One of the things which keeps me writing is my feeling a sense of obligation to my children and grandchildren to play whatever small part I can play in stopping this republican onslaught of our government.  You know, the people who claim that “government’s the problem” and who want to take total control of government – so that they can “wring” as much of the taxpayers money out of the system before “we the people” catch on.  Their methods are quite sophisticated and you have to give them credit for being “single minded,” but when people want to ruin the very enterprise they’re trying to control – that should really give even the republicans who aren’t “ditto heads” pause.  I phrase it in that manner because I’m coming to the conclusion that those who are still drinking Rush Limbaugh’s (and the other right wing propagandists) “coolaid,” well, there’s no hope for them.  And, as a Christian myself, I say this next line with dismay;  The “dominionists” who call themselves “Christians,” but support this authoritarian republican movement aimed at removing every aspect of the New Deal and Great Society it can, without so much as a second thought to what they’re supporting and how it coincides with the message of Jesus Christ, I’ve gotten to the point where I have no time for them.  I know people from my church who you can’t even talk to – with some of them, it’s like talking to Limbaugh himself as they retort any reasonable effort at dialogue with the Limbaugh “line.”

Rush Limbaugh would like you (and everyone else) to believe he’s not a racist, or a sexist, or a “fill in the blank.”  Well, the evidence suggests otherwise.  I hardly ever listen to him, but on the rare occasions when I can make myself do it, I almost always hear something come from his mouth that is either racist or denegrating toward women.  There’s a reason Limbaugh was removed after one week on “Monday Night Football,” and why he was blocked from purchasing a share of the St. Louis Rams football team.  The Black members of the NFL would have no part with him.  The reality is that you can’t be throwing around the racially insensitive slurs to the lemmings who are listening to your show, and then pretend that you aren’t prejudiced.  Limbaugh has played a key part in the republican strategy to DIVIDE America, and he’s still the defacto head of the republican party – even though they’ve figured out that they need to be much more indiscreet in letting the public in on that “fact.”  If you’ve noticed lately, you NEVER hear a republican (lately) questioning Limbaugh, because as soon as he starts criticizing ANY republican (which you can count on him doing to anyone not “toeing” the line) you can almost hear the backtracking.  All this being said, you have to tip your hat to the republicans that they’ve been able to put together this LONG TERM scheme which is producing results at the polls (legit or not) despite their minority position among America’s voters.  They will say ANYTHING or do ANYTHING in order to “win.”  And, when republicans win, most of the rest of us LOSE!

I was thinking the other day about, for example, the looming fight over the budget deficit and the lifting of America’s “debt ceiling.” (which technically has already been reached and the “default” caused by exceeding it is being “put off” through the use of strategic “accounting tricks” by Tim Geithner, the US Treasury Secretary)  I wondered, “How many of the average Americans take the time to check the FACTS regarding who was/is responsible for the level of that debt.  Here’s the interesting thing, if you check that out (and it only takes a few moments to find the info on the internet) you quickly realize that the SAME people who are clamoring the most about the HORRORS of the national debt – are the ones who are the MOST responsible for creating it.  That is, it has clearly been the republicans and their STUPID “trickle down” theory that they somehow got Americans to buy into who have created this deficit.  Additionally, they’ve been – up until President Obama took over the White House – unashamed about their role in doing this.  It was just during the last HUGE tax cut cycle by the Bush/Cheney administration when Dick Cheney, who was masterminding the cut, was quoted as saying “Reagan proved deficits don’t matter.”  Anyone who’s been paying attention knows that Bush/Cheney took a quarter TRILLION dollar surplus and turned it into a MASSIVE deficit in one felled swoop.  But if you listen to republicans, the deficit (and everything else wrong with government) is President Obama’s fault.

Keep in mind that the new president oversees the previous president’s budget for his/her (maybe someday) first year in office.  So, in reality, most of the budget deficit that reublicans are attempting to “pin” on Obama, in reality, is the result of the Bush/Cheney administration.  Now, in an effort to show MY bipartisanship, I believe President Obama has made some very strategic blunders in dealing with the situation.  Before he took the oath of office (you can check my archives on this) I not only suggested to Obama that he repeal the “Bush Tax Cuts,” but I also suggested a 50 cent per gallon gas tax.  At the time, gas was around $1.80 per gallon and my position was that we all knew gas was going up with or without the tax.  I claimed (and still believe) the oil companies push it as high as people will pay – when the demand begins to cease, they back off on their greedy push for more excessive profits.  Ending the “Bush Tax Cuts” (and, I’m talking about all of them – including the ones that “benefitted” me), creating the gas tax with a subsequent “push” to fix America’s infrastructure, and ending the two absurd occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan would have solved the budget problem ALREADY!

So, I guess you could say that I don’t disagree with some of the blame going Obama’s way, but the really ODD thing about the blamers is that they are the ones who should be happy with him – yet, they try to block EVERYTHING he does (except for funding the occupations, renewing the “patriot” act, and extending the “Bush Tax Cuts”).  President Obama, instead of turning out to be a progressive “agent for change,” has shown himself to be a staunch defender of the status quo.  I honestly can only think of one reason all the “right wingers” are up in arms and that is they can’t stand the idea that America’s white majority is close to being a “thing of the past.”  That appears to me to be what they’re holding onto.  Otherwise, this all makes no sense.  I mean, Obama didn’t lift a finger to allow prosecutions of Bush/Cheney et al.  If you are a republican and can’t appreciate that, check out what’s happening around the globe in other countries where authoritarian regimes have been removed – like in Egypt.  Hosne Mubarrak is going to be standing trial in Egypt, or at least that’s the implications of the reports I’ve seen.  George W Bush and Dick Cheney are directly responsible for the lost lives of HUNDRED’S OF THOUSANDS of human beings in Iraq alone – not to mention the torturing issue, the bludgeoning of our regulatory system, the politicizing of the Justice Department, the outing of a CIA agent, the FISA violations, the lying before Congress (and even refusals to answer subpoenas from congress), and I could go on.  If we were TRULY a nation of laws, these people wouldn’t have walked away “scott free” after what EVERYONE knows they did.

