Virtually every time I think of “The Donald” as the “presumptive” presidential nominee I’m reminded of the saying “be careful what you wish for.”  Of course, many in the republican party who’ve willingly “attached their star” to the so-called “tea party” are now running for cover.  The combination of the racist make-up of the “tea party” – I’ll never forget the signs at one of the first rallies I witnessed where Jim DeMint was speaking to a crowd of “Obama haters” – and the policy of “divide and conquer” that was put on steroids during the Newt Gingrich “heyday” (and, it wouldn’t surprise me if Newt was Trump’s choice for VP) eventually was destined to “come back to haunt” the republican party.  It appears that Trump’s nomination is speeding up the process.  My hope is that when people realize what the republicans stand (or don’t stand) for, the process of purging them from the American political scene will begin.

Now, please, don’t get me totally wrong.  From a practical point of view, we need two parties for a two party “system.”  It’s just that the republican part of the “equation” has drifted so far to the “right” that I believe the only way to pull it back is through a purging.  Just think of the so-called “clown car” at the beginning of the 2016 presidential campaign.  There was a reason it was called the “clown car.”  I mean, the final two “standing” were Trump and Ted Cruz.  That should tell you all you need to know about where this party has gone.  While we all (well, now I’m talking about “progressives” or “liberals”) bemoan the Citizens United Supreme Court decision – and, it was, in my view, one of the WORST decisions in my lifetime – followed closely by the McCutcheon decision and the gutting of the Voting Rights act, the unintended consequence from the republican point of view is that it enabled people like Charles and David Koch to FLOOD the electoral process with mountains of money in a surreptitious attack on the basic fundamentals of American government as it evolved from the Great Depression.  And, thus was “born” the “tea party.”

The Koch’s (and their brethren – of whom there are many “well healed” Americans who can’t seem to get enough money and power) have latched on to the fears of the older white working class Americans and used their wealth to manipulate the process so that many, many Americans go to the polls bound and determined to vote against their own self interest.  I’m sure that from an historical perspective it’s an interesting process to watch unfold – but, from my view, it threatens the very foundation of the great middle class I was fortunate enough to be a part of as I grew up in the 50’s and 60’s.  People like me who came from “humble beginnings” always felt as if moving up the social ladder was possible – which is not how young people of today feel.  This is EXACTLY why Bernie Sanders has such a robust following of young people who would otherwise not be participants in the political process.  Sanders is speaking about the issues that give young people hope for the future.

I was reading the Op-Ed page of the New York Times the other day and I noticed an article by Thomas Friedman that made me think he’s been reading my blog.  For years I’ve been railing against the republican party – not because I’m “anti republican” – I’ve been an independent my entire voting life (almost 50 years) – but, because the party has become almost unrecognizable from the standpoint of what turned America into world leaders after World War II.  Republicans now mirror the right wing “establishment” that was considered “fringe” during the years leading up to the inauguration of Ronald Reagan in 1981.  Moderate Republicans of that era are persona non grata in today’s right wing environment.  That all being said, the truth is that this radical right wing faction has been present throughout America’s history.  “We the people” have had to “repel” this group of greedy militaristic people over and over during our nation’s history.  Their “fore fathers” hated the New Deal and passed that hate down over the years and they’ve been persistent in their battle to turn America into a fascist corporate dictatorship.  They call it the “permanent republican ‘majority'” which is designed to be a stranglehold on the courts, the congress, the media, and the White House.  When I think about it today it seems as if they have only been stopped because of George W Bush’s inability to put a complete sentence together.

Bush did give those behind this movement (whoever they are) a great boost when he nominated two corporatist judges (John Roberts and Samuel Alito) to the Supreme Court.  Little did “we the people” know that these two judges – who both railed about “activist judges” in their confirmation hearings – would be among the most egregious “activist judges” in America’s history with their aforementioned “Citizens United” decision (opening the floodgates of secret corporate money into the political process – further corrupting an already corrupt congress), the gutting of the Voting Rights Act and McCutcheon which also allowed more freedom for wealthy Americans to buy political influence.  Combined with a republican controlled Congress (and, due to gerrymandering expertise, a House that will be difficult to “turn blue”), and a media that is controlled by about 9 or 10 right wing corporations, the only thing preventing this “permanent republican ‘majority'” (in the words of Karl Rove) is control of the White House.  Then along comes Donald Trump!

George W Bush turned out to be an incompetent buffoon, but he had enough political acumen to convince people he was a “compassionate conservative” and, with the help of the Supreme Court (and, his brother in Florida) he gained control of the executive branch of government.  As I write this the thought that comes to my mind is that Americans apparently have really short memories.  The other thought is how important the media is and how easy it is to manipulate public opinion if you have control of the media.  I mean, when you look at what Bush/Cheney did to this nation it’s hard for me to even imagine that republicans could conceivably be back in control – even the control of congress is hard to imagine.  Do we not remember the incompetence in Afghanistan, the illegal intrusion of Iraq (along with torture and all the rest), and the melting down of our economy via encouraging reckless behavior on Wall Street?  There’s more, I mean I could go on and on – Hurricane Katrina, “No Child left behind,” politicizing the Justice Department (new hires had to make a pledge to be a republican), outing a CIA agent, Abu Ghraib, Massive debt,  etc. etc.  That was bad, but now republicans are thrusting Donald Trump on America.  I mean, it was either Trump or Ted Cruz!  Are you kidding me?

So, let me say this again – it’s not the republican party I’m railing against, it’s the present day version of the republican party.  “We the people” CAN NOT allow this version to succeed.  I realize that the Democratic party leaves much to be desired (thank you to Bernie for forcing the Democrats closer to their foundation) but Trump and the republicans are unacceptable.  The republicans were unacceptable prior to Trump – as I’ve stated before, but, I believe Trump is the result of the republicans latching on to the “Tea Party” as a way to regain control of Congress.  We’re talking about a segment of the American population that is still holding on to the old “White privilege” reality that Ronald Reagan tapped into in his rise from “fringe” candidate to being the epitome of what republicans look up to.  What I’ve called in the past the “puppet masters” (that is, whoever is “pulling the strings” behind the scene) seem to be a group of corporate dominated people who can’t get enough when it comes to money and power.  The only word that comes to mind is GREED!  Unbelievably (at least to me) they’re still saying they’re going to “cut taxes and balance the budget.”  That was “fool’s gold” in the days of Reagan, and it still is – but, with the help of a media that is shamefully silent on political nonsense it’s still the mantra of the republican party.  Hopefully, now that they’ve evolved to Donald Trump, this will be the end of it.  (although, I doubt that – a quick reminder that Bush/Cheney should have been enough to do the “trick”)

These right wing republicans continue to “haunt” America like a bad dream.  We MUST realize that there are unlimited resources available to them.  People Like Charles and David Koch have untold BILLIONS they’re willing to spend to manipulate the political scene to one where it’s easier for them to make even MORE money – with less regard to the rest of us.  They are major polluters and they have a history of a lack of concern for “we the people.”  It’s the very regulations that can force them to be “good citizens” that they hate and they’re doing everything in their power (which is immense) to wipe environmental and economic regulations from the books.  And, the Kochs have many others who are “walking” along side them as they push to repeal whatever is left of the New Deal.  What many of the “tea partiers” don’t understand is that Social Security and Medicare are directly in the sights of those aligned with this right wing cabal.  Of course, many in the “tea party” who’ve complained about the Affordable Care Act as “socialized medicine,” also were quoted as saying, “Keep your hands off my Social Security and Medicare.”  America’s political reality, in 2016, makes no sense – and, Donald Trump is the exclamation point!