The Republican Approach to Government: Authoritarian Rule

[CrusaderFrank]

"We can't drive our SUVs and, you know, eat as much as we want and keep our homes on, you know, 72 degrees at all times, whether we're living in the desert or we're living in the tundra, and then just expect every other country is going to say OK, you know, you guys go ahead keep on using 25 percent of the world's energy, even though you only account for 3 percent of the population, and we'll be fine. Don't worry about us. That's not leadership." ~~ Barack Obama, Modern Fascist

 

[CrusaderFrank]

Why?? Nixon was guilty. Yes, John Dean was one of the first White House insiders to fully cooperate with the official investigation, and the first to directly implicate the President. He testified that Nixon had been deeply involved in the cover-up of the break-in at the Watergate Hotel, and that he and Nixon had discussed various aspects of the cover-up on at least 35 separate occasions. For his testimony, Dean was either lauded for his courage and honesty or pummeled for betraying political loyalties. To this day, he remains a hated figure in Republican circles.

I was very young when Nixon resigned. The same age as his daughter, Julie Eisenhower. I was not particularly happy about his troubles. The night before he left the WH, there was footage of Nixon and Julie crying and hugging each other. It was so sad because I understood how much she loved him.

But Nixon was guilty. So nobody should hold anything against John Dean. He didn't make it all up!!! But that is a typical Republican reaction, isn't it??

LOL

Libs with righteous indignation are really FUNNEH.

Bad Nixon! Bad! He Lied to the American People!

Nixon: Patron Saint of every Democrat political since his resignation.

The Clintons and Obama make Nixon look like an amateur

Nixon lied eeeeeek! I'm an outraged Dem! OUTRAGED!!! OUTRAGED I TELL YOU!!

I like how the Clinton's handled their John Dean, l never knew where Fort Marcy Park was.

You should really be embarrassed for that one.

Know what Vince Foster's last words were? "I want to get this Whitewater thing off my chest, I'm going to come clean on it"

 

[Rinata]

lol

libs with righteous indignation are really funneh.

Bad nixon! Bad! He lied to the american people!

Nixon: Patron saint of every democrat political since his resignation.

the clintons and obama make nixon look like an amateur

nixon lied eeeeeek! I'm an outraged dem! Outraged!!! outraged i tell you!!

i like how the clinton's handled their john dean, l never knew where fort marcy park was.

you should really be embarrassed for that one.

know what vince foster's last words were? "i want to get this whitewater thing off my chest, i'm going to come clean on it"

 

[Skull Pilot]

The 'conservatives' you speak of no longer reside in the Republican Party. The party is controlled by authoritarians. People that admire authoritarians like Mao. I suggest you educate yourself on C Street and the Family. I understand your attempt to dismiss John Dean, because otherwise you'd have to confront the truth.

.

Who said Mao was her "favorite political philosopher" ?

Oh yeah that authoritarian left winger Anita Dunn

[youtube]IP9PNPMW6rM&feature[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

Anyone remember that comment attributed to someone in the Bush Administration about "we make reality now"? And Karl Rove - remember him? - and his push for a one party (Republican) state in the US? As piss poor as the Dems are they ain't authoritarian.

Oh really? Forcing people to buy a product from a private company under the penalty of jail time if they refuse is not authoritarian? That's just one of many examples.

I have to admit I prefer the policy of people being covered by a universal health care system but I have no doubt some would argue that's authoritarian as well. But that has nothing to do with my previous comments about the attitudes of that person, widely reported at the time, and Rove's one-party state comment.

I'm not at all denying that the Republicans are authoritarian. My point is that so are the Democrats. Neither party is going to change until they start losing to someone other than each other.

 

[Freedomlover]

Anyone remember that comment attributed to someone in the Bush Administration about "we make reality now"? And Karl Rove - remember him? - and his push for a one party (Republican) state in the US? As piss poor as the Dems are they ain't authoritarian.

Oh really? Forcing people to buy a product from a private company under the penalty of jail time if they refuse is not authoritarian? That's just one of many examples.

I have to admit I prefer the policy of people being covered by a universal health care system but I have no doubt some would argue that's authoritarian as well. But that has nothing to do with my previous comments about the attitudes of that person, widely reported at the time, and Rove's one-party state comment.

If you read the text of my post you will see that I said Democrats are more like the totalitarians that I observed over many years doing at that time what the Dems are doing now, and have been since 1912.

Mr. Gold has very good credentials but it appears he misses his "good ole days" when Reps were nothing more than Dem light. They were satisfied to get to play golf with Dem leadership and occasionally put up a fuss about some piece of legislation they put forward. It was not until Goldwater conservatism came along did the R Party start to reconize that if they want to win they could no longer be Dem light but have their own agenda. That came to fruition with the election of Reagan and resulted in the takeover of Congress in 1994.

