Republican-Free America

How far has Lincoln’s party fallen.  From the once famous drive to preserve the Union,  the party is now the divider of its countrymen.  So many Republican’s today derive status from insistence on one religion, one sexual orientation, and one race.  The Unity of the Nation, liberty for all is now the Democratic capstone. Liberty for all, freedom of religion as it once was for those tired of intolerance in 1776.

“With malice towards none and charity toward all”, sounds pretty Barack, but comes from those first Republican lips – Abraham Lincoln. The Lincolnian party would be nice to see again. Rather we see Republicans who want to make a slave of us all.  For leadership they shout loudly in anger. For fiscal policy they are the implicit cause of the economic crisis, for peaceful tranquility the demand the unsound and unchecked war. It is as if the Republican leaning backward direction has slowed them to a lost mentality. Gone are their once great causes. What are the causes Republicans should confront in current times? A critical rethink of high level Capitalism, the nature of Governance, and the causless immensity of the military complex.

Change was not enough in the election for Obama. It is not enough because the familiar rude Republican mantle, unthinking and prejudiced has gone louder with the Rush Limbaugh’s and Glen Becks of the media. For civilization to advance on a course first set in 1776, when liberty and freedom were principle, it is almost fact that for modern America to survive it is time to consider the campaign for a Republican-Free America.

We have been pushed so far to the Right, there is nothing Left.

How Do you Feel?

Rehearsing the Part to Play … Vote, Vote

Here’s the big difference in McCainer and Obamer outcomes. The John winners want to go back to their houses, watch TV and count money. The Barack winners want to play a part in the next government that changes everything. I assume a Barack win, though I continue to call and canvass – not for victory – but to rehearse how to work for this new democracy. The O outcome will give all Americans some global credibility, but this is not a flag raising, but a freedom ringing era.  It is not one party wins all, it is all of us as party to a new American  democracy. Witness the NYT writing straight out on baseball stats and Health care. The parts to play are many that the new President must summon – erasing the war from the balance sheet, founding national economic principle, starting the energy revolution, monitoring the world environment, and healing the method actors of national outrage.

The new Blues for the Reds … Take’n it Back...

Where is Republican Anger When you Need it?

Revolutions, ours beginning in 1775 and the French of 1789, showed how bloody an imperial revolt can be with guillotines, riots, and killing. Almost a prequel to a current Republican rally. Not to put to fine a point on it, but real patriotic anger aims at the Kings of a country’s injustice.

Is Obama really worth stirring up anger, as the “new” Republicans would like you to believe? Or is this a clever misdirection of anger most properly directed to AIG, the extraordinary wealthy, and a horrible executive branch? If Republicans really want to win this election big, they should not redirect, but tap into the clearly seething American anger against the actual symbols of the forces that have betrayed our economy. They could out-Obama Obama here.

All of this is encapsulated brilliantly by Maureen Dowd inciting us to look at the continuing bailout excesses, and to put our Anger where it belongs. A partridge hunt at Plumber Manor in England? She ends it well. Heads must roll.

Blow out that hate, brother:

Republican Anger, The Tale of

Once upon a time, there was a group of people that were as intelligent as William F. Buckley. They generated wealth, conserved resources, spent wisely, were generally happy, and had a large world view. They became powerful and did not want to lose their position so they appointed a friendly dummy to rule the kingdom. Over time the dummy wasted money, spent foolishly, had only one view of the kingdom, and was plainly ignorant. The once-wise became vain and thought it would appear bad if they chastised their dummy. They did not police themselves to cultivate their deepest values, and started to reach old age.

The idiot ruler surrounded himself with people like himself. For one thing, he appointed a fox as town cryer. The wily fox knew if he said only good things about the king’s reign he would get big treats.  Any who disagreed were made fun of and then banished. Citizens heard only one story. The once-wise liked it that way. But the foxes stories created a deep division in the kingdom. A silent resentful group smart enough to know the difference between a lie and the truth – called the knowers, and the less intelligent who couldn’t tell the difference – called the believers.

As the once-wise began to die off, their ranks were filled with braggers, boasters, and simple-minded believers who listened without question. A great turnabout occurred as if by magic.  The believers, remarkably once-wise, now had reversed their cherished values. They no longer generated wealth, they contrived money-making betting schemes, squandered resources, became mean, intolerant of the world, were generally unhappy and were proudly and heroically stupid.

The kingdom became poorer not because the dummy made foolish decisions, but because the once-wise did not intervene to fix anything. Why? Because they were too old, too wealthy, and lived in fabulous palaces. Soon they all died off.

Obama in October

29 days left on the old Bush clock. Halloween approaches. The all-seeing always-linking Andrew Sullivan spots an Obaman act of goodness as Autumnal days get darker.

Hyper-Halloween heats up with both parties now. The fear meter tips more to the right as the Republicans haunt the American imagination with the “white flag”, “terrorists pal” and the other ilk of character assassination pressed by, I will call it, “Neandrican” leadership.

The Bush clock ticks and the Neandrican “October Surprise” is being wound up tighetr than a Jack-in-the-box. Ready to pop out for capture is Bin Laden previewed on 60 minutes. Cromagnocrats stay frosty.  Be advised.

