The Bush/Cheney regime is only an epi-phenomenon.

It is the result of a phenomenon that is even more serious than the regime itself.

That phenomenon is the deliberate deformation of what was a flourishing democracy in America and its transformation into an unconstitutional authoritarian regime by political and economic elites over a 30 year period acting under the aegis of the Republican Party.

The Bush/Cheney regime's brand of international terrorism and torture, best expressed in their  illegal invasion of Iraq to get control of its oil, was made possible by the concerted efforts of these elites to deform the American political system and subvert the sovereignty of the American people.

They did this by:

1) Joining with anti-democratic Democrats to gerrymander the majority of electoral districts in the country to prevent insurgent candidates from running against the parties' favored sons

2) Flooding the political process with corporate campaign contributions and lobbyists to buy the votes of our elected representatives in both major political parties

3) Fabricating divisive cultural wars in order to capture an electoral base, which the Republican Party and their elite backers did not have 30 years ago, comprised of religious fundamentalists.

Most significantly, these elites used and continue to use their concocted culture wars (and post 9/11 scare tactics) to divert public attention from their primary agenda, that of enriching the giant corporations which are the driving forces behind them, especially the oil and defense industries.

The core challenge is not so much to get rid of the Bush/Cheney regime and the self-destructed Republican Party, but to restore popular sovereignty and a constitutional democracy to a country whose electoral and legislative processes are no longer controlled by the people.

With the federal government headed towards insolvency because of tax cuts for the rich and $700 billion being spent annually on defense, and with both the Republican and Democratic candidates for president in 2008 appearing to be in the pockets of corporate campaign contributors, it is going to be a long hard fight.

Given the deliberate deformation of the American political system over the past 30 years, it may very well be impossible in the foreseeable future for the American people to elect a government that truly represents their will.