James Carville's 'Had Enough'

President Bush's critics say he's taken the country from boom to bust, but now one of those political opponents is actually offering some constructive criticism. Democratic political strategist James Carville's new book, "Had Enough? A Handbook For Fighting Back," lays out a plan for turning the country around.

He tells The Early Show co-anchor Rene Syler, "It's time for American people to rise up and take their government back and to restore the reputation of the United States around the world for being a truth-telling nation."

Asked if he thinks Democrats will win the White House, Carville says, "I think the Democrats have to articulate a very national big, big message. I think this is about America's standing in the world. I think this is about who controls the government, the interest groups or the people. This is about what do we do about health-care costs. "

He boils down his strategies in a list: "10 Rules for Progressives to Live By." He explained a few on the show.

Stop apologizing for Everything. He says, "Every time I turn on the TV, some Democrat saying, 'Gee, I don't know why we did this.' I point out the Democratic party won two world wars and beat the depression, cut out the poverty by two thirds and was responsible for the same sustained prosperity that we've had had in the United States. What the hell do we have to apologize for?"

Quit Conceding That the Other Side Has a Point. "This idea that somehow or another, every idea on its face, because it's an idea, has some validity is ludicrous," Carville says, "Sometimes, they have a point. And you should concede and say, you have a point here and we have a better point.'"

Sometimes You've Got to Be Willing to Fight. Carville explains, "I think some people are willing to fight. I think sometimes they do. I think they got to pick bigger battles and be more articulate.

"I think we didn't question this war enough and I think a lot of people, in a sense our opposition party, we let the country down. We didn't question the fact there was no plan; we didn't question the fact the intelligence was shaky; we didn't question that the people in the administration who were telling us ...that this occupation was going to be unbelievably difficult. We didn't question the fact we had... international opposition. I think the country would have been a lot better off if the Democrats had been a stronger opposition party leading up to this war."

Read an excerpt:

Prologue

I don't know about you, but I've had enough of the whole damn thing.

• I've had enough of losing elections.
• I've had enough of losing arguments.
• I've had enough of seeing Americans losing their jobs.
  Heck, I've had enough of losing my hair.
• I've had enough of calling some B-rate cowboy my commander-in-chief.
• I've had enough of the broken promises, the unnecessary secrecy, and the lying to the American people.
• I've had enough of people saying government doesn't work -- when, for them, it's working like a charm.
• I've had enough of giving millionaires like Dick Cheney and myself tax breaks and giving America's kids a mountain of debt.
• I've had enough of being hated around the world because I'm an American.
  Oh, but my frustration is an equal-opportunity thing.
• I've had enough of Democrats rolling over and thinking that you can appease George Bush, Dick Cheney, Tom DeLay, and that whole gang of Keystone Kops who are running America today.
• I've had enough of seeing our ideas stolen, then bastardized, then used to beat us over the head so hard that we stop thinking straight and what should be cries of outrage become pitiful whimpers.
• I've had enough of people coming up to me on street corners, in hotel lobbies, in airports, and whining to me about how bad things are. Believe me, I know.
• I've had enough of a press too scared and pathetic to ask a follow-up question.
• I've had enough of the blowhards on cable TV, and the self-righteous anger I hear from people whose only accomplishment in life is their ability to turn the dial on an AM radio.

  Tell you what, I've had enough of having enough.

Rest assured, there are a lot of people who are as fed up as you and me. And most of them want to do something about it. But here's the problem: they're just sitting there, taking it. Sure, maybe you throw your shoe at the TV sometimes. But that doesn't accomplish anything, unless you count seeing a tread mark on Bill O'Reilly's face as progress.

It's time to quit stewing, steaming, and taking abuse, and start taking action.

We need to take back our country from the tax-cutting, environment-desecrating, secret-keeping, influence-peddling, warmongering, free-speech-hating, hypocritical right-wing goofballs who are running things today.

We need to say, "Enough is enough." We want our country back, and we intend to get it back.

That's what this book is: it's a guide for taking back Congress, the White House, and America from the people running our country -- and running it into the ditch -- today. And we're not just going to rant, and rave, and criticize. We're going to put forward some fresh new ideas to make progressives stronger, and our country better.

So consider the following pages a constructive outlet for your case of political road rage, and read on.

Copyright © 2003 by James Carville