Republicans

"During the past six years... the Republican leadership in the White House and the Congress have taken us closer and closer to a kind of government that the founders abhorred. Manipulating our fears, stirring religious divisions, and contriving to create a state of permanent war, they have sought to institute a rule by men instead of the rule of law—and they have reinvented the president as a sovereign monarch rather than an executive with limited powers. With the backing of corporate wealth and fundamentalist religion, the unitary presidency represents a potential tyranny."  It Can Happen Here: Authoritarian Peril in the Age of Bush by Joe Conason.
"To sermonize that America’s plan for the world is freedom and democracy, and at the first confrontation with the enemy to resort to torture, are in perfect alignment with the hypocrisy we so frequently encounter with the neocon pontificators who are so practiced in identifying evil in others. When we point to the monstrous conduct of others as an excuse for our own, that is to say, when we claim we have the right to torture because others torture, we deliver to our enemies the power to convert us into terrorist thugs as well. One is immediately put in mind of the Third Reich, where torture became the standard weapon against the regime’s enemies, that and the furnaces." Gerry Spence's book Bloodthirsty...
"Do the American people realize that the frontrunners for the Republican
presidential nomination are monsters who want to murder people who have done us no harm? "  Paul Craig Roberts 6/8/2007
"Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes that you can do these things. Among them are a few Texas oil millionaires, and an occasional politician or businessman from other areas. Their number is negligible, and they are stupid."   -- President Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1952
"The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy: that is the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness." -- John Kenneth Galbraith
"It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it." Upton Sinclair, 1906
"In his famous 2004 book, What’s the Matter with Kansas? Thomas Frank offered a bleak picture of working-class voters easily duped, again and again, by sideshows:

The trick never ages, the illusion never wears off. Vote to stop abortion; receive a rollback in capital-gains taxes. Vote to make our country Strong again; receive deindustrialization. Vote to screw those politically correct college professors; receive electricity deregulation. Vote to get government off our backs; receive conglomeration and monopoly everywhere from media to meatpacking. Vote to stand tall against terrorists; receive Social Security privatization efforts. Vote to strike a blow against elitism; receive a social order in which wealth is more concentrated than ever before in our lifetimes, in which workers have been stripped of power and CEOs rewarded in a manner beyond imagining.

How true is this picture? I was bowled over by Frank’s book... Paul Krugman "The Conscience of a Liberal" pg 177

 

Why Misgovernment was no accident

The Plot Against Liberal America (8/18/2008)

The Party of Ideas

Some of the right wing talking heads say that Republicans are the party of ideas. They do have ideas...only they are mostly bad ones. They don't like government and they are very bad at it.

Republicans, after all, do represent multinational corporate interests and the very wealthy. A government that represents corporations is, by definition, fascist. (To appreciate this look here.)

Market fundamentalism has led to massive deregulation and now you can see the consequences: financial instability, bank failures, bad food, market scams, deceitful advertising, commercial lying, predatory lending, absurd CEO salaries, a widening gap between rich and poor, and increasing insecurity for everyone. Make no mistake though: deregulation can kill. as you can verify in lax workplace safety enforcement, unlabelled and unchecked food products, toxic toys, downer cows,  or environmental degradation.  In their hypocrisy, notice that R's are all too willing that the government should bail out highly leveraged banks and brokerages.

Republicans have made regulatory agencies (like the FCC, FDA, EPA, SEC, etc) captives of the industries they are supposed to regulate. This allows corporations to serve their own interest instead of the public interest.       

Bush the First once called 'supply-side' economics, voodoo economics. That lower taxes would produce more Federal revenue was never true. Tax cuts were not only contrary to common sense, they ignored the costs of Bush's war adventures, and, contrary to Christian values, they rewarded the already wealthy at the expense of the poor. They converted the fundamentalist churches into a propaganda conduit for the Republican party. They would not pay for their war.

 Republican's think privatization is good policy. What it actually does is remove functions from public accountability, so it is anti-democratic. Result: Blackwater, Enron, prison-industrial complex, or, worst of all is privatized vote counting. There is now considerable doubt about election integrity.

