Superlative
Senior Member
- Mar 13, 2007
- 1,382
- 109
- 48
Mon 23 Apr 2007
It was billed as one of the greatest revolutions in American History that would usher in a thousand year reign of Republican Conservatism. Remember the Gingrich Revolution, also known as the Contract With America, that promised a smaller government and wholesome family values? Unhappy with a Democratic Liberal in the White House who gave his wife an office in the West Wing, and then attempted to establish a universal health-care plan and a ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ policy for Gays serving in the military, many Republicans and Conservatives believed that America had become a bastion of immorality and was no longer a great nation.
So in 1994 when Republicans gained control of both houses in Congress, they initiated a Conservative Revolution that promised to ‘restore the bonds of trust between the people and their elected representatives’ and offered a ‘vision for national renewal.’ Their Conservative plan stated that the U.S. Government was ‘too big, to intrusive, and too easy with the public‘s money.’ The Republicans wanted ‘to restore accountability to Congress and end its cycle of scandal and disgrace, require all laws that apply to the rest of the country to also apply equally to Congress and elected officials, pursue a balanced budget and fiscal integrity, properly fund and enforce a crime bill to make schools and neighborhoods safe, and slash welfare spending while raising workers wages.’
Thirteen years later, and eight years after the Republican Conservatives also seized control of the Executive Branch (and possibly the Judicial Branch) through the presidency of George W. Bush, I received a ‘desperate’ phone call last evening from the Republican National Party-probably because I voted for George W. Bush in the 2000 Presidential Election. They wanted to know how I viewed Conservatism and the direction the Republican Party was moving towards, and how to once again win my support.
I immediately explained how disappointed I was in Bush‘s ‘Compassionate Conservatism’ rhetoric in 2000 and what appeared to be his commitment to strong family values and a ‘culture of life.’ I shared that I was troubled with the dishonesty of Colin Powell and the incompetence of Condoleezza Rice, Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney. Speaking on behalf of my friends and colleagues (both Conservatives and Liberals) since we often discuss politics, I expressed concern that my take-home wages since 2000 had fallen drastically due to inflation, a sharp rise in gas prices and utility bills and an increase in health-care costs and out-of-pocket expenses for eye exams, dental care and prescription drugs.
I continued to explain my concern over an ever expanding government bureaucracy that intrudes on our freedoms and seems intent on destroying what few liberties we still have remaining. I articulated that the enormous federal budget and trade deficits, the federal government’s abusive control over state education, the numerous scandals and immense corruption, and the two disastrous wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were destroying our nation and in the end actually discounting Conservatism. Finally, I reminded the caller that the Republicans in 2000 promised to be ‘uniters and not dividers.’
There was a long pause on the other end of the telephone call and the young lady simply said…‘I know, we feel the same way and that is why we are calling…we are also very concerned about the future of Conservatism and the Republican Party and what George Bush has done to this country.’ During the conversation she claimed that ninety percent of respondents telephoned were ‘jumping ship’ from the Republican Party and that they were expressing similar thoughts as the ones that I had shared. I ended the phone conversation by saying that unless there is a dramatic change I will never again vote Republican or Conservative. She politely thanked me and commented that many young and middle aged people are feeling the same way and are no longer loyal to a certain political party.
To be fair to the Republican Party, however, George W. Bush is a Conservative anomaly in many ways. True Conservatives do not believe in larger government and over-bloated budgets and trade deficits. Neither do they believe in authoritarian control and spying on U.S. citizens which was brought about with the passage of the Homeland Security Act. Nor do Conservatives believe in usurping the powers of the state especially in areas of education and the Army-National Guard. These aspects have certainly caught many Republicans off-guard and that is why they are distancing themselves from the Bush Administration.
And then there are the Republican scandals such as the Jack Abramoff, Conrad Burns, John Sweeney, Mark Foley, Don Sherwood, Tom Delay, Robert Ney, Kenneth Lay, Bob Taft, and Dick Cheney (just to name a few), who either took illegal bribes, stole state money by investing in high-risk schemes, physically abused their wife or mistress, solicited sexual favors from former House pages, accepted illegal gifts from lobbyists, cheated thousands of people out of their pensions and retirement savings, or wasted billions of dollars in Iraq and New Orleans by favoring certain corporations at the expense of others and allowing no-bid contracts.
