If a picture is worth a thousand words, that one up top must be priceless. Not only has the Bush Jr. Junta occupied the White House, they now have control over the Congress. For anyone who thought after the 2000 elections that things couldn’t get worse - Booyakuh!

When I saw the poll returns coming back with Republicans in the majority vote EVERYWHERE, a sinking feeling began to grow in my stomach. I had a sense this could happen. I feared the Democrats could lose the Senate, their one last bastion of hope against the onslaught of the marauding GOP. I just never imagined the loss would be so grand and so spectacular.

As a friend of mine said to me today, the Democrats lost like a football team by five whole touchdowns. They weren’t just defeated; they were beat down like they stole something. Even liberal Senator Paul Wellstone’s old office was desecrated as Walter Mondale lost to his GOP opponent. It was an utter rout, no matter how much the Democrats try to put a nice spin on it. So the question that everyone is asking is, what da’ hell happened? Did the entire country suddenly swing to the right? Is Bush now Mau’dib so that his very name is a weapon? Was it the huge monetary war chest raised by the GOP that put them over the top? Well the answers aren’t so cut and dry. There’s a lot of blame to go around. So let’s start dishing it out.

The country isn’t really headed to the right, thought admittedly there are a lot of people who have taken up such ideologies. Most of the races weren’t clear runaways. The Democrats lost many offices by 10%. Others were as close as 5% or less. Like the 2000 Presidential Elections, we see a country greatly split. If these divisions had any regional basis we’d look like the Union during the pre-Civil War era. The Democrats didn’t lose most of their races by any wide margin, but they lost nevertheless. So what allowed the Republicans to take such a lead?

Well yeah, partly it was Bush Jr. Ever since 9-11 the not-so-bright guy in the White House has been transformed into America’s King Arthur. His popularity is soaring even with an economy slipping deeper into recession. One-time detractors now act as if he can walk on water and do no wrong. With a nation paranoid about terrorists under every rock and Iraqis somehow invading their homes (from halfway around the world at that), the Bush Jr. Junta has become their champions.

Its almost like we’re living in a second Camelot. Only the Good King Dubya, Duke Cheney, Baron Rumsfeld, Dutchess Rice and other assorted characters can lead a Crusade against the evil hordes (i.e., the rest of the world) that threaten to overrun our shining city on the hill. Many Americans, rudely awakened out of their fantasy “la-la” land by the fall of the Twin Towers, have been scared stiff into the arms of the GOP - who are milking that fear.

The Bush Jr. Junta has been sure to feed the apprehension and trauma many are still going through. They stoke it like a continuous fire with scare talk of smallpox bio-weapons and nukes in the hands of madmen who could swoop down on America’s children at a moment’s notice, screaming wildly in Arabic. And through these tactics grown citizens are turned into frightened children, clutching onto their mother’s skirts (Old Glory) and looking for a protective father figure (King Dubya).

With a shook American populace ripe for the swaying and mind plucking, the Bush Jr. Junta carefully orchestrated the mid term 2002 elections. They handpicked most of the Republican candidates who were to run. And campaign managers sent Dubya out on a nationwide tour to raise money and support for the GOP. The amount of funds raised was simply fantastical, beyond anything ever seen before by a sitting president. And his name - well, that was worth more than a thug’s mouth grill in Louisiana, wodie.

In many races the Republican candidates didn’t run on their own platform, as much as they ran on Dubya’s. He was part of their commercials, doing voice-overs in their praise. And in my state alone nearly every Republican commercial attacked Democrats for the grand crime of not agreeing with Bush Jr. (Gasp!) If you were a Democrat who didn’t vote or jump through hoops for Dubya, you were lambasted - as if that was a gross offense in itself, to disagree with the Good King. The Republican strategy and message was simple: if you’re not with Bush Jr. and his White House Junta you aren’t worth voting for. In other words, We are the GOP, you will be assimilated, and resistance or disagreement is futile. Ah, democracy…gotta love it.

Point blank, the Republicans had their sh*t together. It was despicable and exploitative, but it was well packaged for mass consumption. They had a goal: to take the Senate, maintain the House and pick up as many governor seats on the way. They had a conservative agenda and had no problem with pushing it. They had a drive and momentum behind which to galvanize. On media outlets (like that garbage that passes for journalism on FOX television and numerous radio shows) they had key figure heads who could rile up their core constituents, goose-step them out to the polls and with a Sig Heil!, cast votes for the Furor and his candidates.

