Wednesday, June 23, 2004

The Republican Party, Highjacked

I've been a Democrat all my life. Not necessarily by affiliation; more by conviction.

Political affiliation is relative, unless you belong (sold your soul) to a party. This is the issue I want to discuss; Democrats are progressive minded people that don't need an entity to tell them how to vote. We can make up our own mind how to vote, or educate other people about the realities of our times. Often the ranks of people who vote Democratic swells depending on the issues facing the country and the reaction of the political leadership at the helm. That makes this party a skeleton organization ready to lose or gain affiliates.

My belief is always that this greatest democracy on earth is possible because of the two party system conceived before our time. The forefathers have seen all the pitfalls threatening to undo a democratic system, so they set some rules, checks and balances that move this country ahead without endangering it's own device.

I stood silent as political parties changed at the helm of the country; Democrat, Republican, Democrat and Republican again, each one trying to correct the perils of the other; when the Democrats moved the wealth too much to the left paralyzing the country by social issues, the people made their point of electing next a Republican government that will shift the wealth to the right, slowing down the socialistic tendencies of the government. When the Republicans in power emptied the treasury giving it away to their cronies, people would vote them out of the office and restore social fairness. This system worked for over two hundred years without pitting brother against brother,

This is the first time I am being vocal in my consternation of what's going on.

What is happening is beyond the comprehension of most decent citizens of this country. I always respected a political party that bases it's policies on a just philosophy. It was time to go back and check the Republican philosophy. It's been a time since I last checked on it. My memory was playing tricks, or perhaps the events du jour were just too weird.

There are no fundamental differences between the two philosophies; both are born out of a democratic system and intimately tied to the precepts of capitalism. At the base stands capitalism as a natural evolution of society based on individuals desire to be free in their decision to work and pursue happiness.

Here is the Republican philosophy:

I believe the strength of our nation lies with the individual and that each person's dignity, freedom, ability and responsibility must be honored.

I believe in equal rights, equal justice and equal opportunity for all, regardless of race, creed, sex, age or disability.

I believe free enterprise and encouraging individual initiative have brought this nation opportunity, economic growth and prosperity.

I believe government must practice fiscal responsibility and allow individuals to keep more of the money they earn.

I believe the proper role of government is to provide for the people only those critical functions that cannot be performed by individuals or private organizations and that the best government is that which which governs least.

I believe the most effective, responsible and responsive government is government closest to the people.

I believe Americans must retain the principles that have made us strong while developing new and innovative ideas to meet the challenges of changing times.

I believe Americans value and should preserve our national strength and pride while working to extend peace, freedom and human rights throughout the world.

Finally, I believe the Republican Party is the best vehicle for translating these ideals into positive and successful principles of government.


You would think, that they're not far from what you and I stand for and the differences used to be only the methods to achieve these goals.

What is happening now is that the Republican Party has been infiltrated by a new breed of right-wing neo-conservative groups together with wealthy corporate executives and extreme-right religious organizations. They highjacked the Republican Party to promulgate their agenda of squandering the national wealth, stealing the treasury and awarding government contracts without bidding, to their cronies and grab as much as they can before their time runs out.

For any fascist government the best tool is the war used to distract attention from all these secret deals by which they reward the "believers", the cronies of a new class of elite- the "have mores". The war also helps them to fool the masses by arousing a false patriotism, and dispatch them to intimidate others and slowly take over the country by discouraging voter participation in elections and even rig elections.

I refuse to believe that good Republicans stand for what's happening to this country. But even the good Republicans are manipulated within their own party to support the leader no matter what and discourage them from dissent.

The unraveling has started and will go downhill like an avalanche and soon those good Republicans will stand up to the assailants of their party and claim that their love for this country is stronger than loyalty to a political organization. And when that happens it will destroy it's constituency and splinter into smaller political groups.