I’m going to attempt to share some recent thoughts without trying to sound arrogant or conceited.  However, I’m constantly amazed at how it seems America’s leaders are seemingly always at least one step behind the “eight ball” on issues which seem obvious to us “little people.”  For example, the recent political dialogue (especially coming from the “progressive” side) is dominated by conversation regarding “Citizens United.”  The reality is that Citizens United was a Supreme Court decision of over three years ago.  President Obama referred to it in his initial state of the union address.  I can still visualize Sam Alito shaking his head as if to say “no way” when Obama pointed out that the decision opened the floodgates to foreign money (unlimited foreign money) affecting the outcomes of our future elections.  What I couldn’t understand, at the time, was the lack of response from the rest of the democratic party who should have realized right then what this decision meant for them.   We saw the initial wave of this in 2010 with the defeat of the democratic house by the so-called “tea party” radicals who have specialized in putting up a road block to EVERY attempt by the Obama administration to reverse the effects of the Bush/Cheney cabal that virtually destroyed our economy, our military, and our standing in the world.  I (with, as I’ve explained many times on this site, the help of Thom Hartman) was writing about what Citizens United meant long before it was mentioned by Obama.  The democrats are finally in full tilt repeal mode now that they are understanding the reality that decision thrust onto the American political scene.  It may be too late.  That’s why I’m thinking in terms of this post as American politics 101 – and, hoping it doesn’t sound too arrogant.

The reality of Citizens United – which too me has been apparent since the “get go” – is that it’s definitely made Karl Rove’s (and Grover Norquist’s,  the late Paul Weyrich’s, the Coors family, the Scaife’s, the Koch’s, and the rest of the republican insiders) “permanent republican ‘majority'” a possibility.  It’s one reason I have been so frustrated with President Obama, because I felt he wasn’t recognizing the reality of the WAR the republicans are FIGHTING.  I’ve been mentioning (over and over) how the republicans already have control of the Supreme Court (and, for all intensive purposes the lower courts as well) and they’re planning on Citizens United giving them the boost to get both houses of Congress and the White House in the 2012 election.  What will be different this time from 2000 when Bush/Cheney where installed (by this right wing Supreme Court) is that the 1996 Telecommunications Act has had over 15 years to “mature” and now our “liberal media” is controlled by a small number of right wing corporations.  Not only do these media conglomerates benefit financially from republican control of our government – ie tax policy, etc. – but, Citizens United offers opportunities for cashing in on political advertising that, to them, is like a MAJOR dream come true.  The political divisiveness and “free market” mentality that is being crammed down our collective throats will lead to a bonanza of advertising revenue for these media conglomerates which will completely trump their obligation to be the “fourth estate” which our founders were counting on to keep government from straying from the will of the people.  The frustrations those on the “left” are feeling will have little to no effect on the media’s desire to continue cashing in on this “Citizens United” bonanza.  (it’s all about corporate profits, isn’t is?)

There seems to be NO checks on what the “Super PAC’s” can say in their advertisements and, unfortunately, we do live in a society that is dominated by “low information voters” – there I go again Lars (you’ll have to visit my archives to understand that comment) – and, the right wing political propagandists understand how to message these voters much better than the so-called liberals.  (Just for the record, after reading “Eisenhower in War and Peace” I’ve come to realize that I’m an Eisenhower republican – which, in today’s world, makes me a flaming liberal)  The republican brain trusts are using the methods originally devised by Joseph Goebbels – the head of Nazi propaganda during the second World War – which Goebbels called “The big lie theory.”  The theory goes like this – if you repeat a lie over and over enough times, people will then come to believe it’s true.  This is the foundation of the “republican talking points.”  It’s the “mantra” of Fox “news.”  If you don’t believe me, on the same day tune in to several different political broadcasts where you find “conservative” commentators.  I’ll guarantee you that they’re all using the exact same code words and the exact same message (yes, democrats have tried to copy this strategy, but they are woefully unable to compete in the arena of bold faced lies).  It’s almost as if these people are programmed from some central computer center.  What this should make clear to you is that there’s a covert cabal of people driving the “conservative” message and the “messengers” are simply people who will say anything for the right price.  What’s good for America has nothing to do with their message – it’s all about gaining a stranglehold on power and making sure us “little people” stay in our places.  This cabal, in my view, is made up of mainly the heads of large conglomerates who are making obscene profits at the expense of the American consumers and taxpayers – and, their specialty is convincing working class people to vote against what is their own best self interests.

