The Party of Cruelty

[Strelnikov_]

http://kunstler.com/blog/2010/03/the-party-of-cruelty.html

It was amusing to see the Republican party inveigh against health insurance reform as if they were a synod of Presbyterian necromancers girding the nation for a takeover by the spawn of hell. This was the same gang, by the way, who championed the Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003, then regarded as the most reckless giveaway of public funds in human history. Along the way, they enlisted an army of nay-sayers representing everything dark, disgraceful, and ignorant in the American character. If the Republicans keep going this way, they'll end up with something worse than Naziism: a party that hates everything but believes in absolutely nothing.

The most striking elements of so-called health care in America these days is how cruel and unjust it is, and in taking a stand against reforming it the Republican party appeared to be firmly in support of cruelty and injustice. This would be well within the historical tradition of other religious crusades which turned political -- such as the Spanish Inquisition and the seventeenth century war against witchcraft. Whatever else the Democratic party has stood for in recent history, it has tended to oppose institutional cruelty and injustice, and notice that it has also been the party for keeping religion out of government.

. . .

At least this once a workable majority in the government has stood up to the forces of cruelty and injustice, and whatever else happens to us in the course of this long emergency, it will be a good thing if the party of fairness and justice identifies its adversaries for what they are: not "partners in governing," or any such academical-therapeutic bullshit, but enemies of every generous impulse in the national character.

I hope that Mr. Obama's party can carry this message clearly into the electoral battles ahead, painting the Republican opposition for what it is: a gang of hypocritical, pietistic sadists, seeking pleasure in the suffering of others while pretending to be Christians, devoid of sympathy, empathy, or any inclination to simple human kindness, constant breakers of the Golden Rule, enemies of the common good. In fact, the current edition of the Republican party has achieved something really memorable in the annals of collective bad intentions: they have managed to create a sense of the public interest whose main goal is the destruction of the public interest.

This is exactly what the Republican majority on the Supreme Court did earlier this year by deciding that corporations -- which are sociopathic by definition in being answerable only to their shareholders and nothing else -- should enjoy the same full privileges in election campaign contributions as human persons, who are assumed to have obligations, duties, and responsibilities to the common good (and therefore to the public interest). This shameful act by the court majority only underscores the chief defining characteristic of Republicans in their current incarnation: an inability to think. And so, naturally Republicans gravitate toward superstition and the traditional devices of improvident religious authorities -- persecution of the weak, torture, denial of due process, and dogmas designed to spread hatred.

[Zoeisright]

1. Wow. Kunstler sure does speak for me.

He puts the truth right on the line. Excellent read.

[Mari333]

2. it worked on my brother, and my sister..as much as I think this is a watered down bill

and would have preferred a public option,

my bro and sis are buying into the 'socialism' crap being touted. they think the bill goes too far and I dont think its enough.

whats funny is, they are screaming and frothing this morning about socialism, and I finally told them where the hell were they when Bush was reaming them with his illegal wars and giveaways to huge defense contractors??

crickets.

I find this all amusing, actually. spiritual humour and all, you know.

[WhiteTara]

6. in a couple of months they

will have a different story when things in their lives change even just slightly for the better. Expect amnesia. Remember the stimulus bill that cut people's taxes and they had those extra $$$ in their checks?

[Strelnikov_]

7. First rebuttal point would be that it is more closely related to fascism than socialism

Those are big words and concepts, however.

End result, probably some improvement over the status quo, but not nearly enough.

I am hoping that the lawsuits the ReichRepublics are filing will be the wedge for a public option/single payer. Maybe that was Obama's plan all along, a Zhukov-like move.

[SPedigrees]

10. Ask them what they think of medicare, VA health care, social security, roads,

police, schools, etc. All socialized programs. Ask if they'd like to have to pay for the fire dept to come if their house was burning, and to perhaps be denied service due to a pre-existing condition (a small kitchen fire 10 yrs earlier.)

[murray hill farm]

3. Kunstler is my first read every Monday AM.

He was right on target this morning!!!

[Strelnikov_]

4. Mine too

Don't always agree with JK, but always entertaining.

[RKP5637]

5. Excellent!!! n/t

[BrklynLiberal]

8. Wow!!! He nailed it!!!

as if they were a synod of Presbyterian necromancers girding the nation for a takeover by the spawn of hell.

[mrcheerful]

9. That is how I define the republicon party they are the party of cruelty and injustice

Every since McCarthy went on a witch hunt to rid the country of commies, that tactic ruined a lot of peoples lives and lively hoods. Then to make matters worse they draped the cloak of religious dogma on their witch hunt for commies. We see McCarthy's work every time we see a defaced public building where the original quotes were replaced with religious quotes, every time we look at our money instead of seeing we pay on demand we see in God we trust or every time a child is forced to pledge his loyalty to the flag.

I bet the founding fathers really rolled over in their graves when that was passed that children had to swear on oath every day before they could study the 3 R's, then added the phrase one nation under God so no commies would be able to say the pledge, after all commies are godless so putting God in and on everything would stop the commies from infiltrating American schools or banks. Maybe stupid should be in there too.