There’s a group of right wing politicians lining up as candidates for the republican nomination for president in 2016 and they all seem to be spouting the same line: “We need to ‘take our country back.'”  Well, have you ever wondered what that actually means?  Take it back to (or from) what?  There never seems to be substance to that cliche’, but they repeat it often enough that I’m continually wondering what they REALLY mean.  The more I ponder this, the more I believe they want to “take ‘our’ country back from “we the people” – so to speak to the days of the “Robber Barons.”  That is, they are pushing for the continuation of the assault on FDR’s “New Deal” which has been in the “cross-hairs” of the right wing since the days of FDR himself.

Ronald Reagan made it clear who they think is the enemy when he said to fear these words, “I’m from the government and I can help.”  For 50 some years there’s been a group of right wing “conservatives” who’ve been attempting to gain control of our government in order to dismantle it.  And, they are very sophisticated, they can’t seem to take no for an answer (meaning losing elections just seems to invigorate them), they have unlimited funds, and they’ve – over the years – gained MORE and MORE power in the fundamental underpinnings of our government system.  (ie – control of the courts, the media, local legislatures, state legislature, governorships, and now America’s Congress.)  All that is left for them to have a complete “stranglehold” on our “system” is gaining the White House.  Should that happen in 2016 all the unsuspecting “liberals” and democrats who don’t seem to be paying close attention will have an incredible “up hill climb” to reverse the damage that will be done in short order from the date the next president (if it’s a republican) takes the oath of office.

They have already achieved much toward their goal to repeal every part of the New Deal.  In fact, as recently as 2007 -2008 we (America – and, because of us the rest of the world) experienced a financial calamity that, except for the TARP “bailout” and actions taken by President Obama shortly after he took office, could have resulted in another “Great Depression” due in large part to the repeal of New Deal regulations that prevented Wall Street Banks from becoming “too big to fail.”  Obviously, the American people didn’t learn much from that one, because we’ve now voted back into control of Congress the policy makers who still profess the very politics that brought that crisis to a head.  In my mind, the “next go round” is not too far in the distance – especially if the republicans gain the White House in the next election.  The coddling of Wall Street is not unique to republicans, the democrats – some way more than others – are guilty as well – but, it was the repeal of Glass Steagall that allowed the banks to consolidate with investment houses leading to the savings of Americans being gambled in high risk derivatives.  (and, yes, it was Bill Clinton who signed the repeal of Glass Steagall as he was seeking to “get things done” with a republican led congress – but, it was an issue that originated with and was pushed by republicans led by Phil Gramm).

Since George W Bush took office in 2001 the push to privatize EVERYTHING possible has been on steroids.  The “conservatives” have succeeded in “privatizing” many different aspects of what was once government responsibility on the assumption that private business can do things more efficiently.  I’m sure in some instances that is true, but let’s look at the prison system.  Do we really want a privatized prison system – where the focus then turns to profitability instead of rehabilitation?  I really don’t get that one.  And, republicans have been trying for years (and they still are) to privatize Social Security and Medicare (while ostensibly eliminating Medicaid), and tonight I happened to tune into the Rachel Maddow show on MSNBC and she reported that the republicans have a plan in place to push for privatization of the VA after gaining the White House in 2016.  Yikes!  I’m sure they will claim they’re doing this in the interest of all the veterans they claim to support (one of these days ask a vet who’s home from Afghanistan, Iraq, or one of the still living who went to Viet Nam or Korea how much they think republicans are “supporting the troops”) and won’t bring up their motives to gain access to the TRILLIONS of dollars that will be required to adequately take care of ALL of our disabled (and otherwise) veteran’s health care in the next 40 years.

Yes the VA is experiencing some difficulties, but much of that has been brought about via spending cuts initiated by republicans in Congress.  The VA needs more doctors, more nurses and more facilities.  It shouldn’t take a “brain surgeon” to figure that one out – we’ve got something along the lines of a quarter of a MILLION vets who’ve returned from either Iraq or Afghanistan (or, in many cases, both).  Viet Nam should have made clear to our leaders that troops who are involved in conflicts where there is no clear enemy – that is, like in Viet Nam, the troops spent tours where they had to wonder if they were in someone’s “cross-hairs” 24/7.  In both Iraq and Afghanistan there was no clear “enemy.” Aside from all the obvious injuries brought home from these “wars” by our troops, the number with mental maladies must reach into the HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS.  My guess is that most who experienced combat in either of these conflicts suffer from, at the minimum, PTSD.  Those afflicted need whatever level of medical attention necessary to give them a chance to re-integrate into American society. (and, it should be a lifetime commitment and it should be FREE)