Unfortunately it gets even worse for those who associate Conservatism with many modern day Republicans. There is the Conservative darling and author Ann Coulter who calls anyone she disagrees with a ‘fag,’ and there is the continual spewing of hate and racism by Rush Limbaugh, Don Imus and other right-wing pundits. Most of the Republican presidential candidates that espouse Family Values have been through numerous ugly and demeaning divorces. Unbelievably, Republican presidential candidate John McCain recently ‘joked’ (sic) about bombing Iran by publically singing ‘Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran, to the tune of a Beach Boy’s song.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has now admitted to never looking at the performance record of the Federal Judges he fired. In one hearing when he was asked questions he said forty-two times that he could not recall the information. There is now strong evidence of preferential treatment for and stacking the courts with ultra Christian Right Activist Judges. The Republican strategist, Karl Rove, is now obstructing the investigation by claiming that he lost communicative emails which would shed much light on the Gonzales Probe and the firing of Federal Judges, some who were investigating Bush-related scandals and others who refused to investigate Democrats in order to manipulate the Midterm Elections.
Remember Newt Gingrich, the leader of the Republican-Conservative Revolution? He recently called Spanish a ‘ghetto’ language. I also wonder who Gingrich will now blame for the horrific Virginia Tech shooting and the massacre of 32 students? In 1999 Gingrich blamed the Columbine Massacre on Liberalism and the elimination of prayer and the Creator from public schools, along with an over-taxing government that forced parents to spend more time working away from their children. He later blamed the shootings on an elite Liberal news media, the Liberal academic elite, and an educational system that never taught the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness to the killers in Littleton ‘which probably never realized they were robbing other peoples lives.’ (1) Gingrich and the Republicans all but destroyed the use and concept of Liberalism by tying it to the Columbine Massacre.
But now that the Conservatives and Republicans have ruled the Executive and Legislative Branches for eight years, and have established an elite Conservative media empire through FOX News and other media outlets, and have impacted public education with their No Child Left Behind Act, will they blame Conservatism for the cause of the largest school shooting and mass murder in American History? Never mind that the major weapons manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, is in Littleton, Colorado where the Columbine shooting took place; and the largest manufacturer of the murderous cluster bomb (which the Red Cross claims 98% of its victims are civilians), Alliant Techsystems formerly Honeywell, is one of the largest employers in Blacksburg, Virginia home of Virginia Tech.
Like our first president George Washington, I too believe that political parties are factious and in the end often damage and hinder the American Spirit-remember Tammany Hall and Boss Tweed? In the history of our nation it has been U.S. citizens and the American People that have brought about tremendous change, equality and a better future. In other words, mass movements have forced entrenched political parties out of their narrow mind- sets and have challenged their encumbering policies . The dangers of political parties, whether Liberal Democrats or Conservative Republicans, are that they are so entrenched in their own parties ideologies and own existence that they are unwilling or incapable of adapting to new economic needs or and political crisis’.
Depending on the economic and a given political-social context, sometimes Democratic Liberalism was needed to help the poor and oppressed and less fortunate as it did during the Great Depression, or to force equality and integration during the Civil Rights Era. During times of prosperity Republican Conservatism is needed to down-size the federal government and promote the free and independent entrepreneurial spirit of businesses along with the organizing and bargaining power of workers. Maybe both Conservative and Liberal factions need to die and be reborn in the form of progressivism, peopleism, compassionism, and a respect for all of life and opinions. For in the end, the real enemy is corruption, militarism and intolerance.
One thing is for certain, the Republican Party once stood for the abolition of slavery. One hundred and fifty years later it appears it has more demons to slay and the same can be said of Democrats. In the end what really counts is not one’s party affiliation or parties ideology, but if people were cared for and treated with human dignity and if elected representatives truly served and honored the American People.
