The first thing on my mind as I start this latest “rant” is that almost every time I start pointing out what the republican party of “the 21st century” is “up to” and I’m talking to a republican, they respond with something like “But, the democrats…..” – well, let me first make clear that nothing I say regarding the republicans should be interpreted as a ringing endorsement of the democrats.  In fact, I was going to write (several weeks ago) about some of my frustrations with the democrats in general and President Obama in particular (being careful to point out that I will still vote for Obama due to the FACT I’ll NEVER vote for another republican until they purge their party of this right wing cabal that is intending to undermine the very values this nation was created on – all the while claiming to be part of the “tea party”) but, in watching (from afar – I’ve managed to avoid directly watching ANY of the republican presidential hopefuls so-called “debates”) the republicans fight it out over who will challenge President Obama in the 2012 election, I keep asking myself the famous question “How LOW can they go?”  Apparently, the republicans have filtered out their “Not Mitt” candidates down to Rick Santorum (seriously, you’ve got to be kidding me – my first thought about him is that it won’t take anyone much time on Google to find a PLETHORA of reasons why putting him into the White House would be national suicide) and, so now we have a combination of Romney and Santorum trying to bludgeon each other while, at the same time, trying to accuse our sitting president as being “elite,” or better yet, the other day Santorum accused President Obama of being a “snob” for wanting all kids to “go to college.”

I’ve been pointing out for several years now, and the democrats are hardly listening (surprise, surprise –  even though I am one of those “elitist” school teachers the republicans are “after”), that this is a WAR for the heart and soul of America.  I believe the democrats are finally getting the hint that “Citizens United,” is at the heart of the war against unions, the war against women, and the war against – you name it – anyone who might benefit from the”traditional” view of government that I grew up with – which included a wide acceptance of the value of the “New Deal” and the United States as a “we” society.  This “acceptance of the value of the New Deal” all changed in the 1970’s and began to affect the “mainstream” in the 1980’s with the election of the first of their “fringe” candidates, Ronald Reagan, the birth of the “college republicans” (ie, Karl Rove, Grover Norquist, Jack Abramoff, and many others) plus the beginnings of the emergence of Charles and David Koch.  Of course, the “right wing” agenda of the republican party has pushed the “norm” so far to the right since Reagan’s election that “socialists” like Barrack Obama are more conservative in many ways than “liberals” like Richard Nixon.  I even heard one of the republican “talking heads” the other day as I was driving around refer to George W Bush as a “liberal.”  I’d think this stuff was all laughable if the reality of the POWER of the right wing CABAL that is lurking behind the headlines was not so great.  This power is centered in the heads of major multinational corporations and the right wing politicians, pundits, and talking heads who are more than willing to do their bidding for the right price.  I’ve heard several of the “leaders” (people such as Rove, Paul Weyerich, and  Norquist) admit that the “end justifies the means” when being questioned about the out and out lying that has become routine for the republicans.  (OK, I “get” that most politicians are liars, but these guys take it to an unimaginable level)  The ONLY thing that matters is gaining (and holding) POWER.

And, watch all the “Mitt haters” in the republican party (including the infamous Rush Limbaugh and all his minions stashed on local radios stations around the nation like Lars Larsen – locally to me – who are willing to sell out the average people of America for money – plus the O’Reilly’s, the Hannity’s, etc. – these people are at the heart of the propaganda campaign) fall in line as it becomes more evident they will be “stuck” with him as their nominee.  (I have to admit here that as long as two years ago I started predicting Jeb Bush would be thrown at us as the “alternative” at a deadlocked convention, but that appears to be more than a long shot at this point – I guess he’s their “man” for 2016 – actually, I started writing this a few weeks ago – since that time, Santorum has dropped out, so it looks like Mitt v Barrack in November)  As Grover Norquist recently said, all the republicans need is someone who is willing to sign the bills put forth from a republican congress (via ALEC click here if you are unaware of who “ALEC” is).  I guarantee you that a large portion of the BILLIONS the corporate heads will infuse into this upcoming election will be aimed at the races for congress.  The republican “donor class” will do everything they can to wrestle control of the senate from the democrats and maintain their stranglehold on the House.  Really, it’s a testament to the short term memory issues of the American public that republicans could win control of the House in 2010;  so, that should put democrats on “edge” going into 2012 because there’s going to be a MASSIVE amount of  SECRET money spent to make Karl Rove’s dream of a “permanent republican majority” a reality.  Can you imagine how difficult it will be to reverse the effects of the Bush fiasco if this happens?

Despite the FACT that President Obama has been constantly trying to placate republicans since the day he was elected, he will never be viewed as anything but, as John McCain put it (with virtually no blow-back) during the 2008 debates, “that one.”  I understand why the President himself can’t get into the issue of “race” because he’s the Jackie Robinson of politics.  And, despite the other areas where I’m disappointed in his performance, he’s been remarkably stout in withstanding all the subliminal racial hatred the republican party has been spewing since the day he won the election.  (Well, actually it started well before the day he won the election)  It’s the “pundits” from the “left,” like Randi Rhodes, Thom Hartman, Ed Schultz – people who have national audiences who’ve been a bit remiss, in my view, about “telling it like it is.”  The Southern Poverty Law Center, a non-profit dedicated to providing support to victims of hate crimes and educating our children about “tolerance” closely monitors “hate groups.”  Most of the hate groups are white supremacist in nature and they have grown exponentially since Obama’s election.  I point this out because I’m convinced there’s a significant portion of America who will vote against President Obama because of the color of his skin – and, the republican party is catering to these people.  They’re trying to figure out how to get the vote’s of the racist segment of our population, the right wing fundamental Christians (I’m a Christian, and this part of their strategy bugs me the most), and the so-called 1% (who have the unlimited resources and who control the airwaves of our supposedly “liberal media”).  Add to that a “war on women,” a “war on working people,” a “war on poor people,” a “war on civil rights,” and I have to wonder how the republicans are going to pull off getting most Americans to vote for their agenda?