The Wall Street bankers who are now funnelling MILLIONS of their ill gotten gains into the republcan “coffers” should be thankful for Obama as well.  Virtually NONE of the “big wigs” has had to answer for TANKING the American and WORLD economy in the second half of the first decade of this century – that is, Bush/Cheney’s second term.  Honestly, if you think Bernie Madoff is the extent of what was wrong on Wall Street (what’s STILL wrong) “I’ve got a bridge I’d like to sell you.”  There are many books (I’ve read some of them) which make it clear that Goldman Sachs was playing both sides of the “game” as the collaterallized mortgage obligations tanked this nation.  They were bundling mortgages that were crap with one hand and selling them to unsuspecting investors as AAA bonds while “betting” against them with the other hand.  Walla, Goldman Sach was capitalizing on America’s economic collapse from both ends at the same time.  It’s nice when your former CEO is the Treasury Secretary and makes sure that you are “too big to fail.”  Ughhh!  And, where’s the investigations of Goldman Sachs and the other bankers?  Where’s the investigation of Hank Paulsen?  All these people should be happy with Obama and especially happy with Eric Holder who – to no one’s surprise in Washington DC – is “one of them.”  (and, if you don’t know, Holder is a corporate attorney right from the heart of Wall Street)

On top of all this, have you taken a good look at Wall Street’s “numbers” since Obama’s presidency hit full swing?  Once the “stimulus” (which was too small, but that’s a story for another time – actually, it’s a story in my archives) started to take effect, it was Wall Street that benefitted WAY MORE than “Main Street.”  The “stimulus” was designed to prevent a more serious loss of jobs, kind of a stablization of the bad situation Obama inherited, but not designed to aggressively create the new jobs that were warranted with 15 MILLION out of work and a crumbling infrastructure.  Obama succumbed to those who have been “takers” for years – that is using the roads, bridges, buildings, schools, etc. constructed during the New Deal and Great Society years of Democratic control of our government – and these people just don’t want to “give back,” that is fix the things that have been worn out for our children to use.  They are the people who have been trying to “starve government” – using the words of Grover Norquist – so that “business” will once again have the “free reign” it had on consumers and the American public prior to the FDR administration.  Honestly, I have no idea how Obama could continue to side with these people – I suppose he feels that at some point they will become supporters of his policies – but, they SHOULD be happy with him!  Even Obama’s signature “Health Care Reform” was a “spinoff” of the republican Mitt Romney’s “plan” that was instituted a few years back in Massachusetts.  (Can’t you just picture the next round of presidential debates if it’s between Romney and Obama?)

And, when it comes to the “wars,” the republicans REALLY ought to be happy with Obama’s performance.  Essentially, President Obama has followed the agreed upon terms of policy in Iraq “according to Bush.”  I haven’t seen one indication that our president was willing to make a single courageous decision in Iraq – unless, you call it courageous to violate your promise to your own supporters who you promised you would bring home ALL the troops in 16 months.  It’s now approaching 30 months and there continue to be 50,000 troops PLUS all the contractors in Iraq – and, I’ll be as surprised as anyone if they come home this summer.  That was the republican playbook.  And, what about Afghanistan.  Boy, didn’t Afghanistan just show how two-faced the republcans really are.  I mean you have to give Obama credit for the raid that killed Osama bin Laden – I know they would never do that, but can you imagine the uproar if something had gone wrong?  Oh my – “invading a sovereign nation!” can’t you just imagine all the Jimmy Carter references had one of the choppers failed to perform the mission?  Yet, I’ve not heard a single republican give Obama credit for authorizing this action that was so needed by the victims of 9/11.  I can’t picture how frustrating it must have been for them (the 9/11 victims) when Bush/Cheney allowed bin Laden to escape and then quit trying to find him.  And, where was the national outrage over our “leaders” allowing the real criminal to go free while lying our nation into a horrendous military quagmire?  I, myself, was villified for speaking out against the invasion of Iraq by people who to this day continue to look the other way when they see me and who wouldn’t think of admitting they were TOTALLY wrong.  Shouldn’t the republicans be lining up in unity for the president who finished the job of bringing the man to justice who attacked America on THEIR WATCH?  Listening to them stumbling all over themselves trying to find a way to take credit for what Obama accomplished would be humorous if the subject wasn’t so serious.  These republicans have taken their racism to new heights!  But, they did support renewal of the Patriot Act.

Here’s the big problem I have with all of this.  The fundamental values of this great nation are under assault and “we the people” MUST rely on the democrats to put an end to it.  Given the present circumstances that’s not all that reassuring.  When you look at what the republicans managed to achieve when the democrats had nearly super majorities in both houses of congress, it’s a little nerve wracking thinking what might happen next.  I mean, when I saw the republicans succeed in extending the “Bush Tax Cuts” I thought, “all bets are off with our ‘progressive’ president.”  Even Obama is afraid to challenge the American people to pull together to solve our problems – which pale in regards to the problems our parents and grandparents solved in World War II and during the depression years.  Paying the same tax rate we paid during the Clinton presidency should have been a “no brainer,” but I heard Obama say (yes, I heard this with my own ears) that the extension of the tax cuts was going to create “millions of new jobs.”  Again, what’s not to like if you’re a republican?  Now they’re after Medicare, Medicaid, and ultimately Social Security (if you haven’t figured this out, there’s TRILLIONS in profits for their business “partners” if they can pull this off) and I honestly don’t feel that secure having President Obama as my backstop. 

Remember, 76% of the American public supported a “public option” in the health care debate – and the concept never got off the ground (guess who was making backroom deals with health insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies?).  Now, in most polls, 80+% are opposed to changing Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security – but, do you really think that will stop the republicans?  Plllllleassssse!  The only thing that will stop the republicans is if “we the people” vote them out of office!  The so-called “tea party” has taken over the republican party and their right wing extremist agenda will be a big problem to all of America if people continue watching Fox “news” and believing what they hear.  If Americans were smart, the only association they’d have with Fox “news” would be boycotting their sponsors.  Fox is the mouthpiece of the republican party and, as I’ve stated here (by the way, on many occasions I’ve pointed out how much I want President Obama to succeed) I’m not confident in today’s democrats and our democratic president to stop the Fox agenda which is the corporate takeover of America, so it’s up to “we the people” to vote this “tea partyish” repubican party out of office at the next election and vote in candidates (and, honestly, I don’t care what, if any, party they’re affiliated with) who will stand up for and embrace the fundamental values that created America’s middle class in the first place.  I’ve heard politicians talking about the “dominoe theory” my entire life, usually referring to “communism” or something of that ilk, but I believe the republicans think getting the tax cuts extended was the first dominoe in a series that includes the “social safety net” created by the Roosevelt and Johnson administrations.  Republicans want to privatise EVERYTHING, and it’s up to “we the people” to stop them!

My disappointment with my government has been pretty much bipartisan with a strong leaning toward the republicna party.  The democrats just don’t seem to “get” the gravity of the situation and the money from the lobbyists is apparently too much for many of them to rely on their moral “compass” in choosing sides in this “fight.”  And, when I say “fight” I really want to say “war” because I’ve been pointing out for several years now that I see an internal “war” for the “heart and soul” of this great nation that is going to be in it’s critical stages in the next couple of years (as Dick Cheney would say, “in it’s final throes”).  It is almost unbelievable to me that we’ve evolved to this place because I always thought the American people were too sophisticated to allow this nation to be taken over by authoritarian corporatists.