The point here that is becoming clearer to me and making me more concerned with the direction this is all headed is that the power of the media is potentially suffocating any “backlash” that might be aimed at reversing the plan of the Roves, the Norquists, the Koch brothers (they’re a big part of the “payers”), Rush Limbaugh and the other paid mouthpieces for the “right wing,” along with politicians like Mitch McConnell and John Boehner who demonstrate absolutely no personal integrity.  And, I have to add here that I believe the intensity of their “movement” was driven up exponentially when a Black man entered the “White House.”  President Obama doesn’t  like to (and can’t) talk about this – but, his presidency has ignited the latent racists in America who were evidently OK with an occasional mayor or senator being elected – or for Blacks to entertain “Whites” as sports heroes; but, being president? – that was just too much for them – and, there’s more Americans out there who can’t vote for Obama simply because of the color of his skin than just about anyone wants to talk about.  Too me, it’s obvious.  I really can’t remember another time in my lifetime or my readings about American history when the opposing party was so outrageous as to publicly say their NUMBER ONE GOAL was to insure our president fails – with little to no blow-back from the media.  This is what led me to understand the depth of the opposition to our Black president.  Not only the corporate driven republican party, but the corporate driven media wants a “white man” in the “White House.”

And, who did they come up with?  Mitt Romney – are you kidding me?  Yet, they are so opposed to Obama that MANY “conservatives” will hold their noses and vote for maybe the most two faced, spineless politician to hit the national scene in my lifetime.  Having Romney as a candidate confirms, in my eyes, that the republicans believe they can purchase this election no matter who is running at the top of their ticket.  All they need is someone who’s willing to sign the laws they legislate and say the things they expect said – and, Romney is perfect for that role – he’s the best at telling people what they want to hear that I’ve seen yet.  He’s a Mormon elder, yet acts as a republican puppet!  As a (left wing) Christian myself, I can’t tell you how many people I know who think Romney is a member of a cult and who have said they can’t stand him, yet they’re going to vote for him because they’ve been convinced America’s “first priority” is defeating President Obama (yes, unfortunately they get their “news” on Fox).  Whether this “tact” continues the downward trend of our once great nation is irrelevant to them – and, I honestly don’t think they’ve thought past what it would mean to have another republican in charge – they’ve just been convinced that Obama is the problem (the other day, one of them actually told me “Obama caused the housing crisis”).  Most are republicans who still don’t understand the damage that was done by Bush/Cheney during the 2000-2008 term they held the White House.  Many believe Obama is not an American, many blame him for the deficits, and I could go on.  They watch Fox “news” and they believe what they see and hear when they watch it.  What is unnerving about this is that if somehow Romney wins in November the other broadcast outlets are likely to move closer to the Fox model instead of away from it (they are all multinational corporations).  The only way to reverse this trend is to DEFEAT republicans – which is what I’ve been espousing since the first day Obama took office (in fact, since before that).  For the sake of our children and grandchildren (this comment is meant for those “baby boomers” like me) this “defeating republicans” MUST begin with Mitt Romney.  The “right wing” direction of the Supreme Court MUST be changed!