Although, the longer we were there with the BUNGLING of the Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld regime, the number of “enemies” was continually on the rise along with the rise in American “casualties.”  And, by casualties in this instance, I’m talking about the troops who made it home needing the above mentioned medial treatment.  Believe it or not, the Iraqi people, in general, didn’t take well to American troops breaking down their doors, ransacking their homes, taking family members prisoner and then torturing them.  As these wars dragged on, the more our military came to understand they were given a bogus mission, and the more they realized our policy was creating more “enemies” every day of the occupation. I have to believe the only thing which keeps the American public from understanding this is the incredible BRAINWASHING we receive on a daily basis from our “liberal media.”  The solution isn’t to privatize our VA, the solution is to fully FUND it!

This discussion could go on and on.  For example, we’ve fallen to something like 33rd in the world in education.  The “push” to privatize education has been ongoing since the days of Reagan – you guessed it, there’s a lot of money to be “had” in education dollars.  But, like the VA, the prison system, and so many other aspects of government, the republican strategy is to siphon financial support away from “whatever” (in this case education) and, then claim it’s “broken” and can only be fixed by the “free market.”  (allowing for more of their benefactors to skim HUGE amounts of money from the American “pie”)  As a retired teacher I could get lost writing about this issue, but suffice it to say that if America’s public education was fully funded from “top to bottom” (this includes early childhood education and support for low income students) the results would be much more competitive with the rest of the world.  This is just another example of how republicans think and work.

It’s not much different from the business model of republican leaders.  For example, the last republican nominee for president, Mitt Romney, used the same philosophy to get rich in the business world – presumably thinking if it worked there it will work in government.  Romney and his Bain Capital cohorts would purchase a company, underfund it by pulling as many assets as possible from the business, and then walk away leaving the mess for someone else to clean up.  And, of course, like the students in our schools, the inmates in our prisons, the Vets in our VA system, and the citizens of countries like Iraq and Afghanistan, the human capital that is lost is just “collateral damage.”  In the case of the businesses, millions of workers lost their jobs (and, in many cases, their retirement savings accounts), in the prisons you hear stories of people spending years behind bars for possession of a joint, in education you end up with many students who will never reach their potential for lack of support, and in Iraq nearly half the nation was uprooted from their homes, not to mention all the dead and wounded.  The “free market” philosophy continues to fail miserably yet republicans continue to “push it.”

So, again, what is it that republicans want to “take our country back” from?  They’re certainly not trying to take it back from the things I just mentioned – in fact, they’re pushing for more of the same.  The Affordable Care Act (AKA “Obamacare”) has provided something like 16 MILLION Americans health insurance so that they can go to the doctor without fear of bankruptcy, yet the republicans want to “take us back” from that – with, as far as I can tell, no alternative.  I don’t think they’re trying to “take us back” to the days when corporations and MILLIONAIRES paid higher taxes (in the case of corporations, maybe I should say “some” taxes) although they claim to want to “balance the budget.”  They recently voted in Congress to repeal the estate tax which will remove something like $280 BILLION in the next 10 years – I haven’t heard how they plan to keep that from “ballooning” the budget deficit.  Maybe they want to take us all the way back to when there wasn’t programs like Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance, food stamps, environmental protections, a food and drug administration, the IRS, etc. etc.  Maybe that’s it, you know, “every man for himself.”  The true “state of nature” where the “strong will survive.”  Maybe that’s why the NRA is such an integral part of their support group.  I don’t know, but I’m open to suggestions.

