Tuesday, February 08, 2011

What Republicans SAY and What Republicans MEAN...

Like most Democratic and Progressive voters, I was deeply disappointed by the results of the 2010 midterm elections. It was like the American people, having just spent the last two years fixing a car that their irresponsible teenager and his friends had totaled. Decided to turn around and hand the keys back to the kid and say; "Here! Have another go!"

In the days leading up to the GOP takeover of the House of Representatives, I was slightly encouraged by the message coming out of the House GOP leadership, who said to anyone with a microphone that their NUMBER ONE priority was "JOBS, JOBS, JOBS."

Incoming Speaker of the House John Boehner: “When are we going to address the number one issue on the minds of our fellow citizens? When are we going to focus on the economy and getting people back to work, instead of all of the job-killing policies that we're seeing move through this Congress? When are we going to begin to listen once again to the American people who sent us here to do their work?”

The GOP rode back into power waving the JOBS banner on high. It would be their FIRST priority. We could expect to see a Republican House majority that would walk the walk on jobs, not just talk the talk right?

Weeeeeeeeellll... Turns out, not really.   The truth is, when Republicans say they will work on "Jobs" they really mean they will be working on anything and everything BUT jobs.   Rachel Maddow breaks it down for us...



You see,  the Republican Party  really isn't  interested in Jobs.  Actually that isn't true.  What I should say is,  the Republican Party really isn't interested in  American Jobs.   Republicans  are  great  supporters of  creating  jobs  overseas by  sending  American jobs to other countries.



So the  new  GOP-led Congress  will now roll  up it's  sleeves and...  work  on their  suntans, I guess.  Oh, that and  the elimination women's reproductive rights  and the continued  outsourcing of America's dwindling manufacturing infrastructure to China, Mexico and India.  Oh,  that and,  making sure in the District of Columbia, all those icky Gays and Lesbians can't get married.

It's probably a good thing  that Republicans don't have a better work ethic.

On that same note  when  Republicans say they want  "Limited Government" or  "Small Government'  or any of the countless other GOP/Tea Party variations  on a theme  that  we have heard  coming from the Conservatives in recent  years,  that ISN'T  what they really mean.  

What Conservatives really mean,  is limited regulations on business,  and small taxes on the wealthiest of the wealthy and  HUGE  intrusive controlling, Orwellian government  to regulate American  women's bodies, and all American's bedrooms.  Cue Rachel..


The GOP knows  that  their economic "plan" is a scam.  It is  designed  solely to direct  opportunity  and wealth to  the top one tenth of one percent  of this country.   It is a "smash and grab" on a national economic level.   The holy grail  for these crooks, is Social Security.   Their ultimate dream is to finally be able to stick it to FDR and every other Democratic President since,  while at the same time  taking  America's greatest safety net, and turning it into  Wall Street's personal stack of  casino chips.

Yet even the  wingnuttiest  of the Wingnuts  over at the Heritage Foundation,  know  they aren't there yet.  The Social Security Piggy Bank is still  out of reach.  So  with their  real  number one goal  still  unattainable, you  have to do something to pass the time.

The GOP  knows they  can't do anything that might  actually HELP the rest of economy, because that would be  good  for  President Obama politically.  And the cranky, loony toon  birther/teabagger  base that  elected them,  is not going  behave itself for much  longer.   You have to throw that  rabid dog a bone.

So the Culture War is back,  in a big way.   If you have forgotten where that beloved Right Wing concept originated, let's  set the wayback machine  to  1992.  Cue everyone's favorite anti-Semite and holocaust revisionist,  Patrick J. Buchanan.


I mentioned  in the previous blog entry about  Ronald Reagan,  that I used to be  a Republican.  It was that speech in 1992 that  made me a Democrat.   It  became all too clear  then,  and  is  vividly clear now,  the Republican Party has lost its mind, and sold its soul.   It is now beholden to a rabidly angry base, that  really doesn't care about about  empty talking points of Fiscal Responsibility and Limited Government .  What the Republican Base wants, is for  the power of the Federal Government  to be used primarily,  to punish and marginalize other Americans, who they don't like.
The only  constituency left to the GOP  is  the  Tea Party monster it  spawned.  A movement created  in a  lab of violent racist, blasphemous  and homophobic rhetoric.   A mob  that talks of   "Second Amendment Remedies",  and targets opponents  on maps using  the cross hairs of a rife scope.     
To borrow a line from President Reagan.  The best thing for our Democracy would be for  the GOP and it's Tea Party  offspring,  to end up on the political ash heap of history.

No comments: