The Future of the Republicans

[NVMojo]

by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.

Journalist Rick Perlstein recently asked for my forecast on the future of the Republican Party. It's an important question. American political culture takes election victory to be the ratification of truth, which is why this question is usually addressed from the point of view of whether the party will continue to hold power. I would rather address the issue of what power has come to mean to the Republicans: namely, everything.

The Republican love of liberty, which seemed to be a sincere impulse of the party's core during the 1990s, has been reduced to mere sloganeering. After many decades of balancing its ideological contradictions, the culture of the party – its leadership, activists, interest groups, and intellectual backers – has fully embraced power in all forms.

Now, pointing this out is akin to mentioning the elephant in the living room, the one which some of the guests welcome and some have decided to ignore. For the latter group, here is a partial litany of what the Bush administration has done by way of using and expanding government power: the Patriot Act, the Patriot Act II (as part of Intelligence Reform), No Child Left Behind, Medicare drug benefits, the Transportation Safety Administration, and the Department of Homeland Security, not to mention two major wars that have cost hundreds of billions, and left only destruction and chaos in their wake. Government spending in Bush's first term soared more than 29%, twice Clinton's average.

more....

http://www.lewrockwell.com/rockwell/gop-future.html

[FromTheLeft]

1. This is the wrong place to do this, but I must vent...

Earlier today I signed up and FR so as to try and gain a better understanding of how republicans and conservitives views are formed and because I felt that I wouldn't do me much good to talk all day with people I agree with. I posted one message stating this, responding to the question asked, and displaying my desire to answer questions from a liberals point of view. One user was able to see my post before it was removed along with my posting privileges. Is this really the world that those from the right want, one were ideas are not talked about, one of repression, until today I understood my friends correlations between the republicans of today and early Nazi Germany but I was unwilling to allow myself to believe that we were truely headed in that direction. Now I am not so sure...

[Old and In the Way]

2. Welcome to DU!

You really thought you could engage in a serious discussion at Free Republic?

They have no interest in discussing anything. Unless you're there to participate in groupthink, there's no dissonance allowed in that echo chamber.

[deacon2]

3. Little Nazis all in a row

You're a brave (and intellectually honest) individual for trying to engage with the neo-nazis over at "Unfree" Republic, but don't bother - as you've found out, they won't let you. The only way for them to maintain a worldview so morally bankrupt and devoid of real freedom is to banish any and all dissenting views. They learned their lessons well from Uncle Adolph and it's been clear sailing ever since. Hang out here where folks like to cuss, bite and fight each other, then regroup to take on the GOP horde. You'll find, as I have, that there isn't a whole lot to agree on blindly here - nothing at face value - but much to think about, argue or discuss. That's a healthy alternative to the kool-aid line, I feel... Enjoy!

[NVMojo]

4. welcome to du and this is a good place to post what happened ...

to you for it is a living example of the hypocrisy that calls itself a Republican Party these days ....a killer of Constitutional rights ...