Article by WorldNews.com Correspondent Beverly Darling.
http://cgi.wn.com/?action=display&article=55189321&template=worldnews/paidnews.txt&index=recent
It was billed as one of the greatest revolutions in American History that would usher in a thousand year reign of Republican Conservatism. Remember the Gingrich Revolution, also known as the Contract With America, that promised a smaller government and wholesome family values? Unhappy with a Democratic Liberal in the White House who gave his wife an office in the West Wing, and then attempted to establish a universal health-care plan and a ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ policy for Gays serving in the military, many Republicans and Conservatives believed that America had become a bastion of immorality and was no longer a great nation.
So in 1994 when Republicans gained control of both houses in Congress, they initiated a Conservative Revolution that promised to ‘restore the bonds of trust between the people and their elected representatives’ and offered a ‘vision for national renewal.’ Their Conservative plan stated that the U.S. Government was ‘too big, to intrusive, and too easy with the public‘s money.’ The Republicans wanted ‘to restore accountability to Congress and end its cycle of scandal and disgrace, require all laws that apply to the rest of the country to also apply equally to Congress and elected officials, pursue a balanced budget and fiscal integrity, properly fund and enforce a crime bill to make schools and neighborhoods safe, and slash welfare spending while raising workers wages.’
Thirteen years later, and eight years after the Republican Conservatives also seized control of the Executive Branch (and possibly the Judicial Branch) through the presidency of George W. Bush, I received a ‘desperate’ phone call last evening from the Republican National Party-probably because I voted for George W. Bush in the 2000 Presidential Election. They wanted to know how I viewed Conservatism and the direction the Republican Party was moving towards, and how to once again win my support.
I immediately explained how disappointed I was in Bush‘s ‘Compassionate Conservatism’ rhetoric in 2000 and what appeared to be his commitment to strong family values and a ‘culture of life.’ I shared that I was troubled with the dishonesty of Colin Powell and the incompetence of Condoleezza Rice, Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney. Speaking on behalf of my friends and colleagues (both Conservatives and Liberals) since we often discuss politics, I expressed concern that my take-home wages since 2000 had fallen drastically due to inflation, a sharp rise in gas prices and utility bills and an increase in health-care costs and out-of-pocket expenses for eye exams, dental care and prescription drugs.
I continued to explain my concern over an ever expanding government bureaucracy that intrudes on our freedoms and seems intent on destroying what few liberties we still have remaining. I articulated that the enormous federal budget and trade deficits, the federal government’s abusive control over state education, the numerous scandals and immense corruption, and the two disastrous wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were destroying our nation and in the end actually discounting Conservatism. Finally, I reminded the caller that the Republicans in 2000 promised to be ‘uniters and not dividers.’
There was a long pause on the other end of the telephone call and the young lady simply said…‘I know, we feel the same way and that is why we are calling…we are also very concerned about the future of Conservatism and the Republican Party and what George Bush has done to this country.’ During the conversation she claimed that ninety percent of respondents telephoned were ‘jumping ship’ from the Republican Party and that they were expressing similar thoughts as the ones that I had shared. I ended the phone conversation by saying that unless there is a dramatic change I will never again vote Republican or Conservative. She politely thanked me and commented that many young and middle aged people are feeling the same way and are no longer loyal to a certain political party.
To be fair to the Republican Party, however, George W. Bush is a Conservative anomaly in many ways. True Conservatives do not believe in larger government and over-bloated budgets and trade deficits. Neither do they believe in authoritarian control and spying on U.S. citizens which was brought about with the passage of the Homeland Security Act. Nor do Conservatives believe in usurping the powers of the state especially in areas of education and the Army-National Guard. These aspects have certainly caught many Republicans off-guard and that is why they are distancing themselves from the Bush Administration.
And then there are the Republican scandals such as the Jack Abramoff, Conrad Burns, John Sweeney, Mark Foley, Don Sherwood, Tom Delay, Robert Ney, Kenneth Lay, Bob Taft, and Dick Cheney (just to name a few), who either took illegal bribes, stole state money by investing in high-risk schemes, physically abused their wife or mistress, solicited sexual favors from former House pages, accepted illegal gifts from lobbyists, cheated thousands of people out of their pensions and retirement savings, or wasted billions of dollars in Iraq and New Orleans by favoring certain corporations at the expense of others and allowing no-bid contracts.