However, as I look back at the first decade of the 21st century I feel an overwhelming sense of alarm.  Just the fact that this impending “permanent republican majority” is even a possibility, demonstrates what a stranglehold those pushing for a corporatocracy have gained over a broad spectrum of America’s governance – and, by that I’m including the “fourth estate” – the media – in my area of concern. (Yes, that’s the so-called “liberal media”)  As I’ve shared on this site many times, I’m constantly reading books about what our government is REALLY up to – viewpoints I seldom get by watching TV “news,” which I seldom do anymore.  I feel compelled to speak out to anyone who will listen about the imminent danger to what’s left of the “New Deal” and the “Great Society,” two periods in America’s history which demonstrated the will of the American public to take care of our own – especially the less fortunate.  That will has been under attack, overtly, since the election of Ronald Reagan (I’ve learned the scheming started almost the day FDR signed the first legislation of the New Deal into law) and the attack was on steroids during the administration of George W Bush and, astonishingly, has increased during the first two years of the Obama administration.

Tonight, I wish to share some of my thoughts as to why it’s so unbelievable to me that this CABAL of right wing fanatics continues to manage to even have the possibility of success.  When I think back to the election of George W Bush I still remember that I did a minimal amount of research during that election and found NOTHING to give even the slightest hint that GW Bush was qualified to be the President of the United States.  Now, to this day I believe he became president only through the manipulation of the ballots in Florida by his brother and his brother’s associates (Jeb was governor of Florida and the overwhelming evidence was that Al Gore won the Florida election and Gore should have been president) and through the rough house tactics of Tom Delay’s “goons” and the republican “cronies” on the Supreme Court.  That being said, there has been a continuing saga of lying and incompetence from the republicans since the day GW took office that is somehow still being overlooked by our “left wing” media.  Additionally, we now have the “tea party” which is taking the lying and incompetence up a notch, still without the least bit of “fact checking” that I can find as I observe our “fourth estate” from afar.

I used to trust our “news” media to be somewhat independent of the political parties and the politicians.  However, the more I read about what our government has been “up to” over the past 30+ years it is becoming very evident that large parts of the media have become enmeshed in the “CABAL.”  Even though the Iraq fiasco and the Afghanistan occupation have been on the back pages of the news media for several years now (except for the occasional item – like the killing of Osama bin Laden) I continue to think about them a lot.  The invasion of Iraq was gut wrenching for me – I predicted before it happened that we were exposing ourselves to another Viet Nam, and the “war” in Afghanistan became intolerable to me once I realized that Bush/Cheney had abandoned the search for bin Laden.  George W Bush had world wide support in going into Afghanistan and capturing or killing bin Laden and his lieutenants who were complicit in the 9/11 attack on America.  Using the 9/11 attacks as a reason to invade Iraq was crimial as far as I was concerned then and I believe that today (which is why I will probably always be upset with President Obama for not allowing the NEEDED investigations of the Bush/Cheney lawlessness).

When you look back to the decisions the Bush/Cheney administration made (not just in Iraq and Afghanistan) and you look at who was supporting them and what their supporters were saying, it makes it even more astonishing what is happening today – and might happen in 2012.  These people were WRONG about EVERYTHING!  Not only was the Bush administration WRONG about virtually EVERYTHING they did, but their supporters were dominant on the “news” at the time, and they’re still dominant today from what I can tell.  I was at Barnes and Noble book stores recently and noticed the large number of “conservatives” with books out who were attacking President Obama as everything from a fascist to socialist to a non-American.  These are the very same people who were DEAD WRONG in virtually everything they predicted prior to the ill advised invasion of Iraq.  They were either complicit with the Bush administration or they were the perfect “stooges” and simply repeated the “talking points” as ordered by someone (I can only guess who).  The point I’m trying to make is why are these people even granted any credibility AT ALL today after helping the Bush administration lie us into a military adventure that has cost America’s treasury Trillions, over five thousand lives of our precious troops, tens of thousands of debilitating injuries to our troops, hundreds of thousands of Iraqi deaths, and MILLIONS of Iraqi’s lives upended by the chaos created by our invasion of their country and destruction of Iraq’s infrastructure.

Worse than this, the invasion of Iraq destablized the entire region, it empowered al Qaeda instead of weakening it, and it turned Iran into a much stronger force in the region by removing Saddam Hussein who was the counterforce to Iran prior to his demise.  In the end, I’m convinced that Iraq and Iran will be semi-unified as the Shia majority in Iraq becomes much more closely allied with Iran.  Additionally, instead of the US being the force of reason in the region, the “Bush doctrine” – which was touted by virtually ALL the “pundits” who were given a voice on our airwaves – turned country after country into “enemies” of America and we are now the pariah.  George W Bush and the “pundits” who supported him were prone to quote Hitler in referring to countries like Iran, the so-called axis of evil.  But, who was NOT on the airwaves pointing out to the American people which country was doing all the invading?  Which country was incarcerating thousands of “enemy combatants” without charges and was torturing them shamelessly?  And, these pundits were with Bush/Cheney all the way, as if they were cheerleaders instead of journalists.  I got sick of it and began turning it off, but I can still remember people like Bill Kristol – what an arrogant ass, and WRONG about virtually EVERYTHING I ever heard come out of his mouth.  I hate to even mention the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck – and, like the others, they continue to be WRONG about virtually everything they predict.  They have been like wind up dolls that have been programmed!

Another one I can remember is Charles Krauthammer – I believe he’s still got a job with the Washington Post.  The guy was also wrong about EVERYTHING!  Yes, these guys aren’t sometimes wrong, it’s ALL THE TIME!  Yet, for some reason he still has credibility.  Does that imply we have a “liberal media?”  I won’t go into great detail about Fox “news” because if you’re reading this you either know what they’re about or you’re sucked in by their pack of lies – but, suffice it to say, based on what I learned about America’s government when I originally went to school in the 60’s Fox “news” should have lost their license to broadcast “news” long ago.  That’s without even getting into the FACT that they are owned by a right wing Australian, their number one shareholder besides that Australian is a Saudi Prince who helped fund bin Laden, and the president of Fox”news” is a republican operative.  It’s hard for me to believe that the American public would continue to “fall” for this!  Pundit after pundit on Fox spews predictions that are WRONG yet they continue to put them on the air.  Evidently getting it “right” isn’t part of the requirement there – EVER!