The only possible answer to that question is by controlling our “liberal media” with all their money.  Can you imagine how the networks are licking their chops thinking of all the revenue coming their way because of “Citizens United?”  Have you noticed the BP adds telling us how great the Gulf is now?  Have you noticed the adds from other conglomerates that aren’t really selling anything?  Have you ever wondered why they would spend the money to advertise to us commoners?  Well, here’s the short answer.  The money they’re spending guarantees that the media outlets will NOT do anything to stop that revenue stream.  Kind of like the federal government becoming dependent on tax revenue’s from smokers, so they pretend they’re trying to get people to stop smoking while allowing the tobacco companies to continue making their massive profits at the expense of the health of millions of Americans.  There’s presently a push underway to get advertisers to abandon Rush Limbaugh, for example, due to some misogynistic remarks he made but I can guarantee you there are plenty of “monied” interests who want his message to continue on the airwaves – and, it will.  Take for example, the aforementioned Koch brothers.  I work in an environment of college educated people and very few of them have the slightest idea who the Kochs are.  Their exposure in Wisconsin has somewhat brought them more to the “surface,” but if you’re not paying attention, for example, you’d think David Koch was this kind hearted philanthropist who’s giving MILLIONS (he is) to museums, hospitals, etc. – mainly in his home town of New York city.  What people don’t know is where the hundreds of millions in “donations” from Koch industries are going in the political realm.  The Kochs rule a conglomerate that is centered on oil, but has “fingers” in many other directions – and, their estimated yearly revenue stream falls somewhere north of 100 BILLION dollars – that’s yearly!

The Kochs are behind the so-called “Tea Party” movement – you know, the anti corporate “movement” that’s sponsored by corporate conglomerates and does the corporate conglomerate’s “bidding” in congress.  The Kochs are the sons of one of the original members of the John Birch Society – a right wing, racist group that I thought was pretty much a thing of the past years ago – and, their libertarian views are almost off the right edge of the “charts.”  Despite their attempts to paint President Obama as a “Socialist,” the truth is their father made his original fortune advancing the cause of Joseph Stalin in Russia in the 30’s and 40’s (I guess, maybe that’s why Obama would appear to be a “Socialist” to them).  I have no doubt they are key figures in the “Family,” the right wing group I’ve written about previously (read: “The Family” by Jeff Sharlett – really, a MUST read) who are connected to the philosophy of Hitler, Stalin, and other dictators around the globe in a strange way that’s manifested in some kind of suggestion that Jesus was an authoritarian figure.  It’s all bizarre and scary as the Kochs try to accomplish their goals “under the radar.”  Recently there have been articles published “exposing” the Koch brothers (you can read the New Yorker article by clicking here) and a film by that name, “Koch Brothers Exposed.” (click here for a link to a trailer of the film)

The bottom line here is that there REALLY is a WAR going on for the heart and soul of America.  People like the Kochs, the Roves,  the Norquists, the Romneys, etc. wish to continue the assault on the “New Deal,” they want unions to be a thing of the past, they want the money going into things like public education, social security, medicare, and many other parts of the “commons” to be “funneled” into their hands via “privatization.”  If it sounds (appears) that the “people at the top” can’t get enough, well I would totally concur with that.  Greed is a powerful force and it has destroyed many other nations besides the United States.  My hope is that the people (yes, the so-called 99%) of America will come to their senses and stop this incredible power grab that’s been ongoing since the mid 1970’s.  The sad reality is that America’s working class has been voting for over thirty years to allow corporate self interests to supersede their own self interests.  It makes NO sense!  The Koch brothers and their “ilk” have figured out how to divide working people so that they are fighting each other over ridiculous issues that have nothing to do with governing.  In the process they’ve been STEALING TRILLIONS from the American taxpayer for years and it’s become such a BAD HABIT that they are willing to say or do anything to keep their revenue stream coming.  (If you read the Koch brothers exposed piece in the New Yorker, you might be as amazed as me about the level of corporate mischief – ie polluting – they’ve been able to get away with over the years with nothing more than a “slap on the wrist” from the government – and, you will better understand why they are so involved in the fight against environmentalists, regulation, and tax fairness)  Those of us opposed to this corporate takeover of America have only President Obama and the democrats to rely on to stop this assault on our nation.  Many, such as myself, thought that’s what we voted in in 2008, only to discover in 2009 a barrage of potential unacceptable compromises (mostly attempted and not made), more catering to Wall Street, more influence from lobbyists than ever, and more “backroom” dealing in Washington.  This time, we need to re-elect President Obama, but we also need to be clear that our expectations are not compromise with people like the Koch brothers.  They’ve pushed the agenda in Washington so far to the “right” that we need to push back – at least until we’ve put the focus on the health of America’s “middle class,” and we’ve removed the overwhelming influence of MONEY on our political system.  The democrats need to understand we’re not voting for them because they’re democrats – we expect a PROGRESSIVE agenda and we expect them to FIGHT for the working people of this great nation – the very people who’ve made it so great!  If the democrats can’t recognize this is a WAR for the heart and soul of our nation, then America is in deep trouble!  It won’t be WON by compromising with those on the “right.”