You are right in one respect, the R's got so caught up in their power they went back to being Dem light once again. This so infuriated most R voters they sat on their hands for the 2006 and 2008 elections, which made possible the mess we now have with a Congress and a President that have taken us down the road to fiscal obscurity. The people of our nation know what is going on and they do not like it! R wins in New Jersey, of all places, and Virginia plus the horrible polls the Dem Congress has and the falling polls of the President show there could be a big turn around in the November elections. A sign of that possibility will show in the Mass. Senate election tomorrow. Brown does not have to win, he only needs to keep it close and that spells trouble for a party that has 3-1 voter margin in the state for the Dems.

Polls continue to show this is a center-right country. The Dems have over played their hand by going socialist. When people put freedom first Dems lose. In recent history R's seem to win when they put forward a reasonable conservative agenda. Before you say anything, McCain is not a conservative. If they do the same thing this year they will gain above average seats for a midterm election. Why? Because people want to be free and Dems do not offer that.

 

[Bfgrn]

Oh really? Forcing people to buy a product from a private company under the penalty of jail time if they refuse is not authoritarian? That's just one of many examples.

I have to admit I prefer the policy of people being covered by a universal health care system but I have no doubt some would argue that's authoritarian as well. But that has nothing to do with my previous comments about the attitudes of that person, widely reported at the time, and Rove's one-party state comment.

If you read the text of my post you will see that I said Democrats are more like the totalitarians that I observed over many years doing at that time what the Dems are doing now, and have been since 1912.

Mr. Gold has very good credentials but it appears he misses his "good ole days" when Reps were nothing more than Dem light. They were satisfied to get to play golf with Dem leadership and occasionally put up a fuss about some piece of legislation they put forward. It was not until Goldwater conservatism came along did the R Party start to reconize that if they want to win they could no longer be Dem light but have their own agenda. That came to fruition with the election of Reagan and resulted in the takeover of Congress in 1994.

You are right in one respect, the R's got so caught up in their power they went back to being Dem light once again. This so infuriated most R voters they sat on their hands for the 2006 and 2008 elections, which made possible the mess we now have with a Congress and a President that have taken us down the road to fiscal obscurity. The people of our nation know what is going on and they do not like it! R wins in New Jersey, of all places, and Virginia plus the horrible polls the Dem Congress has and the falling polls of the President show there could be a big turn around in the November elections. A sign of that possibility will show in the Mass. Senate election tomorrow. Brown does not have to win, he only needs to keep it close and that spells trouble for a party that has 3-1 voter margin in the state for the Dems.

Polls continue to show this is a center-right country. The Dems have over played their hand by going socialist. When people put freedom first Dems lose. In recent history R's seem to win when they put forward a reasonable conservative agenda. Before you say anything, McCain is not a conservative. If they do the same thing this year they will gain above average seats for a midterm election. Why? Because people want to be free and Dems do not offer that.

I have been around since Truman...far right is not center and war is not peace. What the Republicans offer is a model Mussolini promoted; a corporatocracy. Bush took Reagan's government is the problem rhetoric and castrated government. The tea party crowd is out protesting FOR the interests of the British East India Company...

If you read up on Goldwater, he was very distressed with the direction the GOP was heading...he saw the authoritarian takeover and was outspoken...

"Mark my word, if and when these preachers get control of the Republican party, and they're sure trying to do so, it's going to be a terrible damn problem. Frankly, these people frighten me. Politics and governing demand compromise. But these Christians believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can't and won't compromise. I know, I've tried to deal with them."
Barry Goldwater

 

[Father Time]

What do you call a so called liberal agenda that strives to control via "good for you" social programs via draconian taxes and fines?

Tyrannical and deplorable. Same as the conservative agendas that try to control because so and so is 'immoral, obscene' or 'not Christian'.

 

[Father Time]

I always find it ironic the right clamors for liberty, yet they blindly support draconian theft of liberty for their self centered temporary safety...like the misnomer called a Patriot' act, or illegal wiretapping, capital pinishment which IS death BY the state, torture of 'others'...

Pretty empty 'liberty' when human beings are incarcerated, abused and killed

BTW, your 'good intentions' quote is Noah Webster

Those who want the Government to regulate matters of the mind and spirit are like men who are so afraid of being murdered that they commit suicide to avoid assassination.
President Harry S. Truman

Don't assume those that disagree with your progressive agenda are somehow in lockstep with the "right"

And just what does the so called progressive agenda strive to do if not "regulate matters of mind and spirit" I'll go so far as to say the left would regulate body mind and spirit if they had the chance.

