As an unapologetic liberal, (whatever that term has morphed into these days) I actually recoil in horror when I hear some of the well-deserved criticisms hurled at the Democratic Party these days. But I also feel that some of the criticisms are unwarranted and deserve defending.  This defense does not emanate from some sort of blind loyalty to the Party, but from a liberal point of view, which is reflected more in the Democratic Party, which admittedly needs a healthy dose of Cortisone shot for the backbone and a swift kick on the behind to stir it back to its core democratic ideals. But let's not throw the baby with the bath water.  

It is true, as Ms Ahadu indicated that the Ethiopian community has identified more with the Democratic Party for decades.  However, lately it seems like this relationship might be souring as more and more Ethiopians have become disenchanted by what they perceive as unresponsiveness by the Democrats to the issues that are facing Ethiopia today.  However, there are valid reasons for this lack of immediate action by Democrats that have not been recognized by many, which I will address below.

Incidentally, ever since former President Ronald Reagan granted amnesty to immigrants back in the mid 80's, there has been a misconception about Republican Party being a better ally to the Ethiopian community than the Democratic Party. To hear some misinformed fellow Ethiopians tell it, it sounds like President Reagan specifically had the Ethiopian Diaspora in mind, when he came up with the amnesty.  But this calculated plan did not come as a good will gesture for immigrants, but instead as part of a larger political plan to bring cheap labor to the U.S. from Mexico and other poor countries to destroy the labor unions, a major contributor to the Democratic Party and a big thorn on the side of the Republican Party for years. The amnesty also provided the corporations, major Republican contributors and supporters, the ability to employ undocumented workers for cheap labor with no benefits.  It is my opinion that the Republican Party's interest only goes as deep as its lobbyists' pockets instead of a genuine concern for others albeit the myth that had been building up in the Ethiopian Diaspora. But I digress.  My goal here is not much to trash the Republican Party nor is it to defend the Democratic Party to no end, but instead to remind people that there are some factors that we need to consider before putting the blame squarely on the Democrats and that there is often a great peril in forging unholy alliance with the U.S. as even the un-holiest of tyrants like Bin Laden and Saddam learned recently.

The first and most important point overlooked by many is that today the Republican Party is in control of all 3 branches of government. Congress has a Republican majority in both the House and the Senate, the president, as everyone knows, is not just a Republican but a certified Neo-Con, and the Supreme Court, with the recent appointment of Judge Sam Alito, has solidified its ultra conservative position.  Looking at Congress, what this means is that every bill or resolution introduced by a member of either party is basically at the mercy of the Republican majority in that Republicans have the final say whether the bill is moved up the legislation ladder or is killed prematurely in a committee.  More so now than any time in the recent history of Congress, the Republican Party has made the legislative process ideological and extremely partisan.  Any bill that does not promote today's extreme conservative ideology or further enriches corporations is either killed immediately in committee or is shoved under a pile of beauracratic garbage not to see the light of day again.  Republicans decide what is brought up for debate in the different committees as well as the House and the Senate floors.  All committees and sub committees are chaired by Republicans, since their majority affords them this privilege. Democrats have been practically shut out of the legislative process unless it is a bill that Republicans believe it has a wide bipartisan support.  Democrats have a list of legislative proposals waiting in Congress, but they have not been able to push it through, because of the Republicans' arrogance and lack of respect for the institution. In fact, the first order of business by the Republicans, as soon as they assumed the House majority in 1994, was to set up the ‘K-Street Project', which is a brainchild of the disgraced former House majority leader Republican Tom DeLay, who was recently indicted for a number of unlawful activities such as illegal campaign financing. Tom DeLay and Grover Nordquist, a Republican Party strategist, made it clear to all lobbyists in Washington that, if they wanted any bills passed by Congress, they must first wet the beaks of the Republican vultures in Washington.  So, we can put that insinuation by Ms Ahadu about the Democrats and the K-Street lobbyists to rest at this point.

So it strikes me as odd why Congressman Smith did not put Resolution 4423 to a vote within the sub-committee in the first place, if he genuinely believed in the Resolution and the wide support it garnered from his constituents, the Ethiopian community. Rep. Smith certainly has the votes to move it up the legislative ladder without buckling under the pressure or ‘hostility' towards the Resolution by any Democrat on the committee.  I mean who is yanking whose chain here?  Frankly, the Congressman comes across as somewhat disingenuous when he blames the ‘obstructionist Democrats' as usual, as this seems to be the standard Republican Party decorum these days. Blame the Democrats for any and everything.  Why, after all, listen to any suggestion by a Democrat whose Party, according to today's Republicans, stands for nothing and has no solutions to any problems?  I mean, since when did the Republicans start taking their marching orders from the meek Democrats?  If this is not the prefect example of political grandstanding, I don't know what is.   I swear one of these days a Republican will forget to put the toilet seat down and when confronted by the wife, he will say ‘Well, it was the Democrats' fault!' 

