Vote for the Democrats or die!

Ronald Reagan's advisers new that Dick Cheney was bat shit crazy. They kept him just close enough to keep the other bat shit crazies (AKA neocons) happy but didn't let him too close to Ronnie or too close to the controls of the policy making machine. Now shooting a friend is not enough for the mad lord of darkness. Over at Digby's place tristero points out that Bush wants to nuke something, like Iran. Now tristero is talking about Bush but we all know by now that it's all about Cheney, the guy that puts all that craziness into Dubya's head.

As for Iran, let me explain: YOU may think it's highly unlikely - the famous 1% probability, as a commenter mentioned - that Bush won't use nukes and is setting us up for conventional warfare. That is because you are sane and sensible. But the Bush administration thinks it's very likely. Hersh is alarmingly clear that there was close to a mutiny at the highest levels of the military recently until the nuclear option was taken off the table vis a vis Iran. Now, do you think it's still off the table? Don't be naive. Remember TIA and how it was scuttled? But what's all this brouhaha I hear about mass data mining of information the Bush administration has no business looking at whatsoever?

And Bush is just vindictive and violent, just incapable enough of remorse to follow that bat shit crazy Cheney over the cliff to Armageddon.

Can we stop it? If so, how?

How to stop him? First of all, don't be fooled or gulled into thinking he's not serious. He, and they, are very serious indeed. So raise a stink. If we out the nuke strategy prematurely and fuck up its marketing, it may backfire, as a lucky jumping of the gun in Pennsylvania derailed "intelligent design" creationism, which while still around shows some hopeful signs of dying - oh sure, they'll be back, they'll always be back, but they gotta craft an entirely new strategy now. In any event, getting the nukes off the table will be much harder.

Secondly, for heavens sake, vote, and vote responsibly. Do not vote for Republicans - as Atrios and others have said, there are no good Republicans: they will do Bush's bidding if they get in, every last one of them. And remember before you cast that vote for the Ralph Nader clone who says all the right things about class revolution and impeaching the entire judiciary along with the executive, that in the close races between Republicans and Democrats, that righteous sounding reincarnation of Eugene Debs very well may be accepting cash from Republicans intent on splitting the ticket. Vote for the 3rd party candidate if you want to - hell, I'm not a Democrat but an independent, I have no loyalty to the Democratic Party per se - but be responsible, fer crissakes. If there's even a chance of a Florida 2000 again, do you want to vote for a Nader and get another Bush? I don't think so (and no, I'm not entirely blaming Nader for the 2000 debacle, but he's not entirely innocent either).

Did you get that? Vote in November and vote for Democrats. Your life depends on it.