Here’s another one.  I don’t remember exactly what he said, but I do remember watching Jonah Goldberg (I believe that’s his name) act as a mouthpiece for the invasion of Iraq.  The reason I point him out is because I recently saw books by him blasting Obama at Barnes and Noble and I wondered why would ANYONE spend good money to buy a book from someone who’s prognostications were so wrong.  It’s like these people can make ridiculous statements in front of millions with NO blowback when they are totally WRONG and the consequences of the actions are so devastating for our country.  I keep wondering, how long will “we the people” keep putting up with these puppets of the right wing takeover of America?  I could say the same things about Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly (supposedly the highest rated show on cable), and on and on.  The people you DON’T see on TV as “pundits” are the ones who got it right!

I still remember the guy who was the “weapons inspector” in Iraq pointing out – before the invasion – that there were no WMD’s.  Why is it I can’t remember his name?  Well, it’s because he was ostracized as something along the lines of being a traitor for telling the TRUTH.  And, where’s Phil Donahue or Dan Rather.  They were thrown off the air for questioning anything about the war or, in Rather’s case, Bush’s incompetence and irresponsibility when he was supposed to be in the Air National Guard – but was AWOL and subsequently bailed out by Dad (George HW Bush had to bail his son out of inumerable messes along the way).  Then there was Valerie Plame’s husband, Joe Wilson, who was thoroughly BLASTED for telling the truth about the Bush/Cheney/Rice/Powell LIE about “the smoking gun in the form of a mushroom cloud.”  Wilson proved the claim that Saddam Hussein had purchased 500 tons of “yellow cake uranium” from Niger was patently false.  Bush/Cheney responded by not only publicly DESTROYING Wilson’s career, but also his wife’s – who, ironically, was in charge of the CIA’s division that was investigating Iraq’s WMD’s. 

This is why I’m so concerned about what’s going to happen in the next two years.  Virtually EVERYONE who was right about Iraq are long since lost and forgotten – as far as our “liberal media” is concerned (shoudn’t they be who we’re listening to?) – while all those who were TOTALLY wrong are still the so-called experts or pundits who get their faces and voices on the airwaves.  Even since the election of Barack Obama Keith Olberman was silenced – presumably because he was critical of BOTH sides of this preposterous Washington sideshow.  I find something TERRIBLY wrong with that!  Not only were all the above mentioned people  who were wrong on Iraq and Afghanistan proven to have NO IDEA what they were talking about, but – if you remember the last two or three years of the Bush/Cheney disaster – they were spouting almost the same venom regarding Iran.  Many of them, Kristol included, were scheming for Bush to authorize an invasion of Iran prior to his leaving office.  And, I can guarantee you that if the republicans get into power again, that will be one of the first places they go.  In fact, it’s well known that after 9/11 Iran wanted to help (and did help) the US in the original quest to capture and kill bin Laden.  They attempted to normalize relations with the US, a move that would have precluded them building a nuclear weapon, but the Bush administration not only refused to listen to them, but belittled their attempt at diplomacy.  The Bush people and all these pundits that were their mouthpieces ostensibly are in favor of permanent war!

So, the American public is fast approaching a point where they’re going to have to decide FOR GOOD if they’re going to keep listening to these right wing WHACKOS!  People like Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, Sarah Palin, John Boehner, Mitch McConnell, the “tea partiers” (including the unbelievably WHACKO Rand Paul), Scott Walker, John Kasich, Michele Bachmann, Mitt Romney, and I could go on and on.  Their next plan is to OFFICIALLY bankrupt the United States of America.  They will threaten to refuse to raise the debt ceiling right up until the last second and we’ll get another chance to watch President Obama decide when he’s going to say he’s had enough of their crap.  They’ll be going after Medicare and Medicaid, and covertly Social Security along with every other aspect of the aforementioned New Deal’s and Great Society’s middle class benefits they can undermine.  It’s getting to the point where President Obama will have to decide if he’s going to be the president who oversaw the undoing of those great programs.  The republicans lied about Iraq, they lied about getting bin Laden, and they’ll lie about who’s to blame for shutting down the government.  The question is, when are the democrats and our democratic president going to “call their bluff” and trust the American people to hold these thugs accountable at the ballot box.  If and when President Obama decides to lead the FIGHT against this republican CABAL, he’ll find a pent up group of PROGRESSIVES who will enthusiastically fall in line to support him!

In my last post I questioned how the republicans would “find fault” in President Obama’s leadership in the killing of Osama bin Laden.  Now, you have to keep in mind that I long ago stopped watching television “news” and I get my information by reading some “news” articles on the internet and listening to “talk radio” as I drive around in my car.  I used to watch Keith Olberman on MSNBC, but when they fired him I decided that I needed to “cleanse” my mind from the brainwashing we Americans receive on a regular basis from watching our “news” broadcasts.  The more I read, the more I realize how we’ve been brainwashed for far longer than I had imagined.  Anyway, getting back to President Obama’s announcement last week that bin Laden had been killed, well you had to know that the republicans would be unable to simply say “way to go” we finally brought this KILLER to justice.  But, NO (in caps, because they have long ago been branded as the “party of NO”) what I’ve heard are republicans trying to SPIN this to where the credit would go to George W Bush, of all places!  Really, all I can say is, “YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!”

Just as I’ve been pointing out for the past two plus years that evidently republicans can’t remember who CRASHED the economy, now they can’t remember who SCREWED up the occupation of Afghanistan and allowed bin Laden to escape.  In fact, in one book I read which was written by a Pakistani reporter, it was the Americans who flew the Pakistani ISI (intelligence service – similar to our CIA) out of Afghanistan and bin Laden, his “lieutenants,” and the Taliban leadership were flown out at the same time.  Now, I’ve only read that from this one source (although he seemed credible at the time), but several sources have written that bin Laden was trapped at Tora Bora shortly after the American invasion by CIA operatives and the Northern Alliance, a group of Afghan fighters, but Tommy Franks refused to bring in American troops to “finish the deal.”  The only rational reality one can gain from all the reading I did on the subject is that George W Bush didn’t want to capture or kill bin Laden because that would have RUINED his plan to INVADE IRAQ!  Bush, along with his “advisors,” who were almost all part of the “Project for a New American Century,” had been planning and scheming on an invasion of Iraq since long before Bush was appointed president by the Supreme Court.  9/11 gave them the perfect “reason” – all they had to do was keep bin Laden alive and connect Saddam Hussein to al Qaeda and their dream would come true.