So what did the Democrats do in return? Did they fight back? Did they come out swinging, bobbing and weaving? Did they create a great cause to mobilize their supporters behind? No. No. No. And, no. To be brutally honest, they were actually quite pathetic. The Democrats didn’t dare openly attack or speak against Bush Jr. or his policies. He was deemed too popular for that. Dubya had em’ shook like he was Suge Night. In fact many Democratic candidates tried to speak about how they were on the White House team. Some went as far as to display Bush Jr. in their commercials.

Trying to follow the centrist model of Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle and House Party Leader Rick Gephardt, the Democrats sought to reinvent themselves. The already bogus notion of the New Democrat was taken to an all time high, or better stated an all time low. Sometimes it was hard to tell who was the Republican, with the Democrats sounding and acting nearly the same. Rather than picking up the momentum and hammering home the nature of this dismal economy, the Democrats tried to show they were patriotic and weren’t out to upset Bush Jr. and his Junta. And when it came to their core constituents, the Democrats dropped the ball completely.

When I cast my vote on Tuesday I made sure to ask and speak to other black folks around me, imploring them to go vote. I got a lot of shrugs and indifference. Some simply hadn’t bothered to register or register in the right region. Others just weren’t that interested. One person told me he only voted in Presidential elections, somehow blissfully unaware that if ever there was a time “one citizen, one vote” counted it was during mid-term elections - not the Presidential race with its controversial electoral college.

Of course many were stunned the morning after, only then realizing what their inactivity may have led to. I’ve heard a lot of “would’ve” and “should’ve” in the past day or so. In fact political analysts are already pointing out that the low black voter turn out in the South alone may have cost Democrats wins in key races. In Georgia for instance, there were 13,000 fewer votes in counties with black citizenry than there were just four years ago. And while there is blame enough towards the black community’s apathy, for not realizing the importance of these elections, it’s the Democrats who deserve the most criticism.

Black folks weren’t always mostly Democrats in the US. In fact, in the beginning, most were Republicans. The irony is that the Grand Old Party, or GOP as they would later be called, came about in a sense because of blacks. Abolition was a primary reason that a group of disaffected Democrats decided to leave the main party and form their own group, the Republicans. After the Civil War, in which most Southern states in rebellion were primarily Democrats, the Republicans took on the name Grand/Gallant Old Party - boasting of preserving the Union from Southern, Confederate Democratic traitors.

They were seen as so aligned with abolition and the recently freed black populace that Frederick Douglas himself would state, “the Republican Party is the ship and all else is the sea.” However with their Union preserved, most Republicans didn’t really see the freed slaves as core constituents - not when they might be able to get white ones. Oh there were a few who put the Gallant into the GOP, like Thaddeus Stevens and other Radical Republicans as they were called. These white men championed the cause of the Freedmen’s Bureau and helped Blacks gain key political seats. But they were too few and too far in between. In order to heal their Union the main core of the GOP pulled away its support of the ex-slaves, allowing the Democrats to disfranchise, terrorize and murder their recently freed allies throughout the South. Blacks found that themselves out in the cold. By the time the GOP found their way into the bed of big business, the relationship was over for good.

Sometime after FDR’s New Deal, a strange thing happened. Blacks began to slowly look towards their former enemies the Democrats, out to secure new constituents and votes. By the Civil Rights Era, Blacks and Democrats began to go hand in hand. Dixiecrats were denounced and the control of the party went to the less racist Democratic wing. It was a bizarre twist but that’s politics for you. And it’s been that way ever since. Sure there are black Republicans and independents. But the fact of the matter is that the black vote is a core element for Democrats. Even many black independents swing over to the Democrats at the end of the day. It’s not a matter of blind allegiance as much as it is a matter of simple common sense.

