The Republican Party has been dominated by radicals ... who, at a fundamental level, do not accept anyone else’s right to govern. Hastening ... a return to power is all that matters.
Paul Krugman
NYTimes
Oct.5, 2009
Traditionally, after intense campaigning and political infighting, our system of democracy has pulled together and supported the newly-elected president. The losing party becomes the loyal opposition and the winning candidate becomes the President of all the people. This democratic process has worked well over time as we became a world leader and global super power. For the past two decades, however, this tradition has been broken. Republicans, hijacked by right-wing extremists, no longer accept the results of our national elections. The Republican Party great moderates of the past have largely vanished and our country has steadily gone downhill every since.
Obsessed with returning to power, the right wing uses destructive politics to undermine a new administration and pursues a win-at-any-cost strategy to achieve their goals. They destabilize a young administration and then oppose its policies with misinformation, regardless of whether the policies are good for America or not. They demonize their opposition and divide the country.
As will be seen, the right wing undermines government when out of power and mismanages it when in power. If this trend continues, we will surely decline to a second-rate power. The Republican Party, as presently constituted, cannot be trusted to run our government, or protect our national security, or even act as a responsible Minority Party.
UNDERMINING GOVERNMENT WHEN OUT OF POWER
The right-wing quest for power started in a big way during the 90’s when they took control of the House of Representatives. Newt Gingrich became House Speaker with Tom DeLay as his House Whip. Previously, Republicans had owned the White House for 12 years and were outraged at the loss of the presidency. Clinton was seen as a usurper, his election illegitimate, and he had to be driven from the White House. These were the views of right-wing extremists who had contributed to Gingrich’s political campaigns and causes.
Gingrich called the Clinton administration "the enemy of normal Americans" and said in a private meeting he would use subpoena power to wage war against the White House. He envisioned as many as 20 congressional investigations being conducted simultaneously. Subsequently, multiple investigations were launched to destabilize Clinton’s presidency. They included ones like the 15 year-old Whitewater land deal and the "murder" of the President’s close friend and White House aide, Vince Foster. The various investigations cost well over 100 million dollars and turned up nothing of consequence against Clinton or his administration. However, Republicans refused to close these investigations and clear the President until his two terms had ended.
Meanwhile, Speaker Gingrich used a government shut-down in an attempt to force an unacceptable budget on President Clinton. His attempt at blackmailing the President violated the U.S. Constitution and Gingrich had to reverse course. In a last desperate effort to wreck the Clinton administration, Republican right-wing extremists:
• Conspired and manipulated our judicial system to set a perjury trap for a Clinton sexual indiscretion.
• Arranged for a group of lawyers to assist, referred to as the "elves". They kept their participation a secret from their law firms.
• Arranged for an inexperienced investigative person (Ken Starr) to replace a highly reputable one and take over the Clinton investigations. Starr had several conflicts of interest, including an axe to grind and a law partner who was leading the conspiracy.
• Submitted false information to the Attorney General to get control of the perjury trap investigation.
• Made impeachment in the House of Representatives the only option by blocking all efforts to censure the President.
• Railroaded the President’s impeachment during a lame-duck House session, using political blackmail to get the necessary votes.
• Defied the intent of our founding fathers who wanted a very high standard for removal of a president, such as a great crime or subversion of government. Our founders did not want a weak Executive subject to the whims of Congress.
At the last minute, Speaker Livingston, who had replaced Gingrich, said "We’ve got to stop this ... this is crazy." He called an emergency meeting, stating, "We’re going to have a censure vote." But others prevailed on him to continue. Right-wing extremists won the day despite warnings from 400 historians and 430 law professors that impeachment would violate their constitutional responsibilities.
The right wing knew the Senate would not convict. Their real purpose was to (1) force the President to resign and (2) regain the White House in the next election. Forcing resignation didn’t work, but the resulting media frenzy laid the groundwork for a right-wing takeover of the White House in year 2000. Years later, Prosecutor Ken Starr and Judiciary Committee Chairman Hyde would express regret over their role in this entire affair. (A great deal more information can be found in chapter two of the book, Misuse of Power, and six other identified books.)
While Congress and the nation were distracted by the right-wing’s assault on the presidency, Osama Bin Laden declared war and attacked U. S. Embassies and later the USS Cole. The right-wing’s obsession with impeachment diverted the nation’s attention from the al-Qaeda threat and the menace of global terrorism. At the White House, President Clinton did take aggressive steps to confront the threat and managed to disrupt several attacks at the turn of the century. However, the new Bush administration that followed did not continue his efforts, and this led to disastrous consequences.
MISMANAGING GOVERNMENT WHEN IN POWER
President Bush won a very close and controversial electoral vote in 2000, aided by the Supreme Court. Finally back in power, let's look at how well the right wing administration did its job.
