Republicans--the real national party no more

[x-g.o.p.er]

With all due respect to Zell Miller, the title of his book was wrong. It is the Republicans who are in danger of becoming a national party no more.

A lot of people on the “other” side of the political fence are beginning to see what has happened to the party of Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt, and want nothing more to do with it. It has become a party of excuses, deceit, hypocrisy, and a party of demagogues hell bent on liberating you from a lot of things, most notably your money, your job, and your constitutional right to speak freely.

The right has accused the left of a lot of things, and one of the most notable slanders has been “saying or doing anything to get back in power.” I think the right has been doing or saying just about anything to try and keep their grip on power. Democrats have been proven right on Iraq, on the education bill, on NAFTA, the tax bill, and the Medicare prescription drug bill. To protect the COnstitution, a bill is passed that To think anything else is denying the obvious, and the right’s continued defense of these policies as right for America ring all the more hollow as each day passes.

Is it me, or does it seem a strange coincidence that every time something unpleasant appears in the paper regarding the president, our terror alert seems to rise, and that takes over the media airwaves? When former President Clinton launched military action during the Lewinsky scandal, he was accused of “wagging the dog.” Can someone explain the difference between the two?

Max Cleland is ripped to shreds for not being a patriotic American because his view of the war on terror differed from the administration, but his body was ripped to shreds in the jungles of Vietnam patriotically serving America. The president is legitimately questioned about his National Guard service irregularities, and the questioners are ripped for being unpatriotic, and the president’s defenders wrap him in the flag. Then the terror alert is raised.

It’s just a matter of time before the whole house of cards come tumbling down. They know it, and that is why their attacks are becoming shriller, harsher, and louder. Keep the faith, keep speaking the truth, and let’s keep winning them over to our side one person at a time, one issue at a time, and one vote at a time.

[catzies]

1. x-g.o.p.er, you're a very good writer.

Do you ever save your posts and submit them as letters to your local paper's editor?

IMO you could, and you should.

[x-g.o.p.er]

2. Thanks

[Gingersnap]

3. welcome to DU!

This is a great essay. How long ago were you a GOPer?

[trumad]

6. wagging the dog

Sure... Clinton wasn't wagging the dog...He was going after a guy that Bush seems to have forgotten.

[Taeger]

12. If Clinton was wagging the dog ...

Then Bush is wagging the Elephant !!!!

[x-g.o.p.er]

11. recent convert

What has been going on has been bugging me for about a year, and I decided ABB about three months ago, but I only switched party affiliation this week. I guess you could say I'm still evolving

[greekspeak]

19. Congratulations on your Liberation

I look back fondly to my own liberation from Republicanism in my late teens. Hope you are be as happy to be ashed of their bile as I am!

[x-g.o.p.er]

20. Very happy, but a little bit sad at the same time

To see how my former party, which used to be one of moderation and common sense, be taken over by such extremists.

[ninkasi]

24. We're glad to have you...

Welcome aboard. You write very well, and express views which are shared by many of us. I am 60 years old, have always been a Democrat. I can tell you, though, that in my lifetime I've known many fine, decent Republicans, who were principled people, and nothing at all like Bush and DeLay and that gang of thugs.

We didn't always agree, but we always had respect for each other. It must be very painful for you to watch what's happening today within Republican ranks. We're glad to have you with us, though.

[brainwashed_youth]

4. Thank you for that

I am an x-repub 2 and I feel the exact same way. I'm beginning to notice alot of people being fed up with repubs 2. They're not joining the democratic party in troves, but at the very least they are dissatisfied with the party that they thought cared about them. We should do everything we can to convert these types of people like me and x-g.o.p. er who would be open to hear about the good in the democratic party

[ProudDemocrat]

5. This was really good...

I enjoyed it and hope to see more of your essays in the future!

[streakr]

7. Good to have you on our side...

and let the repugs have Zell..they deserve him.\

streakr

[calimary]

9. Welcome to DU, streakr - and ex-g.o.p.er - you're gaining more fans.

Blessings to you both - and all other new friends here! The more of you there are, here, the more I'm suspecting that this is symptomatic of the country at large. I hope so, anyway! Let's take our country back from these pirates, together!

[Bandit]

8. It sure is nice to have people like you on our side "again"

No matter if you were a Republican or whatever you were an American. You are still an American and can see what is happening in the GOP today is anything but American. We may have our differences but at least we think America comes first before Party. Maybe because of your history you can help persuade others to "see the light"

[never cry wolf]

10. Nice write X-G

And you are so correct. Here are a few quotes, your post brought the first to mind. I just thought I'd add the others in case you hadn't seen them:

Republican Theodore Roosevelt, 26th US President:
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”

-----------------------------------------------

Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower, from his farewell address, 1961:
"This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence -- economic, political, even spiritual -- is felt in every city, every State house, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society.

