Why the World Can't Wait

Why the world can't wait by Mark Leno

*Mark Leno represents San Francisco in the state assembly. This oped appeared in the Dec. 21-27 issue of the San Francisco Bay Guardian.

The horror, lies, corruption, deceit, death, and destruction of the Bush-Cheney administration have all evolved to a scale beyond any of our worst nightmares. Our once-great nation has been reduced to a preemptive war machine, squandering our limited national resources on its imperial conquests while our domestic needs are left unattended.


This administration, aided by the one-party rule in Washington, DC, has traded governing for propaganda, allowed a treasured major city to decay in its own ruins, allowed the Department of Homeland Security to feed the voracious, petty appetites of lawmakers, replaced science with superstition, transformed torture into policy, enriched the most privileged by indebting future generations, and ignored the urgency of global warming – while doing everything in its power to supplant our democracy with a theocracy.

While referencing every national concern back to 9/11, the Bush-Cheney administration has underfunded domestic port security by $1 billion and the need of our first responders by $98 billion. While declaring education among his top priorities, President George W. Bush has shortchanged the No Child Left Behind Act by $9 billion. In the midst of a national health care crisis, five million Americans have lost their health insurance since Bush took office. Food stamps to prevent malnutrition, student loans providing access to higher education, and indigent medical care are all at risk to allow for further tax cuts to the nation's wealthiest. Women's reproductive rights and health issues have been reduced to a political football.

Under Bush's leadership, corruption has become the newest fashion in Washington. The likes of Jack Abramoff, Tom DeLay, Bill Frist, Scooter Libby, Randy (Duke) Cunningham, and Karl Rove have set new standards of deceit, greed, and intolerance.

And then there is the war in Iraq. After hundreds of billions of dollars have been carelessly and shamelessly spent on sole-source contracts to Halliburton and other presidential cronies, Iraq's infrastructure is in near shambles. International terrorists have found a new and welcoming home, while our own national security is arguably at greater risk than before September 2001.

Though the darkness has seldom appeared so absolute, the disenchantment of millions of Americans is beginning to find articulation. The World Can't Wait, a national movement to drive out the Bush regime, is exhibiting extraordinary leadership in harnessing and directing the myriad oppositional voices within our land. Having successfully executed numerous street demonstrations across the country Nov. 2 and with a full page New York Times ad last week, the World Can't Wait is in need of your immediate attention and support to continue its efforts.

In this dire situation, politics as usual will not do. Each of us has the responsibility, if not the obligation, to participate in this collective effort. We will spend many years repairing the damage Bush has already done to our economy, the environment, the health of our urban centers, and to our international reputation. The question we all need to ask is, at what cost do we suffer three more years of this abusive administration? Don't we all agree that the world can't wait three more years?

If everyone reading this piece were to visit http://www.worldcantwait.org and to take the next step, we would make a significant impact. Whether you are able to make a contribution of any size, volunteer your time in organizing a response in your community to Bush's State of the Union address in January, or share this information with everyone in your e-mail universe, I urge you to get involved. The reigning powers are counting on our being too disgusted, discouraged, and disheartened to challenge them in any creative fashion. They believe they can continue their assaults unimpeded.

A recent Ipsos Public Affairs poll indicates that by a margin of 50 percent to 44 percent, Americans believe Congress should consider impeaching President George W. Bush if he did not tell the truth about his reasons for going to war. Let's hold Bush accountable. Engage today. The world can't wait!