All I can tell you is that I have children and grand children that I love dearly (you probably do as well) and I’m very concerned as to what those of us who are considered “mature” are going to leave them.  I’m a “baby boomer” and I feel a sense of embarrassment crossed with a sense of anger when I see groups of White Americans who don’t even realize the “White privilege” they’ve enjoyed for the past 70 years (actually, it’s obviously been going on much longer than that, but that’s kind of the median age of the baby boomers from my calculations).  We’ve enjoyed a wonderful highway system, the best of the education system (college was SO available – and affordable – when I was “of age”), good and cheap medical care (until post Reagan America – more “privatization”), and a nation that led the world in “upward mobility” during our prime years.  (Now, with the advent of “trickle up” economics, America is near the bottom of ALL advanced nations in the possibility of children born into poverty “moving up”)

The list goes on and on and I can only guess what “we want to take our country back” actually means.  You’re going to hear it OVER and OVER again between now and November 2016.  If I thought for a minute that the republicans meant to “take us back” to the pre-Reagan years – that is, the 50’s through 70’s – I’d be right in line to vote for them.  If they would promote publicly operated hospitals, prisons focused on rehabilitation, fully funded education for our once treasured public school system, a focus on human rights and civil rights, rebuilding our infrastructure and protecting our environment (I didn’t even mention all the republican climate change deniers in this post, and ultimately, that could be their gravest threat to our nation’s (and the world’s) stability), and ACTUALLY a plan to balance the budget through a combination of tax increases and public investment (along with a commitment to peace) then I would no longer feel the need to vote AGAINST republicans.  The sad reality is that their “belief system” fails miserably for the vast majority of Americans who “need” government yet they continue on the path which has pushed America downward in so many ways for the past 35+ years.  If the democrats had the “stones” to fight for their own fundamental beliefs, they would be the ones campaigning on “we want to take our country back.”

I briefly mentioned above how so many White Americans, at least in my opinion, have no conception of what is called “White privilege.”  I didn’t want to spend a lot of time on that thought, I was simply trying to “blend” it into my “thought of the evening.”  However, as I finished writing this and was briefly skimming it for the inevitable “foo pahs” I had another thought:  “Maybe that’s it – that’s what they mean when they say they want to “take our country back.”  Maybe they feel that having a person of color in the White House means they’ve lost “their” country.  Yikes!  I’ve been thinking of a post that relates to the FACT republicans have held in abeyance the nomination of Loretta Lynch (a Black FEMALE nominated for Attorney General – a person who’s been previously confirmed to a judicial position UNANIMOUSLY) for longer than the previous SEVEN Attorney Generals COMBINED and I have to think:  She’s obviously a woman, and she’s obviously a person of color.  Do you think that’s what republicans want to take us back from?  A country where women or people of color can reach the highest offices in the land?  A country where people are judged by the content of their character instead of the color of their skin?  WE all know they “want Barack Obama to FAIL!”   And, now this fiasco with Loretta Lynch.  Again, I’m just trying to make sense of all this and ……………………………..

The leaders of the present day republican party are the true masters of DOUBLESPEAK!  I’ve been listening to this stuff for so long that it’s just become routine – I shake my head and wonder how anyone could be “taken in” by their schpeel and then I check my reality gauge and, sure enough, the American people – despite the catastrophic years of Bush/Cheney and the 30+ years of “trickle down [up] economics they’ve [republicans] foisted on the unsuspecting public – have elected republican majorities in both houses of Congress – EVEN after Afghanistan, Iraq, and the 2008 financial CRISIS.  Yikes!  And, worst yet, the moneyed interests who’ve made this all possible are poised to spend BILLIONS to “finish the job” of gaining a STRANGLEHOLD on the very government they profess to HATE!  Go figure.

For example, I’m sure somewhere in the “ideal” world there’s a place where you can – in the face of a (government) budget shortfall – “cut taxes and balance the budget.”  That fantasy began with the words spewed by Ronald Reagan and, evidently because he’s the republican “patron saint” they’ve been spewing them ever since – to this day – and, the reality is their economic “model” is responsible for a significantly disproportionate piece of the national debt they continue to rail against with the same LAME solution.  Cut the taxes for the rich and we’ll balance the budget (while under their breath they’re whispering “on the backs of you unsuspecting working stiffs out there who don’t know s@#t from shinola)

Then there’s the issue of health care.  They’ve spent enough time trying to repeal “The Affordable Care Act” AKA “Obamacare” to have solved many of our most pressing national problems.  However, there’s a catch to that one on multiple counts.  (and, of course, all the while attempting to convince us minions that they want us all to have access to “the best health care in the world.”)  First, they don’t want anything to do with “Obamacare” – and EVERYONE knows this – because they HATE the idea of someone who’s not WHITE in the White House getting credit for ANYTHING.  They wont tell you the concept for “Obamacare” came directly from the right wing Heritage Institute and was originally “rolled out” by none other than Mitt Romney when he was governor of Massachusetts.  I don’t know about you, but that in itself gave me a good picture of Romney’s disingenuous nature as he lobbied to repeal “Obamacare” had he been elected president in 2012.  These guys want Obama to FAIL on all accounts – no matter what the consequences to the rest of us.  (and, by the way, lately I’ve come to the conclusion that history will get this right when it looks back on the disgusting era of republican obstruction during Obama’s presidency – no matter what the right wing spin meisters might think.)