These republicans are so used to blatant lying that they can’t stop, no matter what.  They can’t give Obama credit for ANYTHING and they are doing EVERYTHING they can to undermine his administration.  To me, that is as UNPATRIOTIC as it gets – especially for the same people who are responsible for the “Patriot Act.”  What’s even more amazing to me is how ANYONE who’s a thinking American citizen can continue to fall for their BS.  George W Bush essentially abandoned the “war” in Afghanistan, left the Afghan government to fend for themselves, and shifted virtually all of America’s “resources” into Iraq once they’d managed to get bin Laden out of Afghanistan and into Pakistan.  Do you remember Bush telling the American people we couldn’t go into Pakistan because we couldn’t invade a soveriegn nation?  What a sick joke!  I remember thinking at the time, if that statement isn’t BLASTED by the media (is wasn’t ) then anyone who doubts that the right wing has taken over the media in America needs to have their head examined.  I also remember thinking, “Are you kidding me?”  Wasn’t Iraq a sovereign nation?  And, for that matter, “What was Afghanistan?”  We put Hamid Karzai into power in Afghanistan and then proceeded to renege on EVERY promise made to him as far as helping him to rebuild his country.  It was no wonder to me that Karzai and his brother were funding their government off of opium sales when country after country in the American “coalition” failed to provide the promised aid.  In fact, Bush/Cheney supported the War Lords who created the obstacle to a viable central government in Afghanistan.  At EVERY turn, Bush/Cheney screwed up the invasion of Afghanistan – so how ANYONE could suggest that Bush receive credit for taking Osama bin Laden out is PREPOSTEROUS!

But, as I’ve implied many times on this site, PREPOSTEROUS is “par for the course” for today’s American republican party.  They are doing everything they can to turn our government over to their CORPORATE “brothers” and they could care less about the average American working “stiff.”  I don’t know how many Americans are still being suckered into watching Fox “news” and listening to people like Rush Limbaugh, but you’d think that after a few years of a devastated economy (that the republicans devastated) and them trying to make it even worse, even the non-thinkers would figure out that these people are EVIL!  Just a little refresher beyond Bush and company actually flying bin Laden out of Afghanistan that should make your eyes water everytime you hear someone claiming Bush should get any of the credit for finding him.  Do you remember Bush’s famous quote shortly after he was re-elected?  “I don’t know where he is, I don’t spend that much time worrying about it.”  Bush shared with the world that he wasn’t even still looking for bin Laden.  On top of that he closed down the CIA task force (the “bin Laden task force”) which had been after bin Laden since the days of Bill Clinton.  No one will be able to convince me that Bush/Cheney didn’t know where bin Laden was – I mean, Obama and company  found him next to a Pakistani military installation for God’s sake!

Keep in mind that it was Bush/Cheney who removed the sanctions from Pakistan that they got during the Clinton years because of their connections with terrorists.  Yes, Pakistan has ACTUALLY been HARBORING terrorists and supporting TERRORISTS since long before 9/11.  There can be no dispute that the ISI was funding both the Taliban and al Qaeda.  I believe the Pakistani ISI knew where bin Laden was at all times, and it seems probable to me that the Pakistani’s had some kind of “wink wink” agreement with the Bush administration regarding bin Laden, who was living in a large plush compound that HAD to have drawn someone’s attention.  It was constructed about the time Bush disbanded the bin Laden task force.  Have you ever heard of circumstantial evidence?  I’ve long since accepted that President Obama, for whatever reason, is NEVER going to allow the investigations of the Bush administration which could bring some sense of closure to all the misdeeds they inflicted on America – but, it’s hard to believe that bin Laden could build this big compound right in the middle of a populated area in Pakistan and we had no idea it was happening.  There are too many coincidences here for me.

Additionally, Dick Cheney had turned Pakistan into a great customer for all his corporate “military industrial complex” buddies who were collecting the largest share of the $10 BILLION the US sent as “aid” to Pakistan in return for “allowing” us to invade Afghanistan through their country.  Pervez Musharraf was an overt supporter of the Taliban and al Qaeda – bin Laden was helping to train terrorists in Pakistan’s effort to destablize the disputed (with India) territory of Kazmir.  The Pakistani’s were taking “aid” they received from Bush/Cheney and funneling it to bin Laden and the Taliban and it was ultimately coming back to kill our own troops.  None of the decisions Bush/Cheney made had anything to do with capturing or killing bin Laden, let alone prosecuting a focused “war” in Afghanistan.  EVERYTHING they did was aimed at furthering the PROFITS of the companies that were cutting off a FAT HOG in both occupations (Iraq and Afghanistan).  In fact, Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld had been CEO’s of companies which made BILLIONS in these two occupations increasing their own holdings in the HUNDREDS of millions.  I hope you can see the absurdity of any claim that ANYONE in the Bush administration (with the exception of Robert Gates who was held over into the Obama administration) had ANYTHING to do with the end of the Osama bin Laden saga.

Today’s republicans clearly will NEVER give Obama credit for anything.  But their response to the demise of Osama bin Laden shows clearly how absurd their greed and obsession with power has become.  Just as they have shown an UNBELIEVABLE willingness to DESTROY the American economy in their FUTILE attempt to make certain that President Obama FAILS, and – of course – in the process take MILLIONS of hard working Americans down the tube to achieve their goal, their response to bin Laden’s death shows that their willingness to UNDERMINE our government in order to regain power has no bounds!  Think about this, shouldn’t they be celebrating the death of the man they used to promote FEAR for those dreadful eight years of the Bush administration?  Aren’t they always crowing about how their main concern is “keeping America safe?”  Are they trying to say that the only way killing bin Laden would enhance America’s safey would have been had a republican done it?  Well, I’ve been thinking about that and I believe there’s no way a republican would have done this, and I’ll explain why.

Bush, Cheney, and the rest of his “crew” never showed the first sign that they were willing to do ANYTHING that required courage.  It’s been well documented that GW Bush was ushered into the Air National Guard in Texas during the Viet Nam War by his Daddy to avoid being exposed to conflict.  He was so busy getting drunk and chasing women that he didn’t even fulfill his obligation for the Guard and had to be bailed out of that mess by Daddy also.  (Just like all the other messes George HW Bush bailed him out of – I had researched this prior to the 2000 election and couldn’t believe someone who’d failed as much as GW could possibly become president….. but, I digress)  Dick Cheney, on the other hand, was the master at deferrals.  He was such a tough guy during Viet Nam that he got FIVE deferrals and managed to circumvent serving his country through the entire fiasco.  Certainly proved that he was a natural at “playing the system.”  Here’s where I’m going with this.  Just think about what Obama did for a couple minutes (if you haven’t already).  This took some real courage.  Bush and friends do most of their gambling on Wall Street, Obama put his entire presidency on the line when he authorized the venture into Pakistan.  Can you imagine what a field day the republicans and people like Rush Limbaugh would have had with Obama had this mission failed?  President Obama would already be considered a “lame duck” had something gone wrong on the mission.  This was well planned, and it was courageous – on the part of the Navy Seals and the others who pulled it off and on the part of the President who authorized it.