Privatized healthcare in the US is not only the world's most expensive, it does not cover a large fraction of the people, and it is not particularly effective in overall quality. Even so, it is about to be cut so that Republicans can spend unlimited amounts of money for war, and not much for our civilization.  Since armaments are one of the last industries in the US, it is also a jobs program. Notice that when Republicans decide it is time to balance the budget that programs to get cut are always those that actually benefit people: like healthcare, social security, Medicare, or infrastructure...not the military.

The 'stimulus package', mandated by the Bushies, is a colossal waste of money. With all of the challenges facing us, Republicans, with Democratic  acquiescence, came up with a plan to give away money. This is spending with NO value in return. (We used to call it waste.)  Are you surprised that there is a run on the dollar ? Those rising oil (and other prices) are no accident. When Bush took office the Euro traded at $.87, but now it is over $1.50.

 Republican policy is always regressive, and you need  to pay more attention if you think they are for fiscal responsibility. Bush Jr has unapologetically and unjustifiably run up a 10 trillion dollar debt for the next generation. His tax cuts are for the already wealthy in an action that makes his 'Christian' persona a hypocrisy. The first President Bush bailed out Savings and Loans to the extent of half a trillion dollars, and Bush junior is now overseeing what may be an even larger bailout.

It is written in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that everyone has the right to participate in a labor union. Republicans in their continuing war on the people  have made union busting national policy, and the result has been declining wages for most, shrinking pensions, benefits, and other social programs.

R's do not believe in anti-trust. Even when corporate media shamelessly exploit us, Republicans, for their own propaganda purposes, have allowed media to further concentrate. That is why media pollution spills into your living room 24/7. When media lies, the Supreme Court (which invariably sides with Republicans)  ruled that it is ok. The Court ruled that Corporations are people and have the full protection of the Bill of Rights, but unfortunately those same rights no longer seem to apply for actual humans. The Bush administration has all but shredded the Constitution. .

Population is the driving force for environmental degradation, but Republicans are always looking for more rapid economic growth and create a fog of misinformation around environmental damage. That is wrong.

Global warming due to increased carbon dioxide levels is a simple idea. On Venus it produces a planet with a temperature hundreds of degrees, but Republicans because of their subservience to corporate interests are deniers. To continue to deny global warming the Bush administration has had to muzzle mainstream scientists and it has appointed political handlers to accomplish that. In addition they have to censor scientific papers, and they have to lie. It is fair to say that Republicans have waged a war on science.

Republicans thrive on wedge issues like immigration in their typical mean-spirited, hateful, blame-the-victim mentality. Although they claim to be the party of small government, instead they have instituted massive surveillance, warrentless wiretaps, renditions, torture, invasive searches, and effectively a national security state.

When Republicans say they want to 'reform' Social Security, Medicare, or the UN, they mean 'destroy'. When they talk about 'clean skies' they mean they are going to pollute. 

The unprovoked War in Iraq has killed thousands of Americans, estimates are up to a million Iraqis, it has cost, according to Joe Stiglitz, around three trillion dollars, and the results are no benefit for anyone. The Bush administration are  human rights abusing, torturing, war criminals, who deserve to be held accountable. There has never been an administration in the US that deserved impeachment more.

A government run by corporations is fascist by definition. All major American institutions oppose democracy but Republicans have been the ones who have most damaged us. We need a government that actually serves the people, not an election-rigging, war-mongering, torturing, human-rights abusing, criminal, megalomaniac, Republican administration..

Republicans and Race

Paul Krugman writes for The New York Times: "Over the past few weeks there have been a number of commentaries about Ronald Reagan's legacy, specifically about whether he exploited the white backlash against the civil rights movement. The controversy unfortunately obscures the larger point, which should be undeniable: the central role of this backlash in the rise of the modern conservative movement."
 