During the spring and summer of 2001, the administration received an unprecedented surge of warnings that a major catastrophe was about to befall our nation. Bin Laden’s plans had seeped out to foreign countries who passed them on to us. The warnings came from three Heads of State (Blair, Putin and the King of Jordan) plus a number of other close foreign allies. The attack warnings included (1) seizing aircraft and using them as missiles and (2) the presence of al-Qaeda members here in the U.S. planning the attacks and learning to fly.
In July, when the warnings could not "get any worse", the CIA Director made an emergency visit to the White House to plead for immediate military and covert action. The objective was to remove al-Qaeda from its sanctuary in Afghanistan and take down Bin Laden. The President never took control of the situation. He did not put the nation in a crisis mode; he did not call a cabinet meeting; he did not pursue military options; he did not give the CIA their twice requested covert authority to kill or capture Bin Laden; he did not arrange to protect commercial aircraft; and he did not warn the public. The Vice-President had a major role in this dereliction of duty.
There are many problems associated with the 9/11 Commission’s work, although they had no bearing on the relative merits of its recommendations. For example, they omitted from their report the above attack warnings and the CIA Director’s emergency visit to the White House in July. They did not comply with their own statute to assess U.S. preparedness. The Commission told the public and Congress that "The most important failure was one of imagination." Yet, how could that be true when our foreign allies had notified us of the actual means of attack? The full story and identities of four officials confirming White House responsibility can be found at: http://www.dailykos.com/...
After neglecting repeated expert advice and frantic warnings of the 9/11 attacks, the Bush White House conducted a massive cover-up. They feared loss of a second term and for a year successfully opposed an independent investigation. Congress finally created the 9/11 Commission and the White House stonewalled it for much of its existence.
During the remainder of its two terms, the Bush right-wing administration survived a grave breach of official duty and continued to mismanage government. For example, they:
• Allowed the al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders associated with 9/11 to escape and remain free to plot further attacks.
• Engaged in two unfunded wars, one unneeded, and mismanaged both. Lives lost and wounded approached 300,000 on both sides and costs exceed a trillion dollars.
• Doubled our national debt while cutting taxes for the wealthy.
• Sold so much of U.S. debt to Far East countries that these countries now have leverage over our foreign policy and domestic economy.
• Allowed our financial institutions to run wild and unregulated.
• Allowed Katrina disaster to go on for days without Federal government intervention and assistance.
• Failed to address world-wide nuclear disarmament, allowing two countries bent on joining the nuclear club (North Korea and Iran) to pursue their nuclear ambitions.
• Continued our dangerous dependence on Mideast oil, while ignoring clean energy alternatives, climate change and the U.S. jobs they would create.
• Did nothing to provide Americans with health care, after the right wing killed the Clinton plan in the 90’s.
• Left a new administration with a 1.2 trillion deficit, the worst economy since the Great Depression and a diminished world view of America.
UNDERMINING GOVERNMENT AGAIN
Right-wing Republicans never accepted their defeat at the hands of the Obama presidential campaign. Their answer has been to do whatever it takes to make the new administration fail, without regard for the consequences. From the very outset, they:
• Have not worked constructively to help fix the very problems they created.
• Have obstructed and delayed legislative action at every opportunity.
• Have set new records for filibustering in Congress, in an attempt to make the country as ungovernable as possible.
• Have held up hundreds of presidential nominees for executive, judgeships and diplomatic posts.
• Have created myths about health care and regulatory reforms and fomented disruptive tactics on and off the floor of Congress.
Because of the economic crisis he inherited, President Obama had to undertake far-reaching government intervention to cope with frozen credit markets, millions of lost jobs, falling real estate values, an all time high in home foreclosures, small and large business bankruptcies, and a $10 trillion loss in the stock market. The Recovery Act stimulus stemmed the tide. It is expected to save about 5 1/2 million jobs by the end of this year. Meanwhile, taxes have begun to go down for small business and middle-class working families. Financial institutions have repaid much of their loans with interest and General Motors has returned to profit-making and repaid their loan.
Instead of government intervention, the right wing wanted to allow businesses important to our economy to fail and, in general, rely on the free market (as President Hoover had done before the Great Depression). They also wanted large tax reductions and thereby increase our national debt. According to the Federal Reserve Chairman, without government intervention, our financial crisis could have "rivaled or surpassed the Great Depression." If that Depression is any guide, there would have been many suicides, 25 percent or more unemployment and tens of millions of people homeless, starving and freezing to death.
Nevertheless, right-wing politicians and those who voted for them constantly complain about bailouts, the stimulus package and our rising national debt, even though they were responsible for the conditions that gave rise to them. They had no better solutions to fix their problems and still don’t.
Those who voted for the last two right-wing administrations only have themselves to blame, but we all have to share in the pain. They need to take responsibility for their votes and stop blaming a succeeding administration. Instead, they and the politicians they support should offer constructive ways to rein in our national debt. For example, they could propose an extra dollar of gasoline tax to be used solely for debt reduction. The higher gas prices would work wonders to conserve energy, promote clean energy alternatives and new jobs and make our planet more livable. Unfortunately, in our political system, we all have to sacrifice for mistakes of others. One columnist referred to it as a "Patriot Fee."