Anyone that supports the theft of liberty like the 'Patriot' act, illegal wiretapping, capital punishment and torture IS in lockstep with the right...even if they are oblivious to it.

I hate the patriot act and Bush's theft of liberties for our safety (I also dislike Obama for not getting rid of that shit). I disagree with forced charity and sin taxes, what does that make me?

 

[Bfgrn]

Don't assume those that disagree with your progressive agenda are somehow in lockstep with the "right"

And just what does the so called progressive agenda strive to do if not "regulate matters of mind and spirit" I'll go so far as to say the left would regulate body mind and spirit if they had the chance.

Anyone that supports the theft of liberty like the 'Patriot' act, illegal wiretapping, capital punishment and torture IS in lockstep with the right...even if they are oblivious to it.

I hate the patriot act and Bush's theft of liberties for our safety (I also dislike Obama for not getting rid of that shit). I disagree with forced charity and sin taxes, what does that make me?

Reasonable...

It is the job of thinking people not to be on the side of the executioners.
Albert Camus

 

[Father Time]

The Evidence Establishes, without Question, that Republican Rule Is Dangerous: Why It Is High Time to Fix This Situation, For the Good of the Nation

By JOHN W. DEAN

Friday, Oct. 31, 2008


The Republican Approach to Government: Authoritarian Rule

Republicans rule, rather than govern, when they are in power by imposing their authoritarian conservative philosophy on everyone, as their answer for everything. This works for them because their interest is in power, and in what it can do for those who think as they do. Ruling, of course, must be distinguished from governing, which is a more nuanced process that entails give-and-take and the kind of compromises that are often necessary to find a consensus and solutions that will best serve the interests of all Americans.

Republicans' authoritarian rule can also be characterized by its striking incivility and intolerance toward those who do not view the world as Republicans do. Their insufferable attitude is not dangerous in itself, but it is employed to accomplish what they want, which is to take care of themselves and those who work to keep them in power.

Authoritarian conservatives are primarily anti-government, except where they believe the government can be useful to impose moral or social order (for example, with respect to matters like abortion, prayer in schools, or prohibiting sexually-explicit information from public view). Similarly, Republicans' limited-government attitude does not apply regarding national security, where they feel there can never be too much government activity - nor are the rights and liberties of individuals respected when national security is involved. Authoritarian Republicans do oppose the government interfering with markets and the economy, however - and generally oppose the government's doing anything to help anyone they feel should be able to help themselves.

In my book Broken Government: How Republican Rule Destroyed the Legislative, Executive and Judicial Branches, I set forth the facts regarding the consequences of the Republicans' controlling government for too many years. No Republican - nor anyone else, for that matter - has refuted these facts, and for good reason: They are irrefutable.

The 'Tea baggers'

The leading authority on right-wing authoritarianism, a man who devoted his career to developing hard empirical data about these people and their beliefs, is Robert Altemeyer. Altemeyer, a social scientist based in Canada, flushed out these typical character traits in decades of testing.

Altemeyer believes about 25 percent of the adult population in the United States is solidly authoritarian (with that group mostly composed of followers, and a small percentage of potential leaders). It is in these ranks of some 70 million that we find the core of the McCain/Palin supporters. They are people who are, in Altemeyer's words, are "so self-righteous, so ill-informed, and so dogmatic that nothing you can say or do will change their minds."

The Problem with Electing Authoritarian Conservatives

What is wrong with being an authoritarian conservative? Well, if you want to take the country where they do, nothing. "They would march America into a dictatorship and probably feel that things had improved as a result," Altemeyer told me. "The problem is that these authoritarian followers are much more active than the rest of the country. They have the mentality of 'old-time religion' on a crusade, and they generously give money, time and effort to the cause. They proselytize; they lick stamps; they put pressure on loved ones; and they revel in being loyal to a cohesive group of like thinkers. And they are so submissive to their leaders that they will believe and do virtually anything they are told. They are not going to let up and they are not going to go away."

While not all conservatives are authoritarians; all highly authoritarian personalities are political conservatives.
Robert Altmeyer

This coming from a man convicted of multiple felonies....ya...he's believable and great knowing you accept the word of convicted felons as the truth.......says a lot about you and your party.

Do you have anything besides ad hominems?

 

[Father Time]

Anyone that supports the theft of liberty like the 'Patriot' act, illegal wiretapping, capital punishment and torture IS in lockstep with the right...even if they are oblivious to it.

I hate the patriot act and Bush's theft of liberties for our safety (I also dislike Obama for not getting rid of that shit). I disagree with forced charity and sin taxes, what does that make me?

Reasonable...