The other day I forced myself to tune into Rush Limbaugh.  I’ll tell you, if you’re listening to and believing that guy, you should have your head examined.  I believe when historians take an honest look back at these past 30 years Limbaugh will be at the head of the pack of the money grubbing TRAITORS – who used America’s airwaves to BRAINWASH millions of unsuspecting “ditto heads.”  Right after I heard him start on one of his rants, he was essentially accusing Obama of “dredging up bin Laden” and was saying that we would “have to be listening to him brag” about killing bin Laden until the next election.  This is from one of the leaders of the pack who used 9/11 – think of how many times you heard him and those associated with Bush – using 9/11 to instill FEAR in the American public and somehow convince people republicans were the ONLY ones who could keep us safe.  That argument was always so absurd to me because the TRUTH is that 9/11 happened almost ONE YEAR after Bush/Cheney assumed office.  I always wondered how people like Limbaugh could TWIST that FACT into the message that they were the ONLY ones who could prevent us from being attacked by terrorists – when the reality is they were the ones who allowed it to happen. 

ALL the evidence suggests that 9/11 NEVER should have happened and it happened on the “Bush/Cheney watch” because they weren’t “watching.”  The terrorists who pulled it off were in this country the entire year learning how to fly, Bush/Cheney were repeatedly warned that an attack was immenent, and the insider squabbling among Bush appointees heading different agencies (CIA, NSA, FBI, Defense dept., etc.) was what allowed the terrorist plot to succeed.  It’s almost as if they were complicit!  Bush/Cheney demonstrated incompetency both before and after the 9/11 attacks, yet they – along with their “water carriers” like Limbaugh, Hannity, O’Reilly, etc. – apparently are continuing to think they are the ones who can keep us safe.  Honestly, after listening to Limbaugh the other day, it sounded to me as if he was JEALOUS of the FACT it was Obama, our BLACK president, who managed to find and kill bin Laden and it made him sick to his stomach that he was going to have to listen to that FACT for the forseeable future.  Just think, what’s going to happen in the upcoming debates when republicans claim they are “strong on national defense.”  I’m sure Limbaugh is internalizing that he’s going to have to take the LYING to a whole new level – and, he may be pushing the point where the American people finally WAKE UP, which will be the end of him.  I’m certain there will be a day when the likes of Limbaugh, Beck, Hannity, and the other propagandists will be voted into the American “Hall of Shame.”

I have not been all that pleased with many of the decisions of President Obama, and I’ve said so here.  However, I’ve never wavered in saying that I want him to SUCCEED.  And, I don’t see any way a rational person couldn’t be pleased with his courageous actions in getting bin Laden.  To me, the republicans should be embracing him.  He is pragmatic to a fault, in my view, and he’s definitely attempting to restore this nation to what it was prior to the Bush/Cheney vendetta on our economy (that’s where some of my disappointment comes from – I was expecting “the change we can believe in).  Wall Street should be extremely happy, even if they have to pony up more cash for the American treasury, because Obama has been very business friendly.  The only logical explanation for much of the angst from America’s “right wing” would be that Obama is Black.  What that angst – coming in my view from the “center” of the republican party – has done is open the flood gates for the whacko’s on the fringe right – like the “tea partiers” to grab a “foothold” which is exposing their sickest plans for our nation’s government and bringing them right out into the open.  Instead of embracing Obama’s centrist approach to fixing the MESS left behind by Bush/Cheney (and, make no mistake, it’s one of the most outrageous “messes” ever passed from one president to another) the republicans oppose ANYTHING Obama is for (apparently, including killing Osama bin Laden).  And, they’re (republicans) taking their attack beyond Obama.

We’ve seen the attacks on public workers and their unions, we’re seeing the attacks on the “social safety net” which is one of the great aspects of America that has set her apart from much of the rest of the world (until the “Reagan revolution”), we’re seeing the attacks on our education system, the attacks on public support of the arts, attacks on public support for health care for children, women, and the elderly, and essentially the ruthless nature of the greedy “bigwigs” who are supplying the money for republican “leaders” like Scott Walker, John Kasich, John Boehner, Mitch McConnell, and the others.  The republicans don’t believe in fixing the roads, bridges, schools, parks, and other assets that were developed during the years following World War II and they ultimately see Social Security as an “entitlement” – even though I’ve been paying into it as if it’s an insurance plan since near it’s inception – and they want to get their greedy hands on all that money (even though they’ve already borrowed it and don’t want to have to pay it back).  They continue to claim that “tax cuts” for the “rich” will solve our economic problems and that the budget deficit is bad when a democrat is in the White House but when a republican is in the White House they say, “Reagan proved deficits don’t matter.”

You read something like this and you have to think there’s no way an educated public that has a HUGE middle class (or, what was once a huge middle class – if the republicans have their way we’ll have a huge “lower” class) would EVER fall for such ridiculous Bull $@#*.  The problem is despite how greedy, thoughtless, meanspirited, and ruthless the republicans are, they know how to use all these traits to propagandize the American public.  In addition they are smart about strategically putting people into offices where they can have a profound affect on the electoral process.  Both of George W Bush’s “wins” were questionable at best.  Repblicans control the voting machines, they’re passing voter restriction laws as I’m typing this designed to discourage poor voters from voting, they’ve got a stranglehold on the courts, their compatriots control a LARGE majority of the media outlets in America, and Bush nominated Supreme Court justices who decided the “Citizens United” case in a way that has enabled multinational corporations to infuse UNLIMITED amounts of money into our elections for the forseeable future. 

They are planning to have TOTAL control of EVERY branch of government once the 2012 elections are complete.  As absurd as their rhetoric and their actions are, the republican party is a threat to the foundation of America!  They believe the “end justifies the means” and, in this instance, the “end” is their “permanent republican majority.”  This is a conspiracy that’s been ongoing for my lifetime (I only started to figure it out a few years ago) and, until “Citizens United”, I never thought they could pull it off.  But the possibility is all too real and if America’s middle class – and I’m talking about democrats, republicans, independents, progressives, conservatives, you name it – until we all come together and put these people OUT, this nation as we envision it is in grave danger.  What we’re facing is a government that is controlled by a partnership between corrupt politicians and large corporate interests.  Yes, if you know your political science, that is the definition of a fascist state.  I remember when I was a high school student hearing, I think it was John Kennedy, warning that the only way America would ever be vulnerable to a collapse would be from an “enemy within.”  Well, if those of us who don’t want to leave that kind of America for our children and grandchildren, we need to get our butts off the couch and put up a fight.  I’m in my 60’s and we are the ones who need to lead this fight back to the ideals of the New Deal.  We enjoyed a lifetime of the benefits our parents and grandparents fought so valiantly for, we can’t sit idly by as “robber barrons” re-emerge and drain our tax base of TRILLIONS while convincing our people that we can’t afford to be a benevolent society!  The Wall Street bankers, the Oil executives, the Corporate CEO’s, and hedge fund managers are laughing all the way to the bank as America’s voters continue to elect their republican “yes men!”

