My French isn’t all that great, but the title means "To Arms, Grumblers, To Arms!!!" Grumblers??? Yes, grumblers. Grognards is the nickname cum official term for Napoleon’s Old Guard. These were the guys who marched through Italy and the Germanies (there were a lot of them in those days, not just one), into Russia and back. All the way, they bitched and they moaned about rations, equipment, and living conditions. And if you know anything about history, you know that Napoleon relied on them when the battle hung in the balance. They were the most loyal and fiercest troops he had. In all those years, they only broke once, at Waterloo. Below the fold, I’ll try to prove how this is relevant.
There has been a lot of grumbling on this site lately. Some of it is grumbling about the White House and the Congressional Dems. Some of it is grumbling about the grumbling. And I’m sure if we looked hard enough, we’ll find tit-for-tat grumbling, counter-grumbling, grumbling about people who want the grumbling to stop. I’m sure in some of my comments I’ve grumbled and probably have caused others to grumble.
Fair enough. This happens on a long campaign. I’ve heard grumbling for over 30 years. I heard it first in 1976, with Jerry Brown for President. I heard it at the Battle of Reagan in 1980 and the Second Battle of Reagan in 1984. I was one of Gary Hart’s foot soldiers in 1984 and 1988 where there was grumbling. I worked for Brown again in 1992, and served in Clinton’s legions in 1992 and 1996, and the grumbling was deafening. There was grumbling among Gore’s Guerrillas in 2000 and in Kerry’s Navy in 2004. If you think back on it, there was grumbling in 2008 too, when McCain overtook Obama in the September polls.
Grumbling is part of the deal. Aspiration meets up with reality, and reality usually wins. And the grumbling starts. That’s human nature and the nature of politics.
Well, kiddiwinks, the election is 5 weeks away. I still give a damn about America and its place in the world. I still care about the kind of country my kids will inherit.
Tom Paine said it best, "The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman."
Yes, we’re tired. Yes, we’re worn down. Yes, we’re not in the best strategic position. Yes, some of our officers are blithering idiots. And yes, we’re quite possibly outnumbered.
So, Democrats, let’s all grumble just a bit more but let’s pick up our packs. Let’s complain while we lace up our boots. Let’s all whine at Joe Biden while we start marching to the sound of the guns.
But let’s get there. Let’s hold the line. Let’s break the Tea Party and the Koch Brothers. Let’s De-Stroy DeMint.
And if you want to grumble while you do it, that’s fine by me. But let’s do it. We have 35 days to find a way to win, 35 days to keep the window of opportunity open. If my values and my dreams are going to get taken down, they aren’t going to be taken down by bozoes like Palin, Boehner and O’Donnell. If they think they can beat us, they need better than that. Have you forgotten what it was like under the old regime????
Come on, Grognards! Aux Armes!!!