If the Republican Party ever returned to the days of Thaddeus Stevens, perhaps blacks would en masse support their ticket. But as long as the modern GOP pushes the agenda it does, it’s not going to see any large African-American voter turn out in its favor. Some blacks join the GOP, looking for an alternative and hoping to affect some change. Colin Powell is a pro-immigration, pro-choice, pro-affirmative action, military dove in a party that is overwhelmingly anti-immigration, anti-choice, anti-affirmative action and on a war hawk stance. Perhaps Powell can live that seeming dichotomy, belonging to a party that disagrees with him on such key issues, but most black people seem unable or unwilling to do so. Not all, but many black people echo the sentiments of House Rep. Republican JC Watt’s father: “A black man voting Republican is like a chicken voting for Colonel Sanders.” It seems even Watts himself may have come to such a bitter conclusion. A pro-affirmative action black GOP member, he left his cohorts with rumblings of feeling ignored and exploited - even after being a loyal soldier to the conservative cause.

So with such historical insight and knowing the close nature of these mid-term elections, one would think the Democratic Party would have been falling over them selves to secure the black vote. But nope, that wasn’t the case. Instead the black vote was greatly neglected. The Democrats failed miserably to mobilize the black vote, something that could have stemmed the Republican onslaught. As stated before many of these races were lost by 10% and much less. If Democrats had made certain to pay attention to the black voters, rather than take us for granted, they might not be sitting ass-out in so many spots right now. Henry Crespo, president of the Miami-Dade Democratic Black Caucus, said Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill McBride failed to connect with black voters in South Florida, despite the backing of some key local leaders.

"Clearly, what he did was go to a couple of chiefs to get their approval and expect us to come out and vote for him with a promise for a pie when historically we only get crumbs," Crespo said. "The black electorate is smarter than that."

Rep. Cynthia McKinney also spoke on the matter. She states, "While the national pundits postulate on the reasons why minority voters didn't turn out, minority voters themselves know the truth. For generations, the Democratic Party has taken the minority vote for granted."

The sad part of this is that in the end, it’s those minority citizens who will get the short end of the stick. In case it hasn’t sunken in yet, let me rephrase. The Bush Jr. Junta now runs not only the White House, but has a majority in both Houses of Congress. However bad you thought things were, buckle and prepare for the roller coaster ride that is sure to come. The Junta has already begun sketching out a whole new conservative driven ballgame. There is talk of pushing through a bill to allow for drilling oil in the ecologically sensitive arctic region and finalizing plans for a war on Iraq. Retaking the Senate, triumphant GOP senators started doling out the all-important committee chairmanships Wednesday, making certain to put conservatives in each one. There is absolute glee now from figures like Trent Lott about pushing through conservative judgeships that had before only been held back by the once Democratic majority Senate. The GOP is almost peeing themselves at thoughts of a Supreme Court vacancy (or two) becoming available, in which a conservative will no doubt be placed and more easily confirmed with Democrats unable to halt such appointments on their own. The Big Brother Homeland Security Department, held up by the few Democrats who worried about its Constitutionality and invasion of privacy, has now been given the green light.

So is there some good news in all this mayhem? Well yeah, but it has to do more with what is to come. It is quite possible that the Republicans could be setting themselves up for a great fall. Now that they run both Houses of Congress and the White House, people are going to expect results. With a probable $9 billion a month war with Iraq on the plate, that pesky slipping economy is going to be a monster to tackle. And if its not handled, Democrats will be sure to sit by and say, “hey, we’re not the ones in charge.” Many of these grand plans they have could backfire. It’s happened before, back with Newt Gingrich and the gang. They came into the House of Representatives like marauding pirates with a ‘Contract Out on America,’ slashing every benefit program and pushing a strong right wing conservative agenda. Displeasure with such actions helped Bill Clinton win in the next Presidential elections, as voters showed up to wreak their vengeance upon the GOP. The country is still near evenly split. Push too far and the Republicans could end up paying for it come 2004.

More good news could come in a shake up in the Democratic Party. Stunned by the blow of this grand loss, most Democrats are looking like opponents in an old Mike Tyson fight. Already House Democratic leader Rick Gephardt has announced he won’t seek another term. And many members of the party are openly grumbling that Gephardt and Daschle’s centrist movement has now cost them the 2000 and the mid-term elections.