I spend a lot of time wondering, these days, how any American citizen who is paying any attention at all to what is “happening” in our society – whether they consider themselves liberal, conservative, independent, or whatever – could possibly support the “modern day” version of the republican party.  Well, the obvious caveat; unless they are wealthy and have no appreciation for the sacrifices of all the “blue collar” Americans who have come before us and helped to build what should be the greatest nation on earth.  I’m in my mid sixties and participated in what I call the “whole gammit” of the Viet Nam fiasco (America seems to have evolved into a very good producer of fiascos).  I joined the Marines in 1967 thinking I would do my part to help prevent the spread of communism via the “fall” of South Vietnam.  I was discharged due to a bum knee and it took about a year or two before I realized what a sham the Vietnam “war” was which pushed me into the crowds of protestors who gained notoriety during the 1968 presidential campaign.

Once the Vietnam “war” ended I, like many of my compatriats, settled into working and raising a family – slowly I got pulled into the middle class, I learned to appreciate the American workers and being an American, and I gradually began to allow myself to “trust” the leaders in Washington as Watergate happened and Jimmy Carter won the White House.  To this day, if you listen to, or read the media accounts, Carter was a bad and weak president.  I think what I appreciated the most about him was his sense of integrity and personal fortitude that I don’t think I’ve observed in another prominent national politician before or since ( I really want to believe Barack Obama has the same personal characteristics).  I always felt that Carter had more courage to do “the right thing” than any of the other alternatives.  I continue to believe that had Carter’s “CAFE” standards not been reversed by Ronald Reagan, and had we continued in the alternative energy direction I remember him leading us, we would be a much stronger and independent nation today.  Carter’s demise is a prime example of what happens to American politicians who “buck” the oil industry “platform.”

When Ronald Reagan was elected president I was shocked and discouraged to the point where I spent the next 20 years concentrating on just “getting by.”  It was during this time that my children were raised, my business (farm) failed, I went back to school and finally achieved my dream of becoming a school teacher.  Contrary to much of today’s public speculation about what a “cushy” job teaching is, it took me several years to get to the point where I felt competent in the classroom – although, to this day (and I’m now close to retirement), I always feel there is much more to learn.  Teaching is a FULL TIME commitment – during the school year I don’t spend much time “socializing” because if I’m not in the classroom teaching or preparing to teach, my mind is usually on what I can do to help my students achieve at a higher level.  I work in a high poverty school – I won’t get into all my frustrations about all the teacher bashing that’s in vogue with “conservative” politicians right now – and once the end of June rolls around, I will need the two months “vacation” (which will include more professional development classes) to unwind and prepare for the next “go around.”

As a teacher I am always talking to my sixth graders about how the ultimate purpose of their education is to help them become productive and responsible citizens in our community and nation.  I have always felt that for my words to them to have the merit which might influence them in a positive way it is important that I “practice what I’m preaching.”  So I’ve always at least “paid attention.”  Shortly after George W Bush became president and I listened to Dick Cheney say, “Ronald Reagan proved ‘deficits don’t matter’,” as he rammed through Congress the “Bush Tax Cuts” which turned the surplus he and Bush inherited into massive national debt I decided my complacency needed to end.  I didn’t say much as I watched Reagan first orchestrate the “supply side” hoax which began what has now been a 30+ year bonanza for America’s (now multinational) corporations as they have squeezed our nation’s wealth upward as if one were emptying a toothpaste tube.  I started reading and researching what MY government was up to, exactly what I hope my students will do once they achieve adulthood.

I had calmed a bit during the years of Bill Clinton because, despite ALL the issues I had with Clinton (too many to list in this post) I was pleased that he managed the economy into the situation where there was a sufficient surplus to RETIRE the national debt in something like TEN years!  Of course, the words Cheney spoke that I mentioned above, RUINED all of that.  Presently, and curiously, our national debate is almost completely focused on the national debt and it’s the republicans who are complaining the loudest.  Where were they when Cheney said those despicable words?  It was a republican congress which voted in the “Bush Tax Cuts,” and it was republicans who strong armed President Obama, last December, into extending them.  (I’ll save my outrage – which I’ve shared on previous posts – as to how Obama could do this for another day)  Not only did those tax cuts cause our national debt to skyrocket, but – along with the corporatist agenda that was initiated under Reagan and put on steroids with Bush/Cheney – the privatising, the deregulation, the lack of enforcing existing regulations, and the encouragement of a “get rich quick” philosophy in America, especially on Wall Street, led to the collapse of the financial “sector” in 2008.  This collapse, and the resulting “Great Recession” created an escalating problem with getting the deficit situation under control.  Since that time (2008) the republicans have continued to rip off the American taxpayers, they somehow managed to lie their way back to a majority in the House of Representatives (I’ve got many posts in the archives explaining how I think the democrats have responded VERY poorly to their challenge which allowed this to happen), and their plan is to take over this government that they HATE and create their “permanent republican majority.”  (this will be a total partnership with the republican leadership and the large corporate entities who will have control of the money, the congress, the courts, and the media – it’s a brilliant plan and if “we the people” don’t stop it prior to 2012 – they may actually succeed in fulfilling Karl Rove’s dream)

I apologize for all the background for my thoughts of this evening, but I believe it’s critical to look at what’s going on with more than an eye to the present.  This “takeover” has been in the works for MANY years.  I believe the “plan” was put together well before Reagan was elected.  He was simply the first politician who was able to win the White House and was willing to sell out to the monied interests who are behind this movement.  We all know – well, those who’ve been watching what’s going on around the country with all the “tea party” republican governors – who the Koch brothers are now, but, up until the you know what hit the fan in Wisconsin, I don’t think many in America had any idea who they were.  They’ve been active for close to fifty years – their father was a founding member of the John Birch Society – that should tell you all you need to know.  Actually, I was talking to a young teacher the other day and she didn’t know what the JBS was, so in case you’re in that “boat” – you should “google” it – but suffice it to say, the JBS is racist, anti-union, right wing authoritarian, and full of money to spend in order to help create this “permanent republican majority.”

