Republicans Are Building Apartheid

[BurtWorm]

I was just listening to the speeches in the House debate on the measure condemning the Republican strong-arm tactics during the Medicare debate last month, and it was beginning to hit home--while I was listening to my Congressman, Charlie Rangel, passionately accusing the Republican leadership of excluding not just Charlie Rangel but the hundreds of thousands of Americans he represents from having their voices heard in this crucial debate--that that is precisely what the Republicans are ALL about. This is why they are going to such extraordinary lengths to redistrict themselves into permanent majority status, so they can maintain a rule of white men, mostly, over the great unwashed masses who vote for Democrats.

Note that at the same time, they are moving to create an American society in which the people are more and more subjects of the workplace where they are less and less protected. Note too that they are laboring mightily to unrestrict white men from excluding women and people of color from positions of economic power.

I don't know if this is a conscious strategy, but the effect is as good as if it were conscious.

[Toby109]

1. Oh, it's conscious all right.

And if we don't stop this soon, it could get way out of control. That's why we Dems need to keep our eyes on the big picture and try to limit the infighting. I am not often an advocate of lockstep politics but this time it is way too important on too many levels.

[salinen]

2. Charlie's a good man.

Thinking about it all today, it may simply be that this government is owned by the corporate body, and so, the mindset of the corporation is always at odds with the individual. Isn't this reflected in almost every bill passed in the last 3 years? This is a fundamental shift in thought and policy. Dissention is similar to a strike, and dissenters are not allowed to strike in front of their workplace (put into corrals). This corporate government must be defeated for the sake of decency.

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. Redistricting is conscious apartheid

Just think of the districts where they concentrate the Democratic vote as the South African 'homelands', and the more numerous ones where they engineer Republican majorities as the richer white lands.

[Bridget Burke]

4. Agreement from "Delayistan"

The Houston Press presented the term in their recent "Turkeys of the Year" article. The South African "homelands" were called "Bantustans"--this new word is derived more directly from Central Asia.

Whatever the etymology, redistricting is the key!

"Texas has had six flags flying over it, as every amusement-park attendee knows. The flags include those of France, Spain, the Confederate States of America and our very own Republic of Texas.

"Now it flies under a seventh. As 2003 has proved, we are now living in a country named -- like Afghanistan or Uzbekistan -- after the most influential part of the population. Like Turkmenistan, this new country is ruled by a powerful warlord. (The CIA World Factbook says Turkmenistan's president 'retains absolute control over the country and opposition is not tolerated.')

"Welcome, then, to DeLayistan -- where absolute control is retained and opposition is not tolerated."

http://houstonpress.com/issues/2003-11-27/feature.html/1/index.html

[BurtWorm]

5. Interesting.

Thanks for posting that.