The skilled Cromagnocrat can seize the winning strategy against Al Qaeda, whereas the Neandrican is unable to let go. Monkeys are caught when they reach into an anchored gourd filled with shiny coins. When the hunter charges, the animal will not unclench his fist to run away. “Must surge now.”

The trick or treat election is on everyone’s mind. Rolling Stone opens the bag on Make-Believe Maverick and brother Matt Taibbi’s Mad Dog Palin.

Stirring the pot of hatred, the polarizing Republican rally to kill, baby kill. I am now hearing people use “Alaska!” as an expletive, as in “Alaska! don’t make me come over there.”, or “Alaska! Whose calling me now?”

Pales By Comparison

Wait, let’s see that VP debate transcript. Did Sarah Palin really say the Taliban are working with us in Iraq? No it was Maliki and Talabani, ok, no gaffe. But with the many slips in her speaking, you never knew if she knew what she was talking about, as was clear in the Couric interview. As Kathleen Parker puts it

“Before we relax into giddiness or cynicism, however, it’s important to consider that a debate differs from an interview in significant ways. A debate is a point-counterpoint exercise that allows little opportunity for probing or follow-up. An interview requires that a candidate explain an idea in depth and offer specifics.”

Amid the betcha’s and eye wink connectives, Palin largely followed Biden’s topical lead, even though she had many opportunities to coherently advance the subject or even once seize the first response to the moderator. When confronted or perhaps not understanding difficult questions, she took the conversation into oddly irrelevant areas to what the audience was focusing on and waiting for her counter punch. For example when Gwen asked about policy on mortgage and bankruptcy, Joe gave a perfectly fine answer. Sarah’s turn. “I want to talk about, again, my record on energy policy”. For the audience, an unsatisfying comeback and repeating herself again already.

Feeling American, Acting

So how did you feel after watching the two parties nominating conventions? The Republicans still angry and divisive while the Democrat hopeful and unifying. I listened randomly to the Republican address by Carla Fiorina (former HP CEO), coated with metaphors of victories, division, war, and glory in the now so typical Republican harsh and mean-spirited voice. Like many Republican orators they shout commands and divide out those who follow orders without question – the rest of you go hunker down in that fear bunker. The convention difference is that of being told to get in line, rather than feeling lifted in an atmosphere of possibility for a country. Megaphone vs any other point of view. 

It is hilarious to see the party in power running as it if weren’t. Or put another way, to hear about Mavericks of change running against an independent thinker dedicated to change. For the last two years. If change from Bush is the issue, why is the party of Bush so intent on remaking itself? It means they have no principle of cohesion or conviction in their original ideas that require correction. The RNC convention co-opts the entire Obama platform of change.  It is scary how few American see through their intent.  We need real change to clean up the mess we made. That would be honest.

The Republicans operate their well-worn traditions of Character Assassination and the Megaphone Hour. Guilliani’s attack on Obama, twisted stories, the divisive cut to the audience. Be proud to be an R, distinct from any else, you know, those (us?) non-Americans. The pulpit intent is to make you feel like a sinner. No one listening is courageous enough to detect that every speaker has a truth problem.

Be advised.

The Republican Party alarms you. Emergency is the code to keep power. Brilliant humor from Jon Stewart who lifts the masked messaging at the RNC.  Underneath, hides the ugly truth told soberly with Frank Rich‘s write up.

Impeachment and Confidence

I sometimes wonder if the parliamentary system is better with its vote of confidence in the executive compared to the American system. Having lost confidence in leadership of the entire executive branch,  the people suffer the entire remaining term to compound evils and therby lengthen the undoing. Impeachment of both Bush and Cheney would address the top. But the executive branch is rife with incompetent appointments. The whole branch needs to be reborn. Remedy can not come soon enough. Impeachment must take place now. Not just to correct endless war, but its cause. The origins of terrorism require global police coordination, not nationalized militias to correct. Impeachment will halt torture as a standard, immense corruption in bidding government contracts and the list we all know. It is that if we do nothing, something worse still will certainly happen. What further fearful conditions will the Cheney-Bush administration begin in the remaining 254 days to guarantee their continuity. I fear their future and commend any movement toward a series of impeachments now. Impeach now or forever lose your peace.

No We Can’t

The Republican mind set as a photorevised cartoon displaying their election chant – as loud as any “Yes We Can” Obama rally-

No we can’t end the war. 

No we can’t find Osama bin Laden. 

No we can’t redesign the New Orleans dikes.

No we can’t quit giving money to the wealthy.

No we can’t investigate rampant war profiteering. 

No we can’t talk to other countries.

 

 

 

No we can’t drop the price of oil.

No we can’t stop torture as a national policy.

No we can’t close Guantanemo. 

No we can’t stop wiretapping every American.

No we can’t quit using 911 to scare up votes.

No we can’t halt Nuclear weapon plans from Pakistan.

 

 

No we can’t quit using lobbyists. 

No we can’t really act like Jesus. 

No we can’t make our President stand by the Constitution.

No we can’t obey the Geneva convention.

No we can’t investigate why we reveal CIA agents identities.

No we can’t take time to help the disadvantaged.

No we can’t show flag-draped coffins.  

 

  

No we can’t build an economic surplus.

No we can’t really find clean energy.

No we can’t stop driving up the price of oil.

No we can’t mandate cars improve gas mileage.

No we can’t do anything about global warming.

No we can’t.

No we can’t.

No we can’t.