Eve Ensler Has Nightmares about Sarah Palin,  I Dream of Stalin

By Joan Lipkin

 

While Eve Ensler says she is having nightmares about Governor Sarah Palin, I am having nightmares about Senator Joe McCarthy and dictator Joseph Stalin.

 

I am stunned by the lack of information offered in the mainstream press so that Americans can make free and informed choices.

 

There has been little if any discussion of the caucus fraud perpetuated by the Obama campaign in which many caucuses were swamped, often illegally, thus driving the results.  According to Lynette Long’s helpful website, as well as the documentaries “The Audacity of Democracy” and “We Will Not Be Silenced”, there were some 2,000 violations in Texas alone.

 

In a free society with a responsible press, wouldn’t there be some substantial discussion of this?  Maybe reporters would be in agreement, maybe not.  But wouldn’t there be something?

 

There has been little if any substantial discussion of what it means to a democratic society when voters in Michigan and Florida are stripped of their representation and all of Hillary Clinton’s delegates as well as the undecideds are arbitrarily assigned to Obama.

 

In a free society with a responsible press, wouldn’t there be some substantial discussion of this?  Maybe reporters would be in agreement, maybe not.  But wouldn’t there be something?

 

There has been little if any substantial discussion of what it means to a democratic society when Hillary Clinton, the person who received more votes than anyone in the history of a democratic primary is denied nomination on the first ballot at the Democratic National Convention in Denver and there is no open and honest roll call.  Or what it means when Clinton delegates like Sasha Millstone are threatened, Gloria Allred is censored and Delmarie Cobb is race baited at the convention.  Instead, we were given a fully orchestrated floor show with no real questions asked.

 

In a free society with a responsible press, wouldn’t there be some substantial discussion of this?  Maybe reporters would be in agreement, maybe not.  But wouldn’t there be something? Especially at a convention in which there were 15,000 media from around the world.

 

There has been little, if any substantial discussion of what it means to a democratic society when the Democratic nominee, Barack Obama, refuses to debate his opponent John MccCain in town halls, from the time of becoming the presumptive nominee until the convention in August, thus shutting down opportunities for voters to see more real life comparisons between the two candidates.

 

There has been little, if any substantial discussion over the lack of tolerance in this election And if the media won’t do it,  maybe it needs to be organized by a cross section of the American public including educators, faith based and religious leaders, psychologists, sociologists, political theorists, community organizers, feminist scholars, civic dialogue facilitators and more.

 

There has been plenty of discussion of all of this on the blogs.  But although blogs often have the most accurate and up to date information and certainly the most diligent reporting, that is not where most Americans get their information.

 

So it is incumbent upon those who believe in a democratic society to share the information they have. And when they do, however, they are often shunned or threatened or race baited.  As a result, people are increasingly afraid to speak the truth of what is going on, for fear of reprisal.

 

What do you call a society where people are not allowed to hear or speak the truth?  Where there can be severe economic, professional, social and psychological consequences for telling the truth?

I call it fascist.

 

Is this what Obama means when he talks about change and hope?  An authoritarian society in which free speech does not exist and difference of opinion— the hallmark of democracy— is not tolerated.

I believe in hope, too.  And in this case, I hope not.

 

Rest well, Eve Ensler.  For all you have done for women over the years, you have my deep gratitude and respect. But we must agree to respectfully disagree on this one.  Sarah Palin is not the problem. The ghosts of Joe McCarthy and Joseph Stalin are. But make no mistake; I have my sleepless eye on both parties.  Ever vigilance is the price of democracy.