Animals that best exploit the environment they find themselves in will flourish. The environment I have in mind is the meta-environment called "the laws of the United States", and the animals I have in mind are the Republicans.
The fact is, that as nasty as republicans are, they can only operate within the laws of the United States. Of course, you are all objecting wildly to this last statement, so please follow me below for an explanation.
When I say "laws" I don't necessarily mean the legal code. I mean something far more organic, something more akin to physical laws. In the following, please allow me to differentiate between the legal code of the US and the "laws" of the US, a concept I will explain presently.
If the US legal code says that first degree murder always has a penalty, that does not imply that first degree murder always has a penalty in the US. It only means that if one kills and is caught and is tried and is convicted, then killing has a penalty. Further, it would be very incorrect (in my terminology) to say that "the law says you can not kill" because even before the killer is convicted, he has already killed. I'm differentiating between the legal code and the physical laws governing the behavior of a person in the US.
The laws do say that I cannot walk up to the President and shoot him, because physically I will be restrained from doing that. In this case, the law does agree with the legal code because very strong systems have been set up to force the laws to agree with the legal code.
More to the point, the legal code says that the President may not authorize the NSA to spy on Americans without FISA approval. But Bush did it. Done. It may have been in the legal code that he "can't", but he did. Moreover, he hasn't been tried. It may be in the legal code that the House must begin impeachment hearings if Bush engages in high crimes and misdemeanors, or that the Senate should provide oversight, but they haven't done so. That's it. That is the reality of the situation.
Now that I've explained the cliff-hanger sentence that republicans can only operate within the laws of the US, let me explain how this concept can be interesting and not purely academic.
If the President lies to congress, if the Ohio Secretary of State works with an underhanded corporation to steal the presidential election, if the Vice President can allow energy companies to make the policy, all without being held accountable, then that means that, in our form of government, as it now stands, the President can lie to congress, a Secretary of State can steal the presidential election, and the Vice President can allow lobbyists to write policy, all without being held accountable.
These are realities of our current system of government. The environment whose DNA is the US legal code but whose flesh and blood are the US laws, as I've tried to develop above, has been exploited. But only because the environment was exploitable.
What I'm trying to say is this. Only that which was easily abusable has been abused; only that which was easily shreddible has been shredded.
Now that it's done, we can look around and see exactly what needs to be fixed. Election reform, lobby reform, intelligence reform. Environment, taxes, schools. Transparancy in government. It's all been laid out for us in plain view by very resourceful, hard-working Republicans!
The squeaky wheel gets the grease, and in some sense the republicans have done us the great service of making everything that could possibly squeak do so. (Did they have to do it all at once??)
And the laws of the united states may have allowed these things to occur, but these laws are not finished acting yet. The indignities and evils that the republicans have wrought on our system have brought more people on board with and engaged in the Progressive agenda than have been so in a long time.
If not for Bush's war, dailykos would not have started. Representatives Pelosi, Slaughter, Conyers, Senators Kerry Obama, Boxer, and President Carter would not have taken the time to both speak to, listen to, and engage a huge and growing community of people who care about their country and the world.
The country is in pain and is bleeding from wounds inflicted by the corrupt Republicans. However, if we do our part and work hard for our country in this, its time of need, I think we can surpass where we were 5 years ago in very real ways. The republicans have merely amplified problems that were already there. Now that they have brought all of them to the fore, we can wrest this country from their strangle-hold and take it to higher planes of greatness.
Only when a person is confronted with challenges can she grow. Now is the time for our growth as a nation.