I saw the statistics today that 42,000 people in my home county (out of about 300,000) are getting health insurance under the state exchange while 700,000 people in my home state (Washington) are signed up through the exchange.  I honestly wonder how my local representative, Jaimie Herrera Beutler, justifies continually voting for these good people to be back without health insurance.

The second issue re: “Obamacare” where we’re hearing CONSTANT republican “doublespeak” has to do with their continued claims that it will be a “jobs killer” and will bankrupt the country.  Of course, the reality is almost diametrically the opposite.  The Affordable Care Act has been responsible for the creation of MANY (maybe MILLIONS, but certainly in the hundreds of thousands) jobs in America and, to boot, the cost of health care is rising more slowly than anytime in the past 20 years or so (maybe longer – I don’t do this as a job, so I’m not going to look up the actual stats – I’m just writing based on my aging memory).  Yesterday I heard – I think it was Rand Paul (as he was announcing his candidacy for president) – claim that President Obama is responsible for more debt than all other presidents combined!  (In the same speech – he’s a doctor – he said, “if elected, I’ll repeal EVERY WORD of ‘Obamacare'”)  This is the kind of DOUBLESPEAK I’m talking about – where the speaker assumes all of the listeners are IDIOTS!

The reality is that President Obama inherited an economy that was on the brink of depression, was shedding nearly 1 MILLION jobs per MONTH, had TWO (disastrous) wars being engaged in with 100% BORROWED funds (Bush/Cheney hid the cost of Afghanistan and Iraq “off the books”), Bush/Cheney/Paulson (the Treasury Secretary) had committed TRILLIONS to BAIL OUT their Wall Street benefactors who were guilty of gambling away the savings of MILLIONS of us “every day Americans,” and they – like their republican “ancestor” ie Reagan – had cut taxes for the wealthiest Americans so that the deficit they left for Obama (when you count the wars – which Obama did on his first day in the White House) – was something approaching 1.5 TRILLION in Obama’s first year.  And, of course, the republicans were blaming Obama for this deficit before he took the oath of office.  Unfortunately, it appears that there’s enough complete idiots in America’s voting public for them to get away with this.

Not only did Obama inherit this incredibly obtrusive budget deficit, but he also inherited a republican minority (at the time) that was committed to making sure that he FAILED.  I will never forget hearing Mitch McConnell saying PUBLICLY “our number one priority is to make sure Barack Obama is a one term president.”  Rush Limbaugh put it this way – “I hope Obama FAILS” – and, that’s clearly been the republican mantra since he won the 2008 election.  History will look favorably on President Obama on this subject because history takes FACTS into consideration.  Under Obama’s “watch” – despite these unprecedented levels of obstructionism (something like 500 or 600 FILIBUSTERS in the Senate) from republicans, the deficit has been cut at least in half, and by the time Obama’s out of office it should be approaching the territory where republicans will ratchet up their push for more tax cuts for America’s privileged sect.

Then there’s the issue of foreign policy – OMG!  The doublespeak gets hot and heavy – listening to republicans attempting to do whatever they can to prevent President Obama from completing some kind of peace initiative with Iran.  You know, the country our own war criminal president George W Bush labeled “The evil empire.”  Can you imagine what it looked like from their perspective as American soldiers were randomly ripping apart homes, imprisoning Iraqi civilians at will, uprooting something approaching half the country, killing hundreds of thousands of their people, authorizing torture in the name of collecting “actionable intelligence” for “who knows what,” trying to steal their oil and “privatize” their economy, and – all the while – calling them the “evil empire.”  OK, I know he called Iran “the evil empire” – but, for all intents and purposes, by toppling Saddam Hussein GW Bush/Dick Cheney/Donald Rumsfeld/Paul Wolfowitz/ and I could go on, united Iran with the Shiite majority in Iraq.  (and, of course, planted the “seeds” of what is now ISIS AKA ISIL)

