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Note to the Doctor: You're Not the Boss of UsBy Rick Horowitz
Dr. James Dobson
Dear Dr. Dobson: We couldn't help noticing: You're miffed. You're certainly sounding miffed, anyway. Extremely miffed. That deal on federal judges the other night in the Senate -- you didn't like it at all, and your comments about it have been all over the news the past few days. "A complete bailout and betrayal," you called it, "by a cabal of Republicans." And you promised that the voters would "remember" those Republicans and Democrats who "betrayed their trust." Strong stuff, Doc. You weren't alone, of course. Your friend in faith Gary Bauer, for instance -- Gary Bauer called the deal a "sellout," and a "travesty." And there was plenty more, every bit as angry, from some of your other leading lights on the right. In fact, that's why we're sending you this little note -- we could hardly ignore all those raw emotions floating around everywhere. So from the bottom of our hearts, we'd just like to say: Tough. Get over it. Stick a sock in it. So you didn't get everything you wanted -- too bad. Neither did anyone else. That's why they call it a "compromise." Some of your favorite judges got a free pass onto the federal bench; some of the others weren't so lucky. That's how it goes sometimes. The right of the minority party to filibuster controversial judicial nominations was trimmed back, but it wasn't vaporized. You'd have preferred vaporized, even if a large piece of the Senate's distinctive character had been vaporized with it. Too bad. Fourteen senators saw it a different way, and they had the leverage to make their way stick. You're not going to try to tell us that they had no authority, are you? That they had no business, as small as their numbers were, exerting that kind of influence? Isn't that exactly what you've been doing? Haven't you managed to parlay a fraction of the American voting public -- an ardent fraction, absolutely, but still a fraction -- into a political behemoth? You and your colleagues have been throwing your weight around for years, but since Election Day you seem to have tossed aside any shred of restraint. One sloppily-worded exit-poll question about "moral values" and you think you're the kingmaker. (Or is it the king?) You make demands. You make threats. There's no room for accommodation -- the only victory is total victory. You want it all. Sorry, Doc. You can't have it all. It's about time -- it's past time -- somebody set you straight. You and your people get a seat at the table; you don't run the table. There are plenty of other people out here -- fractions larger and smaller than yours, and just as ardent in our own ways. We get to sit at the table, too. And if that seating chart isn't to your liking -- well, you should feel free to leave the room. Take your ball and go home. Drop out of an election cycle or two. Or three. We'll miss you. But we'll muddle through. Sincerely yours, The Rest of Us Posted 5/26/05. Get
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Rick Horowitz