And, while I don’t give the democrats and Obama a “pass” for what’s “happening,” I simply believe it’s important for EVERY American who might vote to understand the culpibility of the “modern” republican party in this DEFICIT and the resulting disintegration of the American economy.  I believe it’s not too late to “turn things around,” but it’s certainly NOT going to happen if we all simply “trust” the democrats to stop this onslaught on our system.  I believe my main point tonight is to somehow focus my written words in a way that corresponds to my thoughts about the endless argument between republicans and democrats over who’s FAULT this economic disaster is.  And, to pare it down a bit, who’s FAULT is the HUGE deficit everyone’s arguing about?  Simply put, I believe the deficit AND the resulting “Great Recession” are BOTH totally the FAULT of the modern day republicans!  And, furthermore, I caution anyone who’s reading this that they are not finished yet.  To them, things are looking “peachy.”  I’ll try to explain.

Do you remember Grover Norquist?  His famous quote regarding the republican “plan” I’m trying to “lay out” tonight; “Our goal is to shrink government to the size where we can drown it in a bathtub.”  The republicans have been “after” Roosevelt’s “New Deal” since the very days it was implemented.  Of course, the New Deal happened during the thirties, the very time when the labor union movement was fighting for and GAINING many of the benefits “we the people” now are taking for granted – to the point where the republicans think they can finally “stick a fork” in them.  The New Deal led to Johnson’s “Great Society” (Medicare and Medicaid) and Johnson was followed by Richard Nixon, who by today’s republican standards was a FLAMING liberal. 

Hence, today’s republicans attempting to do away with the environmental protection agency that came into existence under Nixon’s “watch.”  Republicans have been slowly succeeding at “shrinking” the government, as per Norquist’s wishes, since Reagan took the oath of office.  The catch word since Bush/Cheney had their say has been “privatization.”  What that means is continually providing the “fat cat” sponsors of the republican party with “no bid” contracts designed to help them get “filthy rich.”  I mean, if you read up a bit on the Iraq occupation, you will find that both Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld (along with many other of their “cronies”) profited handsomely off of this ill advised misadventure that the U.S. has still failed to extract itself from (we’re talking about hundreds of MILLIONS of dollars here for both Cheney and Rumsfeld).  What is happening now in America is EXACTLY what Grover Norquist wants – the federal government is broke, taxes on the RICH are at an all time low – and they (republicans) are attempting to lower them FURTHER!

Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin (a devotee of Ayn Rand – an extreme right wing “kook”) is the new “face” of the republican party and he recently proposed a budget (for 2012) which was approved by the House and their repubican majority and made the republican “plan” for Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security even more clear.  Instead of taking the simple steps they would need to put each of those programs on solid “footing” for the forseeable future, they are proposing to further undermine them.  As Norquist said, “shrink them until the republicans can drown them in a bathtub.”  And, make no mistake, the republicans will do just that if they prevail in the 2012 election.  So, if you’re reading this and are an American citizen, it doesn’t matter if it’s your parents or you, if you’re a middle class American the republicans want to pull the “safety net” that was put in place by our parents and grandparents right out from under you.  Trust me, once they’re done with Medicare and Medicaid, Social Security is next.

It was republicans who took us into the “Great Depression,” they took us into the “Great Recession,” and it’s republicans who are willing to take us back to another depression to get what they want.  I believe they think they are much better prepared to survive the next great depression.  Think about all the money they’ve absconded with from our federal tax base as it is.  Not only did they get TRILLIONS in bailout funds after 2008, but almost ALL the multinational corporations who’ve been “cutting off a fat hog” since we invaded Iraq are republican donors and they’re sitting on TRILLIONS in cash as I’m typing this.  Is it hard to figure out why further deterioration of the economy is good for them?  If you’re reading this and you think I’m nuts, you probably watch Fox “news” and listen to the likes of Rush Limbaugh and the rest of the right wing “water carriers” who would sacrifice the welfare of this nation for MONEY.  

Read some books about the Iraq invasion, about the “Project for a New Century” and the so-called “neo-cons.”  Read the FACTS about the economic results of the last 30+ years since the days of Reagan and the introduction of the “trickle down” economic philosophy.  I’ve always said if republicans are saying look right, you should look left.  Well, in that vein, their philosophy – when you look at the ACTUAL statistics since 1980 should be called “trickle up.”  That’s where the wealth of this great nation has gone – upward, except during the Clinton years – since Reagan took office.  If you’re a worker, if you’re a Christian and voting republican, WAKE UP!  The republicans are screwing you!  Today’s republicans have taught me to appreciate Richard Nixon!

Since the election of Barack Obama the repubican party has been more anti-government since anytime I can remember in my lifetime.  They have blocked EVERY attempt at implementing programs which would help the MILLIONS of distressed workers in this country who’ve been out of work – MILLIONS of them for over two years.  At a time when this country should have been pulling together to turn around the disaster caused by Bush/Cheney the republicans simply kicked up the level of opposition.  And, their corporate cronies showed a willingness to supply UNLIMITED funds in the republican brainwashing of the American public through their control of the so-called ‘liberal media.”  The state of Wisconsin has shown us the worst and best of the American political scene.  We’ve seen Scott Walker do the bidding of the Koch’s and other right wing groups such as the John Birch Society (which is based in Wisconsin) and we’ve seen Paul Ryan of Wisconsin propose a national budget that undermines two of the most fundamental programs representing what’s good about America, Medicare and Medicaid.  However, Wisconsin has also brought us an outraged public that consists of liberals and conservatives alike who are pulling together to stop this outrageous powergrab the republican party has schemed for the last 40 or 50 years which is now possibly in – as Dick Cheney would say – “it’s last throes.”  Since President Obama took office, there hasn’t been ONE THING that is the result of democratic initiative that the republican party hasn’t attacked.

As I wrote in my last post, the House minority whip (at the time) Eric Cantor even violated the Logan Act, a Felony, (without recourse) when he urged the Prime Minister of Israel to feel comfortable in challenging the Obama administration – because the republicans would “have his back.”  I have been very disappointed in President Obama’s lack of willingness to FIGHT back against this republican onslaught.  I honestly believed there was nothing he could do that would receive any kind of postitive comment from ANY of them.  Well, as I was writing this post, it was announced that Osama bin Laden has been KILLED!  Obama promised to “finish the job” of getting bin Laden and he has done that.  I will be writing soon about how President Bush let bin Laden escape from Tora Bora so that he could “justify” invading Iraq back in 2002.  Well, NINE YEARS later President Obama has finished the job that should have been finished then.  Honestly, I wonder how the republicans will find fault in President Obama succeeding in getting bin Laden?  This is further reason to support my point of this evening’s post.  If you’re a working class American, shame on you if you vote for ANY of these republicans!