The GOP continues to perpetuate a moral, intellectual & political fraud on our nation.
They do so bearing a banner of conservatism which is patently false.
The Reality is that they care only about power, not about governing.
What is lost because of their power grab is our capacity for rational discourse and ultimately, responsible self-government.
It's a pretty high price to pay.
I am asked from time to time to define the difference between
Republicans and Democrats, since, on so many issues, the differences
between the parties are in fact quite nominal. In fact, at some
junctures in our history, one party has imitated the other so completely
that it has become almost impossible to tell the difference.
That is not the case any more. The real republican agenda has been laid
forth for all to see. Unfortunately, it has taken President Bush and
Karl Rove to show us the real plan.
The difference between Republicans and Democrats is very very simple.
Democrats acknowledge the values, benefits and strengths of a 2-party
system, wherein two (or more) sets of competing national parties
struggle back and forth. They see the lessons of Castro’s Cuba and
Khrushchev’s Soviet Union and believe, without question or doubt that
the Republican Party has a place in the political discourse and a place
in government. They have little in common with the GOP, but they see the
value of having the GOP voice at the table.
The Republican party, no longer conservative, no longer bipartisan, no
longer the party of leaders, now believes that the only future for
America is one in which Democrats are wiped completely from existence.
Karl Rove and many Republican leaders openly brag about wiping the
Democrat’s out. Republican writers openly espouse the assasination of
moderate Supreme Court justices, and the GOP bases it’s electoral
strategy solely and entirely on attacking the patriotism of those who do
not support their vision.
In short, the Republican national agenda is a 1-party system.
It is,above all else, about power – the expansion of the executive at the
expense of all other branches, the elimination of opposition by
re-writing the rules designed to ensure fair play and ultimately the
elimination of the Democratic party from the national discourse.
All of this, of course, is absolutely the anathema to what the
Republican party originally stood for, in it’s days of leaders like
Abraham Lincoln and Eisenhower. It would even be a complete blasphemy to
Barry Goldwater --- a true conservative if there ever was one.
Goldwater would see a one-party system as just another goose-step in the
march to Communism, Fascism or worse. While he would (and did) argue
forcefully for a conservative point of view, he would never have
espoused the current plans for spying on domestic political enemies and
certainly would never have advocated simply eliminating all opposition
in favor of unilateral government.
Conservatives believe, as do most of today’s Democrats, in fiscal
responsibility and government that is effective and efficient.
Conservatives do not espouse the elimination of public schools or deny
that government has a role in building roads and protecting our
communities – they simply argue that that such activities should be done
conservatively and cost-effectively.
Those who argue against public schooling and road building are fanatics
not that distant from Mussolini or Castro. Unfortunately, a number of
those very fanatics have seized control of the Republican Party with a
banner that reads "conservative" when it really should read "fraud" or
"liar".
It will be up to the real Republicans to claim the conservative agenda
back from these snake-oil salesmen, hypocrites and shim-sham artists.
The new GOP agenda is not one of conservatism and fiscal restraint. In
the shortest imaginable time, our deficit and debt have mushroomed into
sizes unthought-of of 6 years ago. How could any member of this
administration pretend to be a conservative? As they allow spending to
skyrocket and do nothing about the national debt, essentially a giant
tax burden for our children and their children?
The new GOP agenda is not one of smart, effective government – those are
things best left to real leaders – the new GOP agenda is the "soft
terrorism of low expectations" – they intend to reduce peoples
expectations of government so much that their actions are disguised and
their agenda obfuscated.
By doing so little, and doing it so ineffectively, they are actively
seeking to eliminate the peoples EXPECTATIONS of government.
Case and point: Hurricane Katrina, FEMA and the non-response that
followed. Were it not for the bravery and aggressive response of the
U.S. Coast Guard, it would have been 1 week before a single federal
agency lifted a finger to help Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina. If
anyone tries to tell you this was unintentional, hogwash. The plan, from
the very outset was to send a message, loud and clear, to the American
people. The message was:
"You are on your own."
The idea is that if you DO less, people will EXPECT less. It is the
government of Jesse Helms (Senator No) – better to do nothing than to
inadvertently help someone. That is the true agenda – to do nothing, but
to pretend to be doing something. Ultimately, this is a fraud for the TV
cameras – setting low expectations is in fact part of the plan.
Some years ago, I worked briefly for a member of a local legislative
body. I recall to this day, quite vividly, my first brush with the Real
Republican Agenda. Republicans controlled the body in question, and the
members were divided up into several mini-factions. An issue had come
before the board, and there was extensive debate about this issue, which
in fact had members of both party for, against, and some wanting to
study the issue further.
After a few hours of testimony and commentary, it was very clear that
there was no clear data on the impact of the question at hand and that
the most effective solution would be to convene a smaller group of
interested members to study the issue and report back to the body with
some facts. This was widely approved by both parties and the board
president suggested that they do exactly that. They were not proposing
tabling the issue – I genuinely believe that they wanted to find out the
impact before they made a decision.
A Republican member, an older man, emerged from the restroom, still
zipping up his fly as the clerk recorded each vote. As he sat down at
the table, having missed the last 15 minutes of discussion, she called
his name, "Mr. X" to record his vote on studying the issue further
(which had so far been all in favor.)
He looked up, almost as if surprised, and responded.
"Whatever the hell it is, I vote no."
And he plopped unceremoniously back into his chair.
I looked at the member I worked for with the utter horror that only a
naïve and unschooled young person can muster. He looked sadly at me for
a minute, then bent over and whispered:
"It’s not about what the issue is. It’s just about being against
something and saying no. You could have asked him anything, and he would
respond the same way. He’s an anti-government fanatic - he never wants
to be on record supporting anything, no matter how insignificant."
This is the real republican agenda. To do absolutely nothing, while
pretending to be busily doing something – Power, for no other purpose
but the acquisition of power. The goal of being elected is to STOP
government from taking action.
If it sounds too much like Soviet Russia to you too, you need to vote
Democrat.
If you are a true conservative, looking for fiscal restraint and
accountability in government, you need to vote Democrat.
If you are looking for competence in leadership, economic growth and
government that works, I’m sorry, but the Clinton years are over, don’t
hold your breath.
A lot of people suggest that this is incompetence –the GOP is not fit to
govern because they are not capable of governing.
I strongly disagree.
They simply do not WANT to govern. This is intentional, not accidental.
They want POWER, not government. The proof is out there for all to see.
Note: I am not a blogger. I do not wish to blog. I do not understand your arcane, perhaps archaic system of hat tips and mojo and other such nonsense. I am a writer. Do with my thoughts and ramblings what you will. I am interested in seeing America return to the fold of rational, responsible discourse.