As you probably know, many members of the Bush administration are
"neocons." It's not exactly a secret. You occasionally hear the term kicked around on the political shows. It's been diaried by others on Kos. But most Americans don't fully understand what it means to have neocons in power. This diary is for you.
A Little Knowledge (about their philosophy) is a Dangerous Thing (for neocons)
The neocon strategy is based on the ideas of a political philosopher named Leo Strauss http://www.straussian.net/.... So who cares? Political philosophy is boring--even to philosophers. (They're counting on that.) On the flip, I've made this as short and simple as I can, so bear with me. Once you learn even a little about this guy Strauss, every strange action of this administration will start to make sense to you. What will also become clear is that there really IS a government takeover happening.
My solution? Strangely enough, I believe the only people who can stop it may be the Republicans.
The Neocons
Below are a few highlights of Straussian politcal philosophy (from Jim Lobe's excellent analysis, "Leo Strauss' Philosophy of Deception." http://www.alternet.org/...
Rule One: Deception
Not only did Strauss have few qualms about using deception in politics, he saw it as a necessity. While professing deep respect for American democracy, Strauss believed that societies should be hierarchical - divided between an elite who should lead, and the masses who should follow. But unlike fellow elitists like Plato, he was less concerned with the moral character of these leaders. According to Shadia Drury, who teaches politics at the University of Calgary, Strauss believed that "those who are fit to rule are those who realize there is no morality and that there is only one natural right - the right of the superior to rule over the inferior."
This dichotomy requires "perpetual deception" between the rulers and the ruled, according to Drury. Robert Locke, another Strauss analyst says,"The people are told what they need to know and no more." While the elite few are capable of absorbing the absence of any moral truth, Strauss thought, the masses could not cope. If exposed to the absence of absolute truth, they would quickly fall into nihilism or anarchy, according to Drury, author of 'Leo Strauss and the American Right' (St. Martin's 1999).
Second Principle: Power of Religion
According to Drury, Strauss had a "huge contempt" for secular democracy. Nazism, he believed, was a nihilistic reaction to the irreligious and liberal nature of the Weimar Republic. Among other neoconservatives, Irving Kristol has long argued for a much greater role for religion in the public sphere, even suggesting that the Founding Fathers of the American Republic made a major mistake by insisting on the separation of church and state. And why? Because Strauss viewed religion as absolutely essential in order to impose moral law on the masses who otherwise would be out of control.
At the same time, he stressed that religion was for the masses alone; the rulers need not be bound by it. Indeed, it would be absurd if they were, since the truths proclaimed by religion were "a pious fraud." As Ronald Bailey, science correspondent for Reason magazine points out, "Neoconservatives are pro-religion even though they themselves may not be believers."
"Secular society in their view is the worst possible thing,'' Drury says, because it leads to individualism, liberalism, and relativism, precisely those traits that may promote dissent that in turn could dangerously weaken society's ability to cope with external threats. Bailey argues that it is this firm belief in the political utility of religion as an "opiate of the masses" that helps explain why secular Jews like Kristol in 'Commentary' magazine and other neoconservative journals have allied themselves with the Christian Right and even taken on Darwin's theory of evolution.
Third Principle: Aggressive Nationalism
Like Thomas Hobbes, Strauss believed that the inherently aggressive nature of human beings could only be restrained by a powerful nationalistic state. "Because mankind is intrinsically wicked, he has to be governed," he once wrote. "Such governance can only be established, however, when men are united - and they can only be united against other people."
Not surprisingly, Strauss' attitude toward foreign policy was distinctly Machiavellian. "Strauss thinks that a political order can be stable only if it is united by an external threat," Drury wrote in her book. "Following Machiavelli, he maintained that if no external threat exists then one has to be manufactured."
"Perpetual war, not perpetual peace, is what Straussians believe in," says Drury. The idea easily translates into, in her words, an "aggressive, belligerent foreign policy," of the kind that has been advocated by neocon groups like PNAC and AEI scholars - not to mention Wolfowitz and other administration hawks who have called for a world order dominated by U.S. military power. Strauss' neoconservative students see foreign policy as a means to fulfill a "national destiny" - as Irving Kristol defined it already in 1983 - that goes far beyond the narrow confines of a " myopic national security."
Want to know more?
