Have you ever heard of the phrase; “The tail is wagging the dog?” Well, in reference to that and America’s present state of disequilibrium politically, I’m not sure who I blame more: the republican “candidates” for their presidential nomination (If you’re not thinking yet today, I put the word candidates in quotes because, to me, there isn’t ONE capable of actually handling the job of president) or the media which is giving these wack jobs a platform to spew their (mostly hateful) rhetoric. And, for the sake of defending my own hypocrisy, I don’t hate any of them, I just can’t stand to listen to their inflammatory words which, every day, seem to make Osama bin Laden look like a prophet.
I mean, as I stated in one of my more recent rants, we’ve (Americans) been warned by previous (actual) statesmen (like JFK, FDR, Eisenhower, and others) that the only way we (America) can be “destroyed” (politically, and I suppose, economically) is if we destroy ourselves. When you listen to people like Donald Trump, Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, Jeb Bush, John Kasich, and the others I don’t see how you can’t understand that what they’re proposing is to “dump” our constitution, our history, and the Bill of Rights in order to save ourselves from the so-called terrorists. If my point is not getting through to you, think of it this way: They are suggesting that the American solution to terrorism is TERROR! Like, “be afraid, be very afraid.”
It’s like a cancer. By my thinking the cancer started 35+ years ago when somehow the American people were fooled into believing Ronald Reagan’s promise that he could “cut taxes and balance the budget.” It sounded great to enough people for Reagan to gain the White House. And, Reagan was so congenial that the American people fell in love with him (well, for at least a few years anyway) allowing his surrogates to do untold damage to the foundation of our government – which Reagan portrayed as the enemy. (and, a quick poly sci 101 reminder; WE ARE THE GOVERNMENT) In 2001 along came GW Bush and Dick Cheney (and others – many from the Reagan surrogates) and the cancer started spreading to the point where it got out of control by the time they left Washington DC “with their tales between their legs.” (Say what you will about Bill Clinton – and, I could say a lot – but, during his two terms in the White House it was like the cancer started to be controlled with the possibility of being cured – and, I’m talking about the economy and America’s “standing” in the world)
Not only did Bush/Cheney put the Reagan “trickle down” (I call it trickle up for obvious reasons) theory on steroids, but George W imagined himself as the tough guy “war president.” Yikes!!! And, we’ve (not only the American people, but the rest of the world) been suffering the consequences ever since. (Just the thought of what Bush/Cheney did should cause anyone even thinking of voting for one of these republican “candidates” to shudder) I suppose you could lay the blame for the “Bush Doctrine” – which led to the invasion of Iraq – and, subsequently to the destabilizing of the Middle East – at the “feet” of the Project for a New American Century. (you can “google” the name or find info by clicking here or here) However, any way you look at it, to me, the idea that we should trust anyone who thinks even REMOTELY as Bush/Cheney did is insanity. (I know you’ve heard the definition of insanity – doing the same thing and expecting different results) Today, as I listened to the commentary of the situation in Europe (France) and North Africa (Mali) I just kept getting the image in my mind of the dog chasing its tail. I guess you could call it a “catch 22” or a vicious cycle. It’s like we’re expending MORE and MORE energy and getting NOWHERE!
When George W Bush was chosen by the Supreme Court as president (remember, he was never officially elected – both elections were achieved via rigged voting practices and voting machines – Florida in 2000 and Ohio in 2004), once I recovered from Al Gore’s decision to not fight for the MILLIONS of people who had voted him into the office of the president, I chose to support President Bush (albeit reluctantly). I’m not one to want my president to FAIL. That’s because I love this country and I’ve always wanted it to succeed – despite the MANY issues that require repentance that could be laid at the feet of the U.S. Government. When Bush decided to invade a sovereign nation (which had not attacked us – the first time in our history any president had the audacity to do so) I felt he had gone too far and I started speaking out against the policies of my own president. I never lost sight of the fact that my hope was he would change the policy – although, I’m realizing more and more, once the Bush/Cheney regime removed Saddam Hussein with no idea of what to do next (do you remember Cheney predicting we would be received as “liberators?”) was when the “cancer” started to metastasize.