Secondly, even if we were to believe Rep. Smith and accept his reason that Rep. Donald Payne from NJ, a ranking Democrat on the committee, requested further discussion, what is so terribly wrong with such an idea?  Shouldn't every Ethiopian who wants the best for his country appreciate and welcome a further discussion instead of a hasty decision we all might regret later? Doesn't the issue deserve a close scrutiny, given the utter incompetence and deviltry of this administration and its number one ally as well as enabler, the Republican led Congress?   In fact, I say we should embrace the idea given this administration's response to real democracy around the world. Can someone say Haiti or Venezuela?  Perhaps Hamas' recent victory in the Palestinian territories gives a better picture of what the US feels about genuine democracy. 

As for the outright hostility Ms Ahadu claimed Rep. Payne has shown towards this Resolution, a proof of such behavior would have helped her accusation. Ms Ahadu, also criticized the Ethiopian Caucus founded by Rep Mike Honda of California to promote the relation between the US and Ethiopia.  But this group is nothing more than a goodwill organization with no real political influence whatsoever.  What else can Congressman Honda and his group do except condemn the actions of this Meles regime through an official press release  

I get a chuckle every time a fellow Ethiopian quotes Bush's State of the Union speech and his ‘promise' to spread democracy around the world.  If there is an Ethiopian out there who actually believes Dubya's pledge, I have this bridge in Mekele I'd like to sell them. But in all seriousness, I doubt if Bush and his Neo-Con buddies have a genuine concern for the well being of people around the world. I doubt if they even care about their own people - well, at least a certain ethnicity of it, if the response to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina was any indication. Hell, it took some major arm-twisting just to hear Colin Powell admit that there was genocide in Darfur. Just to utter the word genocide!  And last time I checked Powell was a black man.  How can we honestly believe that these Republicans have our best interest in their minds?    

What the world sees in America today is an administration that bombs first and asks questions later. Their idea of spreading freedom and democracy is by the barrel of an M-16. This is a renegade group of individuals whose official foreign policy includes attacking a sovereign nation preemptively. Haven't we been paying attention to what has been happening in Iraq and Afghanistan the last 3 years? Are we really that naïve to buy into the ‘freedom is on the march' propaganda by president Bush?  I'd hate for the president to one day give a speech about Ethiopia and declare, in his ever-charming southern drawl ‘Our qoouurrrrel is not with the people of  uhhh uuhh, Atiopian.  It is with the dictatorial regime of Maaleses Zoynaiwee'.  Next thing you know 2000-pound daisy cutter bombs are dropping on the streets of Addis under the headline ‘Shock and Awe-The Sequel, The Ethiopian Version'.  No thank you Mr. President, one dictator at a time, please. 

My friends, this is not your father's America or your grandfather's, for that matter.  There may have been a time, a long time ago, when it seemed like America cared about others and always came to the rescue.  At least it may have succeeded in giving that impression to the rest of the world.   But September 11, we are told by our new bold ‘leaders', who are out to change the world to their liking, has changed everything.  This is the new America whose Constitution has been replaced the Neo-Con doctrine known as Project for the New American Century PNAC , a document that explains the  absurdity by this administration as well as answers to other questions many people are afraid to ask about this administration.  I encourage my fellow Ethiopians to read this document.  

Ms Ahadu asked a fair and logical question, "How can the Ethiopian Diaspora combat the above challenges?" The problem our country faces today requires the involvement of all of us inside and outside the country, and requires the active participation of all Ethiopians in the political process. But far be it from me to suggest to anyone how to vote or what political party to register under. My only hope is that people look into the facts carefully and do their own research before pledging alliance to a certain political party and casting their votes. Believe me, I realize that today's Democratic Party leaves a lot to be desired in way of courage and effective organization, but when I look at the immediate alternative, I get this uncontrollable urge to break my fingers into a million pieces in order to stop myself from voting for a Republican candidate.   So until there is a viable third or fourth party, I will hold my nose and vote for a Democrat or an Independent any day whose core ideals are a bit closer to mine rather than cast a vote for any of today's Republican candidate.