Unfortunately it gets even worse for those who associate Conservatism with many modern day Republicans. There is the Conservative darling and author Ann Coulter who calls anyone she disagrees with a ‘fag,’ and there is the continual spewing of hate and racism by Rush Limbaugh, Don Imus and other right-wing pundits. Most of the Republican presidential candidates that espouse Family Values have been through numerous ugly and demeaning divorces. Unbelievably, Republican presidential candidate John McCain recently ‘joked’ (sic) about bombing Iran by publically singing ‘Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran, to the tune of a Beach Boy’s song.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has now admitted to never looking at the performance record of the Federal Judges he fired. In one hearing when he was asked questions he said forty-two times that he could not recall the information. There is now strong evidence of preferential treatment for and stacking the courts with ultra Christian Right Activist Judges. The Republican strategist, Karl Rove, is now obstructing the investigation by claiming that he lost communicative emails which would shed much light on the Gonzales Probe and the firing of Federal Judges, some who were investigating Bush-related scandals and others who refused to investigate Democrats in order to manipulate the Midterm Elections.
Remember Newt Gingrich, the leader of the Republican-Conservative Revolution? He recently called Spanish a ‘ghetto’ language. I also wonder who Gingrich will now blame for the horrific Virginia Tech shooting and the massacre of 32 students? In 1999 Gingrich blamed the Columbine Massacre on Liberalism and the elimination of prayer and the Creator from public schools, along with an over-taxing government that forced parents to spend more time working away from their children. He later blamed the shootings on an elite Liberal news media, the Liberal academic elite, and an educational system that never taught the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness to the killers in Littleton ‘which probably never realized they were robbing other peoples lives.’ (1) Gingrich and the Republicans all but destroyed the use and concept of Liberalism by tying it to the Columbine Massacre.
But now that the Conservatives and Republicans have ruled the Executive and Legislative Branches for eight years, and have established an elite Conservative media empire through FOX News and other media outlets, and have impacted public education with their No Child Left Behind Act, will they blame Conservatism for the cause of the largest school shooting and mass murder in American History? Never mind that the major weapons manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, is in Littleton, Colorado where the Columbine shooting took place; and the largest manufacturer of the murderous cluster bomb (which the Red Cross claims 98% of its victims are civilians), Alliant Techsystems formerly Honeywell, is one of the largest employers in Blacksburg, Virginia home of Virginia Tech.
Like our first president George Washington, I too believe that political parties are factious and in the end often damage and hinder the American Spirit-remember Tammany Hall and Boss Tweed? In the history of our nation it has been U.S. citizens and the American People that have brought about tremendous change, equality and a better future. In other words, mass movements have forced entrenched political parties out of their narrow mind- sets and have challenged their encumbering policies . The dangers of political parties, whether Liberal Democrats or Conservative Republicans, are that they are so entrenched in their own parties ideologies and own existence that they are unwilling or incapable of adapting to new economic needs or and political crisis’.
Depending on the economic and a given political-social context, sometimes Democratic Liberalism was needed to help the poor and oppressed and less fortunate as it did during the Great Depression, or to force equality and integration during the Civil Rights Era. During times of prosperity Republican Conservatism is needed to down-size the federal government and promote the free and independent entrepreneurial spirit of businesses along with the organizing and bargaining power of workers. Maybe both Conservative and Liberal factions need to die and be reborn in the form of progressivism, peopleism, compassionism, and a respect for all of life and opinions. For in the end, the real enemy is corruption, militarism and intolerance.
One thing is for certain, the Republican Party once stood for the abolition of slavery. One hundred and fifty years later it appears it has more demons to slay and the same can be said of Democrats. In the end what really counts is not one’s party affiliation or parties ideology, but if people were cared for and treated with human dignity and if elected representatives truly served and honored the American People.
Article by WorldNews.com Correspondent Beverly Darling.
http://cgi.wn.com/?action=display&article=55189321&template=worldnews/paidnews.txt&index=recent
