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!