Start in the Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/..._(United_States) and follow the links. Google it and you'll find tons more. But let's start with the neocon flagship organization, "The Project for a New American Century." PNAC is a neocon group that almost nobody in America has heard of. Read their plans: their own documents reveal they intend to use OUR military to take over the world. http://www.newamericancentury.org/ Cheney is a founding member of PNAC, along with Rumsfeld. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz is the ideological father of the group. The PNAC Statement of Principles is signed by Cheney, Wolfowitz, and Rumsfeld. These people intend to be in power forever.
Neocons are Everywhere
In addition to most of the Bush administration, there is Lynne Cheney, David Frum, Jeane Kirkpatrick, and Richard Perle. John Bolton of course. CIA director James Woolsey. Justice Clarence Thomas. Big contributors include Castle Rock, Coors, and Microsoft. Institutions and think tanks: Try The Heritage Foundation, The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research (AEI), Women's Leadership Conference, Americans for Victory Over Terrorism, and The Federalist Society! Yep, we just let another one onto the Supreme Court, and if Bush has his way, they'll make it a total of three in January. Neocon columnists include Mark Steyn, Jonah Goldberg, Charles Krauthammer, David Brooks, George Will, Victor Hanson, and Christopher Hitchens. William Kristol, famed conservative writer for the Weekly Standard, is also a co-founder of the group. The Weekly Standard is owned by Ruppert Murdoch, who also owns international media giant Fox News You can follow the links in the Wikipedia article above until your eyes give out. It's all connected, and the list goes on and on....
The Neocon Political Strategy
-The neocons stole the presidency with the help of Supreme Court Judges influenced by decades of Right wing neocon think tank "influence."
-The mid-term elections were won using Policy and Platform positions created and fine tuned by neocon think tanks.
-The right wing talk shows are fed propaganda and talking points by the neocon think tanks.
-The right wing fundmentalist religious groups are presented with talking point presentations of neocon think tank material to persuade them to get behind neocon think tank policies.
-The neocons have created organizations to bring college students into the neocon world.
-The neocon think tanks provide research for thousands of state level republican legislators. They've also created an organization that supports them.
-The neocon think tanks have recording studios in their Washington offices so their high name recognition spokespeople can be more easily interviewed by visiting media.
-The neocon think tanks generate hundreds of OpEd articles to be fed to mainstream media.
-The neocon think tanks sponsor "educational" seminars for right wing judges--holding them in vacation locations. The goal is to get the judges to see cases through the perspective of the neocon philosophy.
http://www.opednews.com/...
How Can They Be Stopped?
The neocon vision for America isn't pretty (and if you really want to scare yourself, read David Neiwert's chilling essay, "The Rise of Pseudo Fascism" http://dneiwert.blogspot.com/...). As I've said before http://deerskie.dailykos.com/... stopping the neocons from stealing the '06 election is our first priority, but it may be too late for us, the lowly "masses," to stop them alone. And the Dems, of course, have no power and little credibility with the public, even among Dems. Which is why I believe....
Republicans Are the Only Ones Who Can Save Us
-Remember, Bushco aren't Republicans; they aren't even conservatives; they are Neocons. They have used the Republican machine to achieve the presidency. They are, at most, a splinter group of the Republican party.
-Most of the "ignorant masses" who have voted for these Neocons have no clue about any of this; they were fooled into thinking they voted "Republican."
-The Republican Party is in danger of losing power (unless they steal the election) because of this administration's insane policies, at home and abroad. If they lose in '06 and the true depth of the neocons' crimes becomes public, the Republicans will be discredited, possibly forever.
-Will Republicans reject this Neocon administration in order to save their own party?
I say, let's give it a try.
CALL TO ACTION #1: Contact your local Republican congressperson. Here's a handy website for finding/contacting yours: http://www.visi.com/.... Below is an idea for what you might say:
Dear Congressperson:
Like many Americans, I am deeply disturbed that the Republican Party has allowed itself to be hijacked by a group of radical politicians known as "neocons." As a result, the Republican Party has abandoned not only their own principles, but the Constitution of the United States as well. The neocon philosophy is abhorent to all true Americans, and their policies are harming the country. The midterm election is fast approaching, and discontent among the public is rising. If you continue to stand with these extremists, I hope you are prepared to go down with them as well, as I, along with the majority of Americans, intend to vote for a complete change of direction in this country.
Sincerely,
CALL TO ACTION #2: The neocon takeover of America is the most important story of the modern era. We need to make the MSM cover it. Here's a handy media contact site: http://www.fair.org/...
CALL TO ACTION #3: Cross-post this diary on other websites, both left-wing and right-wing sites. This is not a partisan issue. Red and Blue, we need to work together on this one.