And it is all about destroying the government. (apology to Catwoman)

MissMarple

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Sat Sep-17-05 05:00 PM
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And it is all about destroying the government. (apology to Catwoman)

"By the tone of their remarks, one gets the impression that they (the GOP) would truly welcome some political or policy cataclysm, something that would shake America to its roots."

From Peter G. Peterson's "Running On Empty". Peterson is a conservative Republican of the sane, reality based variety. Among other things he was in the Reagan administration and former chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank in New York.

I posted this in GD, but it more directly political than general. I realize many of us have thought about this and many believe it to be true. I did so, as well, but in a theoretical, they really couldn't be that bad, sort of way. Now, I believe it.

It has become obvious that what the GOP is doing is propelled by a desire for drastic economic change. It has nothing to do with religious or moral idealism, as we know. New Orleans is the canary, just the first to, quite publicly, feel the effects. The ill equipped soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan were among the very first.

The GOP economic policies are not about over taxation (except for the Paris Hilton rich), or random, continuous tax cuts stimulating the economy (they don't, everyone...well except for the duped, knows that), or making the tax code more efficient (then how would they give away money to their friends), or that supply side economics stimulates work, saving and investment(oh please, I was around in the 80's). It is about killing government, destroying it from the inside so that it implodes.

Rich or poor, black, white, yellow, red, and now, pea green and from Mars, (George's space program, oh joy) we are all in trouble.

I think this callous disregard most effects all people living in poverty. They have nothing to give the GOP except their votes, if they do vote. And, the GOP will give them nothing back except for a shell game.

And, quite frankly, with our current lack of infrastructure development we are all sitting on the edge. The middle class will take the next big hit from the GOP's plan to "starve the beast". If they want government to go to hell in a hand basket, hell is where we will all end up.

The Denver Post reported today that the city's fire trucks and equipment are in need of an overdue update. Denver's budget constraints, unaided by any practical assistance from Homeland inSecurity, are keeping the city unprepared for a major disaster. The same was true in New Orleans, the political culture aside.

Roads, levees, bridges, viable, sustainable energy sources, emergency preparedness....all go begging. We are stretching too thin, all across the United States. Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps, housing assistance are in danger of being crippled or disappearing all together.

Peterson writes: "Republican Myth 5 Let's be honest. This is all about politics. In the long run, our tax cuts will force Congress to cut back on spending and, with that, cut back government." I don't know that this is a myth, as the previous four he offers for consideration probably are, we are seeing it happen.

He also says that this is unfair to our children who will bear the burden, is cynical because it assumes our democratic process is broken, and is hypocritical because the Republicans are not trying to shrink government, to reduce government spending.

I now think it is fairly obvious the Republicans are trying end run democratic process to destroy government and rebuild it in their own vision. That puts all of us directly at risk.

So, all of the poor, all of America are the targets of these GOP criminals. The ideologue goggles worn by the average GOP supporters need to be ripped off, and the pretenders unmasked for the lying predators that they are.

For what it's worth, Peterson says we need leadership and voting Americans to ask for the truth, however much that hurts. He says (paraphrased) that the party that lies the most will lose in the next realigning election, and offers a quote from John Arbuthnot an early observer of political parties in modern Europe. "All political parties die at last of swallowing their own lies".

So, do I feel better? Not much. It is going to get worse before it gets better. We need to be asking the hard questions, out loud and in the public square.