47 republican senators sent (what I consider) a traitorous letter to the right wing Mullahs in Iran attempting to scuttle any agreement to stop Iran from building a nuclear weapon before the framework of the agreement could be announced.  They simply wanted these Iranian radicals (kind of like themselves) to know that they could scuttle any agreement Obama might reach with them so, you know, why make an agreement in the first place.  And, of course, after this letter generated national outrage, all these senators claimed they were simply trying to help the president in the negotiations.  HA HA!  Unfortunately, the republican minions – who can’t seem to think in the “long run” – you know, like what if you elect a president who tries to negotiate a peace agreement in the future that democrats don’t like? – went along with this bogus claim “hook, line, and sinker.”  And, the so-called “liberal media” had this outrageous, unprecedented, OVER REACH by republicans in Congress in their “cross hairs” for a day or two and that was it.  Evidently, there will be no public backlash on any of these traitorous senators!  I still remember Chuck Todd of MSNBC announcing that the female challenger to Mitch McConnell in last year’s senate campaign was “disqualified” because she refused to publicly announce who she voted for in the previous presidential election (I’m sure you know that our elections are supposed to have “secret ballots”) yet I didn’t hear a word suggesting these senators should be disqualified for sending this letter to the so-called leaders of the “evil empire” in an attempt to undermine our own foreign policy.  Oh my, how far is this nation to fall before we all wake up to what’s happening?  (Several of the senators who signed that letter are now running for president – I’d like to call that ironic – but, knowing I can’t count on Chuck Todd to do this – I’ll say that each and every one of them should be considered DISQUALIFIED to be president as the result of signing that letter!

Every time something happens politically in America these days you see the taint of a republican party that is TOTALLY unified in their attempt to make sure our president FAILS!  This is so unthinkable to me that I have to wonder what has happened in this nation I love.  Honestly, as the days and years progressed during the Bush/Cheney era I realized how much I opposed their war mongering, their authorization of TORTURE, their working to benefit the wealthy and showing disdain for America’s middle class, their attacks on those who opposed their actions, etc. etc. – BUT, I always wanted them to succeed.  I want America to succeed.  I want America to live up to the ideals that made this nation the envy of and the leader of “the free world.”  In this age of technological miracles – which seem to be happening every day – it just seems impossible to me that we could have fallen this far.

However, as I continually try to analyze what has – and is – going wrong, I look at the “force” behind this incredible push to the “right” which has been happening since George W Bush took the oath of office.  I don’t think democrats understand (maybe I should say understood) how technological savvy the right wing forces have become.  With Charles and David Koch offering up HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS of their massive accumulation of wealth, and many other “elite” American families that have so much wealth I don’t think people like me can even fathom their riches walking along side the Koch’s, along with republican legislators and governors all across America with their hands out willing to take this money it will take a MASSIVE populist push to turn back their efforts to turn America into a corporatocracy.  They are organized, they are smart, they are incredibly relentless (losing elections barely slows them down – they’ve got a plan and they’re “sticking to it”), and they are experts at getting around the “rules.”  With the help of Citizens United and a Supreme Court which is clearly “on board” with the Koch led right wing agenda, “we the people” had better “wake up” before it’s too late.

Unfortunately, for people like myself, the political solution to this problem lies with the democratic party – which has proven time and again over the past 15 years that they are not even able to defend their own foundational beliefs.  Just the other day I read that there’s enough democrats who support the republican traitors who sent the letter to Iran to allow them to override President Obama’s veto of their anticipated legislation voiding any agreement that may come from the negotiations with Iran.  You won’t see many of these democrats with the “stones” to put up the fight that will be necessary should republicans succeed in gaining the White House in 2016.  That will lead to a disaster which will keep this nation going in the wrong direction well past my lifetime.  Just imagine a Ted Cruz or Rand Paul or Scott Walker or – yikes! – ANOTHER Bush in the White House!  If the American people continue to fall for the republican “line” I believe it will take something like another depression to “wake them up.”  And honestly, while I’m continually railing against republicans and their push to the right, it’s the spineless democratic party which is allowing them to succeed!