that many people who call themselves Democrats are the ones in the forefront of poo pooing democracy when it actually happens. If a Democrat was in the White House, they'd be praising it, and him (or her) to the skies, of course.

Anway, Adam Keiper has compiled a stirring video of the Iraqi elections.

In the gay marriage debate it was amusing to see the Democrats argue 'each state should decide' while the Republicans argued 'majority rule'.

That is, the Democrats argued for a republican form of government, while the Republicans argued for a pure democracy.

Well, the Democrats' argument for states' rights on SSM is disingenuous, considering the "full faith and credit" clause.

That doesn't defend the Republicans and the version of the constitutional amendment that got put forth -- one simply exempting SSM from falling under FFC should have sufficed -- but it gives a reason why the Democrats, at least, have flipflopped on states' rights. It's because under the FFC status quo, they expect to use the courts to overrule those states that choose not to legalize SSM.

All of which is off-topic anyway. Apologies, Rand.

I do not understand how anyone who voted here in the U.S. in November, or anyone who was too lazy to vote, can fail to see the effect of a little freedom. Evidently the first effect of freedom is happiness, and dancing. Dancing in the streets where they were threatened with their lives, but they voted anyway. Maybe freedom also breeds bravery, DUH!!

Even Iraqis in Iran got to vote. The average Iranian did not stand by and see that and not wonder, "when will we get to vote for our leaders?" How long will it be before MORE people in the region want that same vote? How long will it be before the Mullahs look foolish calling for Holy Wars against the west, while the standard of living goes up, and happiness breaks out? How long will it be before Ted Kennedy, John Edwards, Nancy Pelosi, et al, realize that we are the greatest country in the world BECAUSE our greatest export to the world is freedom!!

Personally I believe, Democracy will come to China and North Korea, before they get it. They are not interested in our country being free. Mostly they hate our success here in the U.S., because like all Liberal whiners , they are too busy wringing their hands over how un-fair we are, to our minorities, how un-fair we are to our fellow humans who do not live here, but want to sneak in and how un-fair we are to little bunnies living within 200 miles of a landfill, nuclear power plant or an industrial and manufacturing park.

Jack Kenedy must be spinning in his grave to see how little brother has misinterpreted the line, ...."ask not what your country..............".

Having said that, will the vote bring the Iraqis to the point where freedom has run so rampant that it last 250 years and the car bombings are a fluke in their history? Will they get so free that Gay Marriage is the BIG issue of the 2255 elections. I hope so. I am against Gay Marriage on a religious basis. But if the Iraqis, Afghanis, Saudis, Syrians etc. are wrestling with these issues and they are so happy and so well fed that they have time for foolish political debates, they will ahve ceased to be lied to by the Mullahs and will be at least as peaceful as we are.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know that we are war like, but we don't start'em, we just finish 'em.

I'm a lifelong Democrat (notice the "D") because I came of age in the early 1960's when it was easy to be proud of Kennedy and embarrassed by Nixon. I believe today's Republican Party, and the fundamentalist revival of the last 30 years, are the ideological heirs of the Dixiecrats and the other racist miscreants of my youth. The former would not exist without the latter.

No doubt, that's anathema to most readers of this blog.

But...Democrats are Being Stupid in Public. Bush is right to assert that supporting the spread of democracy is a key element of U.S. policy. How could it be otherwise? We might differ about the methods used to encourage democracy, but no Democrat should question the objective.

Too many Americans and far too many Europeans seem to believe that "democracy" is just another political con game intended to disguise the inevitable rule of the many by the elite few. Too many people, across the globe, confuse freedom from colonial rule with democracy.

Democrats need to start living up to the name of their party.

billg,

I agree with some of what you say. The difference is that some of us used to be liberals when that meant being FOR something. Now liberals are againts, seemingly, everything.

Freedom of speech, if you disagree with them, being first and foremost the thing they seem to be against. Anything not liberally couched is Hate Speech. They say they are for multi-culturalism, seemigly, so long as that culture is not white, middle-class or Christian. They say we need to do things not unilaterally, but don't see that real multilateral movement has happened, because France wasn't involved. Why do they love France so much, but not the other countries who have gone to war against terrorism with us.

They are against the President saying he has religious ideals, but think Algore can stand in a church and literally preach that Geroge Bush,.." LIED TO US, HE PLAYED ON OUR FEARS." So again, they are against George Bush saying God and Algore is allowed to speak in a church, to a black congregation, and use the speaking style of black preaching to get out his message. All ths shows how much that differs from what JFK espoused. Shame on you Teddy and all your ilk.

Also billg, ALL of us here in the south do not agree with the Dixiecrats and we are not racists. For the record it was the Dixiecrats and southern Democrats who fought integration. Georgee Wallace, Lester Maddox, all the rest were Democrats so don't come in here crying "racists", at Modern Conservatives.

Steve, I agree that many current liberals are a pretty unoriginal lot. But, that's a trait they share with many current conservatives. Both sides define themselves by attacking those they oppose. Even those things they profess to be for are, in the end, simply designed to paint their opponents as supporting the insupportable and, hence, being beyond all redemption.

For every so-called liberal who objects to some conservative's speech as hate speech, you can find an alleged conservative who plays the same game. Many members of both camps don't know the difference between defending someone right to speak and condemning the subtance of what was said. Liberals are stupid to lend their name to racist and religous bigots on the left, and conservatives are equally stupid to do the same on the right.

Legitimate liberals do not assume all conservatives are born again Christians. And legitimate conservatives do not assume all liberals are heathen apostates. Both sides should assume that someone's religous beliefs are none of their damned business. Neither side should cynically attempt to manipulate political opinion with public assertions of their own faith. (That's what repels me when any politician - Bush, Kerry, Gore, etc. -- tells us, out loud, that his religous beliefs guide his political decisions. I simply do not believe them. Frankly, I don't care if their decisions are based on faith or a ouija board, it's the substance of the decision that interests me.)

So, I'd say real "liberals" don't begrudge Bush his faith, anymore than they begrude Gore his. But they do begrudge either when they try to troll the voters by unconvincingly playing the religion card.

And, I dont believe I said conservatives are racist. My contention is that modern conservative, in parallel with modern fundamentalist Protetantism, trace their cultural roots to the backlash against the political changes of the 1960's, i.e., progress in protecting the rights of minorities and women. I'm as repulsed today by someone claiming the Bible tells him that women should stay home and raise babies as I was repulsed 40 years ago by people claiming the Bible told them blacks are inferior.

BTW, as I write this after living in the southeast for 3 decade, it is worth remembering in which party the segregationist Democrats sought refuge after that party cleaned up its act.