The "Party of No" jumped ship during the debate on health care reform when they couldn’t have their way and feared the reform might actually succeed. Instead of fully participating in the legislative process, the right wing decided to fill the minds of the American people with all sorts of nonsense about the reform. They took advantage of many millions of people who didn’t understand the legislation. There is something terribly wrong with our politics when a political party finds it necessary to deliberately lie to the American people about something as important as health care.
Reportedly, Karl Rove and a new "swift boat" group will be spending huge sums of money in a massive effort to defeat Democrats who voted for the health care bill. So, misrepresentations of the reform will continue.
The right wing of the Republican Party poses the greatest single danger in decades to our nation’s welfare and they are making a mockery of our democracy. They will undoubtedly continue in their attack mode and misinformation campaign until power returns to them, whether they deserve it or not. There is a real danger that their propaganda machine and manipulation of information will bring us another failed administration.
The right wing obsession with power and control of government leads to constant political warfare and takes precedence over advancing our country. Misrepresentation and distortion to incite public anger are their main tools. They are ruthless, promote hate and division, and encourage formation of anti-government militia groups, capable of domestic terrorism and insurrection. Their leaders and lobbyists twist the facts, spread fear, cheer extremists on and then assume no responsibility for their irresponsible behavior.
Having lost the election and the civil discourse that went along with it, the right wing’s approach to democracy is to bully and destroy the opposition. Members of Congress have been harassed and their lives and families threatened. The Democratic House Speaker has been subjected to death threats. At public meetings, attendees are ill-mannered, display despicable signs, shout down others, and make absurd claims that the President is not an American citizen and supports terrorism.
Threats of presidential assassination have increased threefold. The right wing is creating a poisonous political climate that can be interpreted as a license to kill the President, according to Tom Friedman of the New York Times. Right-wing extremists are encouraging the public to keep guns and buy ammunition. Several hundred trained and well armed militias exist and more are being formed.
In the event the President is wounded or assassinated, there would be wide scale riots across the country and the National Guard would have to be called out. Many Americans would be injured and some killed. This would be a terrible trauma for our country. And, if held accountable, the right wing would be unable to resume power for at least another generation. In short, the right wing is working against their own best interest.
The Tea Party is basically an anti-government right-wing group mixed in with a racial element, birthers and a few moderates. They are aided by the GOP and its lobbyists and influenced by Fox News extremists and hate groups. The rantings of Limbaugh, Beck, Sarah Palin and Bachmann take us back to the days of McCarthyism. They question the patriotism of the President or accuse him in subtle ways of being un-American or Communist. Eventually, the American people got wise to Senator McCarthy and he died a broken man in disgrace. That could very well be the fate of those who imitate him.
The Tea Party has valid concerns. But, in frustration, they are listening to the wrong people. These people are destructive by nature and only want the President to fail. They constantly misinform the public and falsely accuse the President. They are an embarrassment to our country. And, they are lucky to be living in a democracy; otherwise they’d be in jail or confronting a firing squad.
REINING IN THE RIGHT WING
Coping with misrepresentations and distortions by our politicians is a real challenge. One solution is to ask them to back up their statements with facts and then checkout these facts with truth squads. Any refusals to provide backup would be made public. Unless the practice of misleading the public is seriously confronted, we will continue to be hindered by the wrong policies or the wrong people in office. Millions of people, tired of constant partisan fighting for two decades, probably would be pleased to provide a few dollars to support truth squads.
Current Republican leaders in Congress are a far cry from former ones like Arthur Vandenberg, Everett Dirksen, Jacob Javits, Edward Brooke, Howard Baker, Robert Dole, Charles Mathias and William Cohen. These moderate Republican leaders advanced our country in many ways and are sorely missed today. They were at times the loyal opposition, the ones the country could depend on in times of crisis. One former business executive and moderate Republican summed up the current situation this way:
"We are an ‘endangered species’ ... my wing of the party has been swept into oblivion by the ultra right, which now controls the Republican agenda ... This is not a battle between Republicans and Democrats ... it is between the ultra right-wing element, who want to mold us in their image only, and those of us who want to preserve an open free nation."
We must return to the long-held tradition of supporting our duly-elected presidents. The first step is for the Republican Party to establish new leadership and make room for moderates in their Party. Unfortunately, they are going in the opposite direction.
The second step is for political leaders to accept the basic principle that, when one party is defeated, there is a real price to be paid and it must be done in the public interest. Minority leaders must be team players, especially in times of national crisis. In our free democracy, there will always be opportunities for political parties with good leadership and ideas to resume power. Meanwhile, America must come first over political party. A sure way to encourage this kind of behavior is for voters to remove obstructionist members from Congress and leave obstructionist parties in the minority until they are more mindful of the public interest than their own. There’s nothing novel about this -- it’s the way our political system is supposed to work -- but hasn’t for two decades.
"We need to have two reasonable, rational parties in this country. And right now we don’t"
Paul Krugman
NYTimes
March 26, 2010