They Boggle the Mind

As the dust settled on lower Manhattan and the nation shook off the effects of the worst attack in our history, the democrats in Congress, having appreciated that the moment called for unity and not politics, joined their president in finding a response.

After our failure in Afghanistan, and despite it, the democrats, still fearing that any disagreement with the president would be contrued as heresy, despite reservations by some, supported this same president as he led us into the tragedy that has become Iraq.

Over time, we would learn that he had lied to us. He used lies, fear-mongering and propaganda in the most sacred of speeches, the State of the Union Address, to again make it political suicide should any democrat not agree with him. We invaded and America lost its innocence in what would become the worst quagmire since Vietnam: torture, abuse of presidental powers, obstruction of justice, lying under oath, dispersing state secrets to punish the disloyal and more.

Having won a majority in Congress, the democrats, for the sake of reuniting our worn and weary nation, chose NOT to seek the impeachment of George W. Bush. They chose not to pursue the vice president. And for the same reason that motivated Gerald Ford, in what historians still consider to be one of the most faithful and loyal acts by a public servant when he pardoned Richard Nixon (and absolute political suicide), the democrats knew that a long, drawn-out impeachment proceeding would do more harm for our nation then the short-term polical gains it would give them.

Democrats and Republicans are different. Let's forget about their differences like so-called spending versus fiscal conservatism; abortion versus anti-abortion, etc.; let's just look at what the Republicans have made their most effective and more heinous strategy for maintaining power for power's sake: they always attack and never put the good of the nation first if they feel that the democrats will reap any of the benefits of that so-called "good".

In 1994, when the Republicans backed by the pharmaceutical lobby and AMA fought tooth and nail to destroy the Clinton healtcare initiative, we paid 11.8% of GDP for health care. 15 years later, we are paying 15.2% of GDP (expected to increase to nearly 20% by 2015).

Had the Clinton healthcare initiative been passed (an internal memo then sent by Newt Gingrich laid it out very simply "if Clinton passes this thing, we lose seats at the mid-term elections so we must unite to defeat it"), we would today be paying around 9% of GDP for health care and all Americans would be covered!

The Republicans, however, decided that their interest lie not in the health of Americans, not in the strengthening of the economy in the long-term but rather in their ability to obtain and maintain power. At the end of the day, our economy today would be sounder if universal healthcare had been passed in 1994. No economist, who is not a hack to the GOP, would dare say that this is not so.

What they also felt was of the utmost of importance at the time (and somehow in the interest of the nation) was to relentlessly attack President Clinton. They ran non-stop indepedent councils until eventually they caught in him a lie (which happened to be under oath) about whether or not he had cheated on his wife. Any sane man would lie about an infidelity.

Was Clinton stupid and reckless? Yes! But, was his crime worthy of destroying a president and thereby politically tainting one of the tools available to the Congress that can punish a president who abuses his power? Not in a million years! However, the republicans again felt that for the sake of retaining and maintaining power, something as trivial as the office of the presidency and abuse of a little thing called the powers to impeach were much more aligned with their interests and the interests of the nation.

So, here we are again, gleeful over the big, fat zero they gave President Obama and "his stim", Republicans again chose inaction; they put the failed policies like tax-cutting ahead of the interests of America. Our nation today is in more danger than it was on September 12, 2001, and all they can think about is lying (they were shouting about $50 million that would be spent on protecting mice in California--this just didn't exist in the Stimulus Plan put to them!); obstructing the process of making our nation sound again.

They again prefer to pander to the big money men who will end up financing their re-election campaigns. They know that Joe, who has lost his job as a result of the economic crisis, cannot give them donations anymore. So, guess what, if Joe cannot keep them in power, then they don't need Joe and they don't give a "mice's" ass about Joe's woes!

Our nation has been humbled by the arrogance and mismanagement of a Republican president and a Republican Congress. Barack Obama and the democrats are trying to make our nation whole again.

And, while they govern and while Obama leads like we have not been led in nearly a decade, the republicans will continue to proudly vote "no" to anything he does to make us better. When does the rest of American realize that republicans just don't give a damn about America? Honestly, and this is not rhetoric, the modern-day powers that be in the GOP are simply corrupt, anti-American and fascist in the way of Hitler.

Enough (basta)! I just hope that the effects of unemployment will motivate the inbred bible-thumpers from the Southern states who think that all that is republican is America, to wake up soon and turn their back on the ignorance that ruins our nation.

Sadly, I don't think this will happen. So, I guess now we have only one choice and that is to get used to their obstructionist and anti-American ways.

America, with them, without them and despite them!