In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the militaryindustrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.

We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together."


------------------------------------------------


Why of course the people don't want war. Why should some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece? Naturally the common people don't want war.... That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.

Herman Goering, during the Neurenberg trials.

-------------------------------------------------

"If we let our vision of the world go forth, and we embrace it entirely,
and we don't try to piece together clever diplomacy but just wage total war, our children will sing great songs about us years from now."

- Richard "Prince of Darkness" Perle (One of the PNAC founders, Chairman of the Defense Policy Board, and yes, that is his real nickname in DC!)

-------------------------------------------------

From the March 18 Good Morning America interview with former First Lady Barbara Bush, as quoted by Jimmy Breslin, when she was asked if she and former President Bush watched television:


"Why should we hear about body bags and deaths and how many, what day it's going to happen, and how many this or what do you suppose? Oh, I mean, it's, not relevant. So why should I waste my beautiful mind on something like that?"

[proud patriot]

13. I must agree with you

My grandparents are good people , who care about
deficets and the environment . They have been republicans
their whole lives . The party they believed in doesn't
represent those values anymore .

I wrote a poem about the future of the republican party
it's my sigline .

[HootieMcBoob]

14. When Clinton launched the bombing campaign

Desert Fox during the Lewinski coup attempt he very well may have destroyed what was left of the Iraq WMD that were left over after the inspectors destroyed the original 90% - 95%. That's the difference.

[ladjf]

15. Missing young girls

I hate to be so cynical but it also seems as though there's always a new missing young girl story each time the President gets some heat.
It could just be a coincidence.

[mac2]

32. Missing girl or abused, dead wife

The media uses anything it can to distact us. The cheap news is the best way to do it. They can't spend money on real reporters to check our "real" news. It's too expensive...and might bring us to action.

The real news is our country is being robbed and our freedoms gone. The fox is in the hen house.

[YNGW]

16. I disagree.

The Democratic Party has effectively lost the South. Just about the only Democrats in office aren't really *that* liberal, they're more like Reagan Democrats. I don't see any part of the country where Repugs have essentailly written-off. They're in play from coast-to-coast.

There's a reason our party has lost the South, once a stonghold for us. Until we adjust and are in play here once again, we are a party who is without 1/3 of the country in play for us.

[x-g.o.p.er]

17. Good points, but if may disagree with your disagreement...

We’re comparing apples and oranges, I think. I’m talking philosophy, and you’re looking at geography. But let me wade into the geography so we can compare like to like.

You make a very salient point when you say that we have problems in the South. But my response to that is that Republicans are also regionally challenged in the Northeast. Yes, Bush won New Hampshire in 2000, but very, very narrowly. Gore carried everything else. And I guess most of the Republicans that are serving from Northeast states would be considered more progressive than conservative on many issues (dare I say Clinton Republicans?). Olympia Snowe of Maine and Lincoln Chaffee of Rhode Island immediately come to mind. Somebody else can help me out on the electoral comparison between the two regions, but I imagine it is fairly close. And when Clinton ran, he carried several Southern states in both ’92 and ’96. I don’t see Bush carrying any state in the Northeast, nor do I see any Republican candidate with similar values as Bush (very pro-life, fundamentalist type) ever breaking through there again, or at least for quite some time. Those positions are too far to the right to resonate up there. If the Democrats nominate a genuine Southern candidate, we would breakthrough with some victories there.

I say Democrats can compete in the South, and compete well. But I guess time will tell.

[ramapo]

18. Whose mess is this anyway?

The GOP has had control over much of the government for 20+ years. Yet they've been able to continue to run against Democrats, blaming them for the deficit, debt, foreign policy, social policy, et. al. But the reality is the GOP has failed.

Time for the Dems to run on the GOP record.

[tom_paine]

21. Nice post, x-g.o.p.er

The only place I disagree is where you said , "With all due respect to Zell Miller..."

Licking the Imperial Boots at the time of democracy's greatest crisis (that being the wholesale rigging of voting and the media into a Soviet-like condition) does not engender anything but contempt for Miller in my mind.

But then, like the original Tom Paine, I am a zealot for Liberty and this nation as the Founding Father intened it.

Ever see this quote?

"As Mankind becomes more liberal, they will be more apt to allow that all those who conduct themselves as worthy members of the community are equally entitled to the protections of civil government. I hope ever to see America among the foremost nations of justice and liberality."
--George Washington

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/g/georgewash127728.html

In spite of some of the excesses of liberalism we had seen in the 70s and early 80s, I am convinced that Washington was correct in his hopes.

