If you don't know the movie, "It's a Wonderful Life", Mr. Potter is a craven, cynical, ruthless, sadistic and very rich guy who pretty much owns a town full of mostly working-class people for whom he has a lot of contempt and no pity at all. A pillar of the community, he is feared and respected because nearly everyone in town depends on him in some way, either as his employees, tenants or prey.
The most compelling scene in the movie is the one where George Bailey looks out onto broken-down shanties, belching smokestacks, flashing neon lights and desolate landscape of a town that somehow takes the place of his beloved Bedford Falls. Potterville is the town that would have been, but for the good deeds and fair dealing that define George's life. I love that scene because his despairing disbelief seems to mirror the way that I feel when I look at America in the age of Bush-Cheney.
Since the year 2000, Republicans have, for the most part controlled both houses of Congress, the White House, and of course the judiciary. For the past nearly eight years, this country has been exactly as Republicans have always wanted it. So it stands to reason that if you want to know what Republicans stand for . . .
Read More