It is the job of thinking people not to be on the side of the executioners.
Albert Camus

No I mean in terms of the left right scale (thank you though).

 

[CMike]

Don't assume those that disagree with your progressive agenda are somehow in lockstep with the "right"

And just what does the so called progressive agenda strive to do if not "regulate matters of mind and spirit" I'll go so far as to say the left would regulate body mind and spirit if they had the chance.

Anyone that supports the theft of liberty like the 'Patriot' act, illegal wiretapping, capital punishment and torture IS in lockstep with the right...even if they are oblivious to it.

I hate the patriot act and Bush's theft of liberties for our safety (I also dislike Obama for not getting rid of that shit). I disagree with forced charity and sin taxes, what does that make me?

 

[Diuretic]

Oh really? Forcing people to buy a product from a private company under the penalty of jail time if they refuse is not authoritarian? That's just one of many examples.

I have to admit I prefer the policy of people being covered by a universal health care system but I have no doubt some would argue that's authoritarian as well. But that has nothing to do with my previous comments about the attitudes of that person, widely reported at the time, and Rove's one-party state comment.

I'm not at all denying that the Republicans are authoritarian. My point is that so are the Democrats. Neither party is going to change until they start losing to someone other than each other.

Yep, Michels' Iron Law of Oligarchy in operation.

 

[Father Time]

Anyone that supports the theft of liberty like the 'Patriot' act, illegal wiretapping, capital punishment and torture IS in lockstep with the right...even if they are oblivious to it.

I hate the patriot act and Bush's theft of liberties for our safety (I also dislike Obama for not getting rid of that shit). I disagree with forced charity and sin taxes, what does that make me?

Is there anything inconsistent about those beliefs?

 

[CrusaderFrank]

"We can't drive our SUVs and,

you know, eat as much as we want and

keep our homes on, you know, 72 degrees at all times, whether we're living in the desert or we're living in the tundra,

and then just expect every other country is going to say OK, you know, you guys go ahead keep on using 25 percent of the world's energy, even though you only account for 3 percent of the population, and we'll be fine. Don't worry about us. That's not leadership." ~~

Barack Obama, Democrat, not authoritarian,

no, not at all

 

[Father Time]

"We can't drive our SUVs and,

you know, eat as much as we want and

keep our homes on, you know, 72 degrees at all times, whether we're living in the desert or we're living in the tundra,

and then just expect every other country is going to say OK, you know, you guys go ahead keep on using 25 percent of the world's energy, even though you only account for 3 percent of the population, and we'll be fine. Don't worry about us. That's not leadership." ~~ Barack Obama, Democrat, not authoritarian, no, not at all

You got a source, not that I don't believe you, but I'd like one.

Anyway I know you don't agree with it but.

What the fuck does he care if we use more energy? We're paying for it and we're slowly gearing towards renewable energy. Hell if energy becomes too expensive we'll naturally use less of it.

Other countries are not entitled to an equal share of the energy (there's no way to say that without sounding greedy but they aren't it's first come first serve like in any other market).

 

[Freedomlover]

Hey Crusader Truman and probably JFK as well would not recognize their party today. Truman and JFK were a bit center left. Today's Dem officeholders, and certainly the leadership, are far left marxists. I have been following their drift to the far left for over forty years so don't pull that stuff about Truman on me.

I took particular notice that you did not try to refute my statement about people want to be free and Dems don't offer that. Score one, case closed. I will no longer post to this thread.

 

[CrusaderFrank]

Hey Crusader Truman and probably JFK as well would not recognize their party today. Truman and JFK were a bit center left. Today's Dem officeholders, and certainly the leadership, are far left marxists. I have been following their drift to the far left for over forty years so don't pull that stuff about Truman on me.

I took particular notice that you did not try to refute my statement about people want to be free and Dems don't offer that. Score one, case closed. I will no longer post to this thread.

The Dem Party is off in Moonbat Fringeland

As far as "refuting your statement" I have to add, "ahhhh, errr, um" what are you talking about?

 

[Diuretic]

Hey Crusader Truman and probably JFK as well would not recognize their party today. Truman and JFK were a bit center left. Today's Dem officeholders, and certainly the leadership, are far left marxists. I have been following their drift to the far left for over forty years so don't pull that stuff about Truman on me.

I took particular notice that you did not try to refute my statement about people want to be free and Dems don't offer that. Score one, case closed. I will no longer post to this thread.

The best way to try and understand this is that - as has been pointed out - the Dems and Republicans are basically all over the centre. The GOP isn't Fascist and the Democratic Party isn't Marxist. Given that there seems to be a continual ability of members of both parties joining the other in legislation sponsorship or in constructive or actual membership I think that shows they're so close together you couldn't stick a razor blade between them.