[x-g.o.p.er]

23. Good to talk with you again, Tom

I am a zealot for liberty, too. I was just trying to inject civility, which is a main objective of mine, also. He IS a US senator, and a former governor who has served his country in a manner which he thought was the best. I just disagree with him. I am soooooooo fed up with the political discourse and the name calling in this country, so I am going to try like hell to not insult our fellow Americans on the right, but civilly point out why I think they're wrong.

[tom_paine]

25. Funny you should say that, x-g.o.p.er

(first let me say that I am glad that you believe that, otherwise we would have never discussed and had the very nice chats we have thus far had)

Because I think quite the opposite, I'm sorry to say. If one looks at the last 20 years of this nations, one can see a determined, well-financed movement to bully and parasitize the Free Press (successful) beyond the point where they can do little more than stenography and are afraid to either write the truth about the Busheviks or NOT spread the lies and memes concocted by the RNC, their propaganda mills disguised as "think tanks", and of course their multi-billion dollar Party-Loyal Bushevik Sub-Media, lead by Faux "News" and the Moonie Washington Times (yes, the good Rev. Sun Yung Moon is a close ally and friend of the Imperial Family and their Stooges...check it out:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=Rev.+Moon+%22Washington+Times%22+%28owner+OR+ownership%29

The point being is that, when you are faced with foes who lie at will and only respect the Rule of Might, who had been incredibly successful by shrieking and shouting and lying and bullying and intimidating becuase no one called them on it, no one stood up to them, or tried to stop them by shining light on their lies.

I fear that we are past the time for genteel civility, and that if we continue to try (by "we" I mean the Democratic Party collectively) we will get our faces caved in by shrieking liars who give no quarter, can lie with impunity, and have no qualms about doing so.

It's like what Ghandhi used to say about the use of non-violent protests in other lands besides British-ruled India.

(this isn't an exact qute in spite of my use of quotation marks)

"We only succeeded because the British wer a decent people. We could have never have used nonviolence in South Africa because they simply would have run over us when we laid down in the road."

To which I add that Imperial Amerika is rapidly reaching said state (read about the recent Miami Protests and what happened there...watch carefully how the NYC protests at the Bushevik Conevntion in September are handled...the 8th Amendment regarding the prohibitioon against excessive bail is no more, like so much of the Old Bill of Rights).

So let me conclude by saying that I feel quite the oppsoite (but still am able to respond civily when I am spoken to as such) as you on the civility issue. After what Rush, Hannity, O'Reilly, Coulter and the rest of the Party-Loyal Pravda Stooges have done, how they have gotten away with it because everyone was being to civil to resist, I have no desire to continue the charade.

Metaphorically speaking, it's like being at a debate. You make your points civilly and calmly and back them up. As rebuttal Sean Hannity walks out on the stage, clouts you in the head with a two-by-four, and screams (a la Eric Cartmann) "Shut UP you Commie Socialist Hippie!" then walks off stage to the cheers of the crowd.

Well, you can only take so much of that before you get a tad riled.

[x-g.o.p.er]

28. Fair enough, but....

To use Gandhi's quote against you, I would like to think that most folks on the right are are more comparable to the British in his quote--decent people. They are as disturbed as you and I are at what is happening, but unfortunately, most think that by not voting and disengaging from the process is protest enough. They are as disgusted at the process as everyone on DU is, but because of all the bitter partisanship from both sides, they feel it's not worth it to care anymore. Not everyone is of the Hannity/Coulter/Limbaugh ilk.

Well, dammit, I want people to care, but they're not going to if they're called everything imaginable under the sun. I accept the fact that neither the hard left nor the hard right will find common ground. But I won't accept the fact that with a return to respectful debate people can't learn to put country above party. Thoughts?

[tom_paine]

29. Good points, dude...

But I was not referring to each and every Republican. Not even close. I was referring to the Imperial Family and Leadership, who have forsaken Traditional Conservative values (some of which I partially or totally agree with) for what I consider to be Totalitarianism, or "Managed Democracy", which is what they are calling Putin's Russia.

But if you read the stories on the most recent Russian "elections", it is clear Putin has only put Bush's American Plan into action over there. They are much further along because Russia has no centuries-long traditions of freedom and dissent to dismantle (God Bless the Founding Fathers for making it so damned hard and such a slow process to dismantle the Constitution and Bill of Rights, which is the only thing keeping us semi-free for the next few years).

That and the basic decency of the American People, Left and Right, as well as our unwillingness to behave like Soviets (Free-market Soviets, of course).

Anyway, to get back to your point, I also agree that the majority of Americans are decent people. Unfortunately, history says quite clearly that sometimes that is not enough against a ruthless, unscrupulous minority with a well-financed Propaganda Machine and no ethics but that of the Straussian (Leo Strauss, "philosopher" and guiding star to many of the Busheviks, who said "the only legitimate morality is that of the superior over the inferior") Dictum.