Both Gephardt and Daschle have been pushing a “New Democrat” message. They urge a centrist approach and shun the liberal themes the Democrats have become famous for in the modern era. Placing the votes of white males above that of women, blacks and other minorities, they’ve parked the Democratic Party in some limbo nexus just shy of the right but no where near the left. And its made them divided, garbled and without vision. As David Worley, former chairman of the Democratic Party in Georgia openly stated, “the national leadership did a miserable job of giving a theme to the election."

Well how could they, is what I’m wondering, when the Democrats’ theme seems to just be a softer version of the Republicans’? Some Democrats, like so-called moderate Martin Frost of Texas, still haven’t learned their lessons. He is pushing for a movement of the Democratic Party even further to the right. For some reason it hasn’t sunk in fully yet that the Democrats can’t “out-right the right.” That’s what the Republicans are for. It’s their thing. Stop biting. All the right wing white males are either already in the GOP or have moved to Oregon and Montana to join militias. Heck, they’re probably in both. Instead of chasing after them, the Democrats need to tend to their core constituents and galvanize them.

This blurring of party values reminds me of an episode of the NBC television show The West Wing. In it, an argument breaks out between a Democratic campaign manager and White House cabinet member over whether the Democrats should take a more centrist or leftist stance. The campaign manager finally blows up at the theme of Democrats remaking themselves into near-Republicans and says:

"We all need some therapy because somebody came along and said liberal means soft on crime, soft on drugs, soft on Communism, soft on defense. And we're going to tax you back to the stone-age because people shouldn't have to work if they don't want to. And instead of saying 'Well, excuse me, you right-wing reactionary, xenophobic, homophobic, anti-education, anti-choice, pro-gun Leave it to Beaver trip back to the '50s'. We cowered in the corner and say, 'Please don't hurt me'. . . . Let's have two parties. . . ."

Yeah. I hate to have to take cues from a fictional Democratic campaign guy on a television show, but somebody tell Mr. Frost that we need to have two parties. If the Democrats are just going to be the Republicans with a different name, then they should put a trunk on the jackass and start calling themselves Republi-crats. But if they’re actually ready to start acting like a separate party again, it’s high time they scraped off the dirt conservatives smeared on the word liberal and went on the offensive. Thankfully there are some ready to do just that.

Already there is talk from the more leftist wing of the Democratic Party to become more pro-active. New leadership is being called for and a return to staple Democratic concerns, policies and issues is being championed. Finally there is serious talk of putting the Democrat back into Democrat, as the late Senator Paul Wellstone was fond of saying. Spokesman Brendan Daly for California liberal Nancy Pelosi stated, “It's a matter of drawing a clear distinction between the Democratic and Republican party on issues that the Democrats are united about and that the American people strongly support." And it’s about time this case was made. If the Democrats can stop trying to fit an elephant skin over the donkey on their logo, they just might find themselves again and in turn find the voters they’ve alienated.

Lastly, there is opportunity here for blacks and other overlooked core elements of the Democratic constituency. Things might get mad rough for the next few years under the thumb of the jackbooted GOP. But black people in the US have weathered worse. In fact, black folks are often at their best - in terms of unity and activism - when the pressure is on. We gonna have to watch each other’s backs, but we’ll be aiight. I say we use this moment to make the best out of a bad situation.

Let the Democrats think that black voters didn’t turn out to vote on purpose. That goes for even those of us that voted. Let it seem as if we were making a statement about being neglected. The Democrats need to learn who butters their bread. We’re only 12% of the population and we all don’t vote alike. But enough of us vote Democratic. Enough of us are independent and are just waiting for someone to say the right thing.

The Republicans got what they need in terms of voters. We are about to become even less of a concern to them. But the Democrats right now are busted and broke. I say we hold our vote over them like a threat. Tell them next time, come seeking us out with some agendas we like and we’ll make sure you got a seat in Washington. For too long they dictate the rules to us, basically saying “hey…you can take your chances with the other guys if you want.” So we hang around like an abused woman fearful of striking out on her own.

Now I ain’t ready to break up. But I’m ready to get on the Democratic Party like Tina Turner got on Ike. Politics isn’t about friendship. It’s about a contract. You do for me, and I’ll do for you. Time to let the Democrats understand we’re serious about this game and ain’t to be played with. The Democrats are going to have to learn that either they are Democrats or they are Republicans. They can’t be both.

MORPHEUS- Exposin Fake Shyt