When Republicans are 'elected', we can pretty much count on their faithful devotion to the corporate agenda: that's how you explain the regressive economic policy, the denial of global warming, the devastating environmental policy, the short sighted population policy, or the wreckage of vital social programs. All of the privatization and market fundamentalism has created problems not seen in the rest of the developed world.

Major auto manufacturers are migrating to low wage countries to escape health care, pension, and union burdens. Most people are finding that health care and pensions are becoming less available. Bankruptcy law has been made stricter recently, and the lookback period for long term care has been increased. Media does not talk about excellent Scandinavian social programs. Sure they pay higher taxes, but they get what they pay for...theirs works. Republicans call this working for smaller government. It means less for people, more for them.

Bush Republicans campaigning for Congress concentrate on their soundbite, all-purpose solution for all problems:" tax cuts." (See David Cay Johnston's book Perfectly Legal for insight.) They claim that they have been good for the economy and that they are saving people money,. It is a fast-talking scam. The apparent prosperity is one that comes from running large, unsustainable deficits. The tax cuts are mostly directed to the upper one or two percent of the wealthy so it is not just regressive. It is self-serving.  Economic reality for most people is pretty bleak as health care, tuition, energy prices all take increasing portions of declining wages. As in many banana republics, large amounts of borrowed money are flowing to an elite. Republicans defend all this by saying "no new taxes". 

 Republicans have been pushing for privatized, concentrated media for a long time so that now we get only corporate spam, distraction, misinformation and propaganda. CSPAN sometimes offers a real insight into our plight, since it aired the FCC hearings on the matter, but that is the exception. Expensive campaigns are often extortion payments to broadcasters. The public has no say because the spectrum has been nearly completely privatized (read corporatized). Thirty second soundbites rule out discussion of  issues, more and more they degrade public dialog. Right wing, hate-mongering shock jocks make any dialog all but impossible.  Media is an important element in rigging US elections, and in its current form it  is not only corrosive to the culture, it is suppressing democracy. Bush and his administration have not only funded propaganda but pushed for further consolidation of media. Most US media cannot be trusted. Republicans call this 'deregulation'. 

Bush used 9/11 as pretext to execute his radical right wing agenda, and it has been disastrous in terms of lives, dollars, good will, or anything else. There was plenty of evidence of incompetence in the aftermath of Katrina, or, say, in the 'no fly list', or in handling of immigration issues,  and many others. Corruption is widely evident. Important jobs are awarded to religious zealots and/or incompetent political hacks.  Congress looks the other way.

Congress failed to provide oversight of Bush. They gave up their Constitutional duty to determine when it is necessary to go to war when they allowed Bush to invade Iraq. They didn't bother to investigate war profiteering. They severely damaged the Bill of Rights when they passed the Patriot Act. They allowed him to wiretap without oversight, to datamine internet search records, library borrowings, financial and commercial records, to torture. They thumbed their nose at the Freedom of Information Act. The concept of the imperial President may well be approved by a packed Supreme Court. Checks and balances no longer function and that is the end of the Constitution. In signing statements Bush demonstrated that he is the law, the living Constitution, and in plain language a dictator.

Government for corporations is defined as fascism.

We are building an empire and our fate will be that of every other empire in history except now there is considerably more destructive potential.  We are certainly not safer.  Apocalypse, which evangelical true believers fully expect and welcome, is a lot closer. Republicans will facilitate it.

Leading Republicans all support waterboarding.

Republicans often favor a flat sales tax, sometimes called in an Orwellian sense the 'Fair Tax'.. It is backed by very wealthy and, like all other Republican policy,  it is extremely regressive.  Be careful what you wish for. See the tax page.

Win McCormick on Republican Family Values

Republican ties to Big Oil

Immigration is a Republican wedge issue that capitalizes on economic insecurity.

A left view of Republican candidates.

A note about Republicans.

Fair and Balanced news about Republicans

Howie's Stupid GOP Quote Page

Bush Values

The Hunting of the President  A film about the right-wing conspiracy to remove Clinton from office.

Richard Mellon Scaife (from the Washington Post) Vice Chairman of the Board of the Heritage Foundation.


