Still satisfied
(Published 14 Feb 2001 in the BDH as "Actually, this Nader voter is satisfied")``Something tells me,'' I think as I read Michael Linden's column, ``that this guy is being sarcastic.'' What he may not realise is that in many cases he was right: Linden is spot-on when he says that Bush's election gives us a chance to fight battles we need to (re-)fight.
Roe v Wade hasn't been overturned, but both before and during Clinton's tenure, abortion access has been slowly chipped away. Many states require mandatory delays and/or counseling before an abortion can occur; there are funding restrictions preventing women from getting them and clinics from giving them; and many states' parental notification/consent laws can cause a pregnant teen to be afraid to get an abortion, or to be forbidden an abortion even if her parents don't intend to assist in the child's support.
Gale Norton as Secretary of the Interior is less worrisome environmentally than in regards to native rights---but then, American Indians didn't do so well under the last administration, either, so at least we can hope she'll say something outrageous enough that the issue will get coverage.
Roll back environmental regulations? Maybe I'd be more worried if Clinton et al had actually enforced the ones we have.
I could go on; there are myriad small ways in which we have complacently allowed the government to erode our previously-made gains, simply because having a Democrat in office made us too trusting. Bush is a dork, but Congress is at its most liberal in years. The situation might not be ideal, but the liberals are on their toes and just bursting to go fight for their threatened causes. Am I satisfied? Yup.
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Don Blaheta / web@blahedo.org
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