In the movie Happy Gilmore, when the going got rough, Happy retreated to his Happy Place. In Happy's Happy Place, his beloved Granny won big at the slots, his half-naked girlfriend beckoned to him with a full pitcher of beer in each hand and a cowboy midget rolled by on a tricycle.

After reading these two columns at the Cap Times this week I think that Madison liberals are doing the same thing. Instead of little people, however, their Happy Place consists of the good old days when they could call for W. to get impeached and bitch about the 2000 election.

I understand. Obama's been in office almost a year now and all he has to show for it is a Nobel Peace Prize. The troops are still in Iran and Afghanistan. The terrorists still hate us. Gitmo is still open. "Don't ask don't tell" is still the military's policy. We're not doing anything about the "threat" of global warming. The health care reform that may be passed is a watered down joke that does nothing to actually reform health care. Unemployment is hovering around 10% and the main people getting government handouts are bankers and car company CEOs. Awesome.

No wonder they're enraged. They voted for Hope and Change and got More Of The Same.

But after they came back into the light, I hope they do something about it. The talk about the 2010 election is about how the GOP is going to win back a bunch of seats a la 1994. I assume that'll drive liberals to fight like hell to keep their incumbents in place. That's a huge mistake.

To me, this coming election shouldn't be about replacing one party with the other. Both parties have failed the American people. This should be about getting rid of every damn one of them.

I hope liberals vote early and often in Dem primaries and nominate candidates who actually want to change things. Nominate people who are all about gay marriage, real national health care and isolationism. Likewise, I hope the GOP nominates a slew of fiscal conservatives and gun nuts. I don't really even care who wins between them. If the major parties don't nominate acceptable candidates, vote for a 3rd party who does. Please! If we keep sending the same people back to Washington it doesn't take a genius to predict that nothing will ever change. And then we'll all be seeking out our Happy Place. By the way, mine involves squirrels in tiny little outfits. Just sayin'.