That gets me to the “what can we do about it” part of this post.  And, of course, that last sentence would be aimed at anyone who shares my concern that this is a WAR for the heart and soul of America.  The ramifications of a republican victory in November could change the course of American history for a generation or more.  Regaining power in the face of Citizens United ALONG WITH a “liberal media” that is controlled by the RIGHT WING will be EXTREMELY difficult.  The best chance to “regain power” (remember, it’s the congress which passes the laws, spends the money, etc. – the president can only propose legislation) is to take back the congress.  I hope you can see there are two parts to this equation.  Romney MUST be defeated, but without a progressive congress President Obama is like the lion in the Wizard of Oz – “fighting with one hand tied behind his back.”  The Koch’s, the Scaife’s, the Coors family, and the other corporate forces are the same people who drove us into the depression of the 1930’s.  And, they’ve been fighting the “New Deal” since the first day FDR was elected in 1932.  They won’t go away.  They have unlimited amounts of money (remember, David and Charles Koch are worth more than $50 BILLION and their conglomerate, Koch Industries, generates over $100 BILLION of revenue EACH YEAR!), they have a history of supporting racist organizations (ie John Birch Society), they’ve been fighting unions since the thirties (yes, it all started with their parents – this “me” philosophy is family tradition in too many wealthy American families), they oppose public education, and ironically much of their income is the result of the very government they seem to hate.  Keep in mind, corporate profits have been prolific during this “Great Recession” (which is the result of Bush/Cheney economic warfare on America’s middle class), but apparently that isn’t enough.  Reports are that America’s corporations are, as I’m writing this, hoarding TRILLIONS in cash – with little to no incentive to let it “trickle down” back into our economy.  Clearly, there’s more to this than the money, which is why it’s imperative for those on the “left” to mobilize everyone they can to make sure these “republicans” don’t succeed in November (and beyond).

I can’t think of a single reason why any American who believes this is a “we” society should consider voting for a republican.  In fact, and I’ve always considered myself an independent voter – I’ve voted for many republicans over the years, I believe “we the people” need to make it clear to EVERYONE that this republican agenda of, as Scott Walker of Wisconsin was quoted, divide and conquer is REJECTED and republicans will be REJECTED until that agenda is REPUDIATED.  And, it must be repudiated by the leaders of the republican party and people like the Kochs and others who base their philosophy in racism MUST be marginalized – as they were until the 1980’s when the election of Ronald Reagan brought them out from under the rocks where they were hiding since the Great Depression.

Seriously, why would the so-called 99% want to revisit the Depression?  It makes no sense to me.  So, “we the people” have to forgive President Obama for his blunders as he attempted to bridge the gap between the right and left after he was elected.  He, and his advisers, failed to recognize the seriousness of the republican “divide and conquer” strategy.  I believe many on the left felt that the defeat of Bush/Cheney meant these republicans would “go away.”  It was obvious to me (and many others) that the republicans would be coming back stronger than ever – especially once Citizens United became law.  This is the very reason I was so frustrated that Obama BLOCKED all investigations into the Bush/Cheney illegal activity.

Now the democrats are scrambling to fight off being marginalized themselves and I believe President Obama finally “gets it” based on the “ferocity” of his attack adds on Mitt Romney.  For the rest of us who don’t want a corporate takeover of our government (that’s fascism) we’d better talk to as many people as possible between now and November and make sure they vote for democrats – in EVERY election.  (remember, republicans believe they’ve got voter suppression laws in place to prevent over 5 MILLION voters from voting – in strategic “swing” states – their plan is thorough and they will win without an all out effort by us “little people”)  Vote for NO republicans!  This is a WAR for the heart and soul of this nation, and if the republicans can get Mitt Romney elected (the man has “flip flopped” on EVERY issue and he is the poster child for the very people – Wall Street financiers – who created the financial crisis of 2007-2008 – he’s actually proposing even LOWER taxes for the wealthiest among us – to me, Romney as the republican candidate is the height of republican arrogance) they will have proved that they CAN get anyone elected with their corporate CASH and they will have a stranglehold on our government for the foreseeable future!