You see, part of the "intended side effects" of the shrieking lying shouting of the Party-Loyal Bushevik Sub-Media, is that for those who don't fall under it's "Mein Kampf" spell where only Party Approved Sources are accepted and everyone who disagrees is demonized and dehumanized, many will throw their hands up in confusion and tune out.

But fewer voters per election has always been the aim of the Republicans, even back in the days after Watergate, during the short time the Republican Dirty Tricks Squads laid slightly low.

x-goper, in principle I couldn't agree more with you. Civility is and should be the way.

In practice, responding to Bushevik Propaganda with quiet arguments has nearly cost the Democrats everything and far more significantly, has fueled the unopposed rise of an unchecked Party-Loyal Bushevik Sub-Media which is not only characteristic of Totalitarian Nations, but also was the reason for the FCC regulations the Busheviks have been trying to destroy all these years (the men of the 1940s looked at what Hitler and Stalin did to their National Medias and tried to devise a set of rules to prevent such things from happening here).

How many lies about liberals are now part of the National Lexicon? Now, I'm no liberal (but it is a noble title that I would wear proudly if my views warranted it), but it makes me sick to hear them all, and to see that the endless repetition of lies turn them into "conventional wisdom", same as it ever was.

"The price of freedom is eternal vigilance."
--Thomas Jefferson (my 2nd favorite Founding Father after Tom Paine)

Well, we weren't vigilant and as a result we may lose everything that once made America great.

So I'm torn between knowing that what you say about civility is right, and also knowing that if the Democrats display any more weakness and fail to speak up and counter lies and half-truths (often Bushevik memes involve a kernal of truth around which a great ball of lies is wrapped around, to make it more swallowable), then we are doomed.

Read my sig line, pal. It says it all and describes, IMHO, the folly of continuing to "turn the other cheek", once you know what you're up against.

[9215]

22. Now I know we are going to stop these whackos

Great post!

[K8-EEE]

26. Max Cleland, That Really Was Awful

Truly, that was awful, and as usual they are very selective about applying their "fair and balanced" standards.

Hope you can get through to those stuck in The Dark Side, ex-GOPer!

[rumguy]

27. Max Cleland's revenge: John Kerry

What happened to Max is inexcusable and shameful...

Max is backing Kerry big time these days...

I want to see Kerry win and Max put in as head of the VA

[mac2]

33. Max as head of VA

Wonderful idea!!!

[alcuno]

30. Zell picked a strange time to jump off the ship and into the sea.

Without a life preserver. He went full steam ahead when * was at his peak and now gets to ride the elevator into the basement with him.

[mac2]

31. Zel Miller says his party is dead

I caught Zel Miller on CSPAN today. He was pretty obnoxious. I guess, he wasn't answering his phone using the Ricin as an excuse. So he blasted us.

Just what Democratic Party is Zel Miller talking about? He says, the liberals have taken over "his" party. Surely...Senator Miller is living in a parallel universe? He has never fit into the Democratic Party regardless of which way it swung.

His lies about the party won't believed by Democrats but by the RWers. Anyone who wants worker rights or freedom certainly has to be a liberal...with bad intentions.

Zel Miller is the worst thing to happen to our party. His lies, he votes against working Americans, against women's rights, votes for tax cuts for his rich corporate friends, etc. That "gobble neck" politician is a "turkey".

Zel says, Democrats have abandoned the south. What? Seems to me they spend a lot more time in Georgia, S. Carolina, and Florida than they do in my state of Illinois. The candidate for President is almost a "given" by the time it reaches my state. We don't have a vote at all.

Zel..smaller government in Georgia? What would Georgia have been without "liberal" money for your roads, power, education, military jobs, etc.? Get real...you had help to become what you are today using "liberal" tax dollars. Your state is still sucking in more than it pays from the wealthier "liberal" states. You'd better pray the "liberals" stay around to help Georgia.

"Smaller government"is a phrase meaning that business people and states can do what they want without federal inteferance to protect the workers and rights of individuals. It is the "religious cause" for Neo Cons to take power.

If your party, Zel, is dead...leave it to be revived by the original members...liberals. Join the Republican Party...that's where you belong anyway. It is the liberals who were the Democrats in the first place. He and the Moderates abandoned the liberal/union base not the other way around. Your own party leaders even admitted that is why you can't win back the Congress and the Presidency.

Everyday...I turn on my TV to hear this type of political slander against the so called evil "liberals" by Neo Cons. We aren't believing it. I'm proud to be a liberal and sorry you feel you can't be one. Jesus was probably a liberal with socialistic leanings.

See the light Zel...become a liberal.