Does Bush favor Criminals in his Administration ?


What do good Americans know ?

What do good Americans know ? They now know that their government tortures, builds secret prisons, disappears people worldwide using renditions.

The Bush administration has thumbed its nose at international law: the Geneva Conventions, the International Criminal Court, and the UN. The President thinks he is above the law.  He  avoids Congressional oversight not only with the support of his own party, but by using hundreds of signing statements. He claims executive privilege just as Richard Nixon did. He wiretaps illegally with the collusion of telecom companies. He continues to push for further consolidation of media to keep the right wing propaganda machine spouting info-pollution into our homes. He has the most secretive administration in US history. People are probably not informed enough to participate in a real democracy any more. If you are not convinced, just watch late night television one evening.

Privatization initiatives have been spectacular failures in healthcare, in war, in schools, and, most starkly, in the case of New Orleans. Profiteering and corruption have flourished as uncontested government contracts have been doled out to Republican crony corporations. Infrastructure is crumbling. Probably worst of all is the privatization of vote counting.

Deregulation resulted in poisoned toys, bank instability, wide-ranging consumer problems, and  fueled the carnival of corruption: Enron, Tyco, WorldCom, etc.

There were no effective changes to corporate governance.

The huge borrowing binge that appeared to be Bush's prosperity went straight to the oligopolies that now are our real rulers. A government which is controlled by corporations is, by definition, fascist.

Aside from that, US government has failed its own people. Income disparities, already poor, have been exacerbated by Republicans regressive policy.

Since it made no attempt to pay for  the war, we are seeing obvious signs of financial instability. The Euro was valued at about $.87 when Bush took office, but now it is worth more than  $1.50. Much of our domestic industry has bled away to Asian sweatshops, and about all that is left are defense contractors. That helps to assure that the military-industrial-media complex will continue to expand. It is about jobs. Naomi Klein's book "The Shock Doctrine" explains how much of this occurred.

The Bush administration provoked two wars and there are indications that it is contemplating another. Congress surrendered its Constitutional authority to declare war and, since it did no oversight, made history of those 'checks and balances'. The Bill of Rights has been shrinking since Bush took office, and it appears unlikely that it will ever be restored to its former self. Packed courts can see to that. Allowed to persist, we will no longer have a Constitution than matters.

The US is building an empire. It has all but bankrupted itself creating a military budget that exceeds all other countries combined. At the same time, Iraq, like Vietnam, demonstrates that an advanced military can not win against a population determined not to tolerate an occupying army. World opinion of the US has plummeted and that could have a lot to do with the dramatic shrinkage of our currency.

Republicans can and should take the blame for all of this. Their party controlled all branches of government including the fourth estate. If they are not defeated in elections (pretty much rigged), we will likely continue to avoid real problems like environmental degradation, public health threats, overpopulation, financial instability, or even the new arms race.

Our kids will be in debt from skyrocketing tuition, shrinking wages, vanishing benefits, and they will have to fight the endless crusades.

You surprised that New Hampshire's Republicans are leaving the party ? Did you know that New Hampshire also refused to comply with Real ID ? Do you really think that the illegal immigration is not yet another wedge Republican issue...that can create an underclass in detention camps that are already being built ?

So, go ahead, vote Republican for an Armageddon of our own making.

See http://www.seconnecticut.com/Reform.htm

Michael Moore on Republicans

Bibliography

From Raleigh Myers

Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been GOP ?

We have to ask because of the slant the GOP puts on everything. You
can't believe a thing they say or want. The corruption is so rampant the
GOP are just a group cover-up in locked step. http://www.buzzflash.com/farrell/05/11/far05001.html

The GOP put everybody through that sort of embarrassment with their HUUAC
in the fifties where they were looking for so called Communists when it
was the anti-fascist dissidents they were after. Today the terrorist is
the alleged target when it's the dissidents and the first amendment they
want to compromise. Today we really have an the same GOP infiltration
with a seamless path all the way back to NAZI Germany.
http://emperors-clothes.com/articles/randy/swas5a.htm

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