It was the de-Baathafication of Iraq which laid the groundwork for the present day group calling itself “The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria” or, as referred to by others either as ISIS or ISIL. Essentially, ISIL is part of the Sunni vs Shia “battle” that’s been raging for thousands of years. (and, if you believe the Bible, will continue until the return of Christ) The more I read about this area of the world the more I realize the Bush Doctrine (via the Project for a New American Century – made up of the leaders of America’s conservative movement) was founded on ignorance. Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld/Wolfowitz and all the others (whose “thirst” for oil superseded whatever common sense they may have had), I believe, failed to even consider the “side-effects” of their invasion of Iraq. And, now we’ve got the same people attacking President Obama as he tries to figure a way out of this mess without making it even worse.
When I listen to the rhetoric of today’s republican “leaders” I’m reminded of GW Bush when he used the phrase “Bring it on” in reference to the Iraqi insurgents (who, by the way, today make up the majority of ISIS) – like we’re going to somehow kill them all. Donald Trump would “bomb the hell out of them and then get a general like Patton to go in and take all their oil.” (sound familiar?) Ben Carson said, …… well, I don’t understand what he said, it makes no sense – the only thing I got from reading what he said (and, listening a couple times) is that he’s more clueless than most of the republican “candidates.” He did agree, however, with Trump that we simply take their oil from them! (he makes it sound so easy – isn’t that what Bush/Cheney originally planned to do?) Ted Cruz suggests we “bomb Iraq and Syria back to the Stone Age” and, of course, that we “fix the border.” Marco Rubio essentially says the same thing as Cruz but adds that he would put ground forces into Iraq and Syria and enforce a “no fly” zone in Syria. (by the way, as I was listening to one of Rubio’s speeches I couldn’t help but think of the old saying; “You’re so full of s@#t your eyes are brown.” I’m not sure that he doesn’t repulse me more than the others) I’ll let you find Jeb Bush’s “plan” – suffice it to say that he’s a Bush and he was a signatory to “The Project for a New American Century.”
So, we have a president (who’ll be president for another year) trying to find a way to stem the tide in Iraq/Syria (and, now other places as well) and, we’ve got a bunch of “wing-nut” republican wannabe presidential candidates (I’m presuming several are simply the Sarah Palin type who saw how she cashed in on her 15 minutes of fame and are attempting to do likewise – prepare yourself for more ghost written books) spewing anti Muslim hate speech as if no one’s listening. And, we’ve got a media that (probably actually) believes it is “fair and balanced” allowing these people to broadcast their hate world wide as if it’s really what America thinks. And, we the people have to wait until next November to have a chance to TOTALLY repudiate this type of thinking. And, trust me on this one, the “liberal media” will get sucked in by these people in their attempt to continue causing Americans to “tune in.” When I can stomach TV I watch MSNBC (supposedly the “liberal” station) and they seem to be falling all over themselves trying to make these republican “hopefuls” look reputable – evidently, to make the 2016 campaign more exciting.
In the meantime, it’s like these republican candidates are “throwing gas on the fire” in regards to ginning up what appears to me to be two bases. First is their own right wing base of religious zealots here in America and secondly the right wing religious zealots in Iraq and Syria (ie ISIS). So, who knows, with the help of our 24 hour media cycle we could encourage 2016 to be a record year of terrorist attacks. (and, by the way, Jeb Bush, in his interview where he suggested only Christian refugees be admitted to the United States claimed there are no Christian terrorists – I honestly have to say, I wish he was correct on that piece of ignorance – does anyone remember Tim McVeigh?, for starters)
I guess I’ll end this by reminding you that the number one agenda for republicans is (and has been for 7 long years) that President Obama FAILS. So, of course, I wouldn’t expect them to follow the great American tradition of supporting our leaders in times of international crisis – but I totally agree with our president when he reminds these wing nuts – “The world is watching” and their words are damaging our nation in the eyes of the rest of the world. A quick reminder: the “global” world – ie economy, etc. – we find ourselves in is largely the result of the “conservative” movement and their push for “free trade,” globalization, etc. As our republican “leaders” are attempting to block our borders from Syrian refugees (fleeing the conflict resulting from our invasion of Iraq) Germany is taking in one MILLION. (we’re balking at ten thousand) As the mess in Iraq and Syria (exacerbated in the first place by Bush/Cheney placing American troops “on the ground” in Iraq) gets worse, it should be no surprise that republicans are pushing for more troops “on the ground.”
As an afterword: First, as I’ve stated many times on this site, I’m a (liberal) Christian – but, I have to add one more thing (and, I’m not making this up). Jeb Bush was (apparently) asked to comment on Donald Trump’s plan to round up 11 million “illegals” and deport them to who knows where. He commented that he was in agreement, “except for the Christians.” I don’t even know what to say!