Republicans have been in complete control of the government for the last 6 years. Americans believed their promises and gave them the chance to put their ideas into practice. Now as increasing numbers of people are worried about the direction of our country, it is time we make people understand that they have been lied to. There is no one left to blame. Republicans made a lot of promises they couldn't keep and their policies, which often sounded good in theory, were miserable failures when put into practice. Republicans turned out to be supporters of large invasive government, be recklessly fiscally irresponsible, weak on security, and completely corrupt. (My essay on this subject after the fold).
In 1980, Ronald Reagan promised to bring us "morning in America", in 1994 Newt Gingrich gave us a "contract with America", and in 2000 George Bush promised to be a compassionate conservative. For the last 26 years conservatives have made a lot of promises and slowly gained total control of our government.
Aided by belligerent talk radio hosts and FOX news, and unopposed by sheepish Democrats, Republicans have had an unfettered ability to pass almost all their legislative priorities for the last 6 years. They have passed massive deficit-financed tax cuts, lobbyist written bankruptcy, tort reform, and energy bills, and even tested their foreign policy theories in Iraq.
Republicans gained this control with promises of fiscal responsibility, smaller less intrusive government, strong national security, and integrity. These make good campaign slogans; unfortunately their actions don't match their rhetoric. When given complete power, they abandoned these principles in favor of partisan advantage and personal enrichment.
Far from being fiscally responsible, Republicans have turned a record surplus into a record deficit and spent the Social Security trust fund. Our national debt has increased from $5.7 trillion when Bush took office to $8.3 trillion today, an increase of $8,666 per person. In the 1980's, Republicans blamed Democrats for Reagan era deficits. This time they are in charge and spending has increased faster than ever. The libertarian CATO institute determined that discretionary spending increased more under Bush than under all other modern Presidents. In return we got the weakest economic recession in 40 years and stagnant wages.
Rather than being the party of small government, Republicans have increased the size of the Federal government with ill-conceived programs like the No Child Left Behind Act and the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan. They have also given government vast new powers to intrude on our rights and privacy. Republicans are now claiming that the President is above the law and has the right to spy on U.S. citizens without a warrant and imprison citizens without a trial. These attacks on personal freedom should be repugnant to any true conservatives. Not only is government larger, it is less accountable. No-bid contracts are wasting billions of dollars, and unqualified cronies have been installed throughout the government leading to fiascos like the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Instead of being strong on National Security, the current government ignored the Powell Doctrine and launched a war in Iraq based on a false premise, without international support, without a plan for the occupation, and without an exit strategy. By alienating our allies, undermining Islamic moderates, refusing to negotiate with North Korea, failing to catch Osama Bin Laden, ignoring loose nuclear weapons, increasing terrorist recruitment, and failing to protect our ports, they have made the world an even more dangerous place. Most of the recommendations of the 9/11 commission have not been implemented and the Department of Homeland Security is bloated and inept.
Rather than bring integrity back to government as promised in their Contract with America, they have brought unprecedented new levels of corruption to government. It is clear that the Contract with America has been breached. Few of the promises were kept and the number of Republicans involved in scandals seems to grow daily even as Republicans refuse to conduct serious investigation of abuses. From Jack Abramoff, to Duke Cunningham, to Tom Delay, too many Republicans have lined their own pockets and paid off corporate contributors.
Republicans have been distracting voters from their failures by using fear-mongering and divisive social issues. While they spent their time trying to ban gay marriage, outlawing flag burning, and intruding on the personal decisions of Terri Schiavo's family, they were avoiding real issues. There are currently 47 million Americans without health insurance; Republicans have no plans to seriously address this problem. Gas prices are rising steadily as oil supplies have failed to keep up with demand but Republicans have no serious plans to lower our energy use. We have a huge budget deficit, but Republicans have no serious plans to balance the budget. The scientific community has overwhelmingly concluded that global warming is real, is caused by human activity, and will have potentially catastrophic consequences. Republicans continue to suppress the science and refuse to address the problem.
Time after time, when corporate interests conflict with the interests of average Americans, Republicans have sided with corporations and put partisan advantage ahead of the long-term good of the country. They have replaced good policy with good photo-ops. Thankfully people are starting to wake up. Large majorities of Americans think the country is going in the wrong direction, but they must also realize that the failures are not just the result of incompetence; they are the inevitable result of putting people with nothing but contempt for government in charge of government.