Excuse me? You want the American people to do what?

When Bush originally ran for president, he promised to be a "uniter, not a divider." Now he has abandoned even the rhetoric of bipartisanship in favor of an outright plea for single party government and almost complete control. Ignoring the inherent problems with the policies that he plans to pursue with said control, the fact is that our President and his party should not possess that kind of power.

It has been obvious from the beginning that Bush has little respect for democracy. As a president elected not by the majority of the people but by the Supreme Court, there is little reason for him to feel beholden to the electorate. Nevertheless, the fact that he has abandoned even the rhetoric of plurality is disturbing.

I'm sure that Bush is not the first president to secretly wish that he could bypass the rules and regulations of the Senate and House of Representatives. He is, however, the first President to stump for Congressional candidates on that philosophy. The arrogance of this argument is incredibly astounding.

Our president is quite confident that his scare tactics and McCarthy-esque accusations will override the intelligence of the American people. He and the Republican Party are operating on the assumption that if they bluster through the campaign, acting as if nothing is abnormal about their strategy, then nobody will question their motives.

The fact that the Democrats have not responded to Bush and the GOP in this matter is a major mistake. The true problem is the lack of a vast left-wing conspiracy to combat the increasingly overt vast right-wing conspiracy. Sure, the conservatives try to distract attention away from their activities by bleating about the supposedly liberal media, but in their heart of hearts, even they have to know that is simply not true.

In the absence of developing a major underground organization in the next week, Democrats need to start responding to the Republicans. I am not actually advocating that the Democratic National Party adopt these strategies or rhetoric. But we have the moral high ground, and we need to call the GOP on their wrongheaded philosophy.

Bush's argument is fatally flawed. Our founders did not construct the government to be efficient or easy. Bush has criticized Senator Byrd (D-W.V.) for using all the rules of the Senate to block legislation. However, Bush doesn't seem to realize that these rules exist for a reason: to slow down the process of legislation and give our elected Representatives a chance to deliberate and challenge proposed policies. Our government should not be so consensual. It is important for our democracy that opposition remains alive and well. Afterall, that process is the cornerstone of our great nation-state. Therefore, in this mid-term election, don't forget our roots and remember to vote!

Jamie Kidd is a senior majoring in political science.