Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 8 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing
Exclusive to OpEd News:
OpEdNews Op Eds   

Conservatism v. Democracy

By       (Page 1 of 1 pages)   5 comments
Message Jon Faulkner
For those who believe there's not a dime's worth of difference in the two parties consider. Social Security, The G.I. Bill, Labor Laws, Environmental Laws, Civil Rights, Bank Deposit Insurance, The Rural Electrification Program, Product Labeling, Truth in Advertising, Woman's Right to Vote and the Earned Income Tax Credit were all the work of liberals as conservative republicans howled their opposition. In contrast the republicans initiated cuts in veteran's benefits, they eviscerated education and health care, passed endless tax cuts for the rich, slashed Head Start, and eliminated the Fairness Doctrine. Given more time, elderly Americans would have watched their Social Security checks get turned over to Wall Street investors, for a fee of course. All of these conservative "contributions" have the same thread of commonality - they were passed in the early A.M., on Saturdays, after news deadlines. Like cockroaches, conservatives like to operate in the dark. Turn on the lights and they scatter for the cracks.

Republicans, given time, will always reveal their true natures. When they inevitably do, the majority of Americans will send them packing. Finding themselves outside the gate, republicans will scratch at the door and beg to be let back in. This happened from 1954 to 1994. Republicans were sent outside because they're impossible to house-break. It took American voters forty years to forget that fact and let them back in. Swept into power by the Gingrich Revolution, they immediately got the biggest shovels they could find and proceeded to sack the nations treasury. They began dismantling the economic infrastructure. They shredded the social safety net for the young, the old, the sick and accelerated the nations withdrawal from its social responsibilities. Republicans long for the day when the wholesale embracement of corporate power will eclipse the human spirit.

In 2000, Democracy failed for all the world to see. In Miami, the cameras rolled as a republican goon squad beat on the precinct doors, forcing officials to stop counting votes. The police, in plain view, stood by and did nothing. The U.S. Supreme Court, to its everlasting shame, installed Bush as president while Gore gave an eloquent, but cowardly speech, conceding the election. His democratic colleagues offered him no support so to avoid a "Constitutional Crisis" he graciously gave up, thus dooming the nation to six, long, nightmarish years of Bush & Company. During those long, dark years, democracy was down and the jackals were busy stripping the flesh from its bones. Blissfully ignorant, Americans were unaware of how close they were to losing their free way of life. Bush is not an intelligent man. If he were, Americans may have already discovered their democracy had been taken from them. With two years left he can be expected to do whatever he wants, and if the democrats can't summon the political courage to stop him, the election was pointless.

Of course he's clapped his "Uniters" hat on his pointy head, and is pledging bipartisan cooperation. The republicans fetched Newt from under his rock. He spoke grandly of bipartisanship and of how Americans disliked gridlock. The democrats nodded their heads to break their necks agreeing with these wise men and making pledges of their own for a more conciliatory approach to governing. Isn't that nice. They can all sing Koom-Byah around the campfire while the republicans slip the knife between their silly ribs. The democrats, for once, need to come out with guns blazing. Put the dogs down. No mercy. Americans want their democracy back and on November 7th they demanded it be returned.

Democracy won't work unless conservatives are brought under some control. They will lie, cheat and slander to advance their anti-democratic agenda. Television stations like Fox News will spread disinformation without the slightest respect for the American people. They know, if they repeat the lie often enough, there are those who will come to believe it. The government exists to promote the general welfare - the common good of its citizens. That is its aim - its express purpose. The only debate is about how this can best be accomplished. All anyone need do is look at the historical record to understand that republicans haven't the slightest interest in the common good. Their interests are narrow and defined around themselves. The rich are their base, and their masters.

Democrats are like the chicken that crossed the road. It couldn't decide to run all the way across, or back to the side it started from. Finally, unable to make up its mind, it gets run over - reduced to road kill. Democrats need to lead or get out of the way so others can take their place. The days seem gone when democrats spoke with conviction about equality for all Americans. Their beliefs held strength because they knew that holding up the poorest and the sickest was a noble, unselfish cause. They knew the poorest and the weakest reflected the image of all Americans, and to allow even one to suffer diminished us all. That is what made America great - not the stock market breaking 12,000. Because democrats believed this they were held up for ridicule. "Bleeding hearts" has today progressed to traitors, who give aid and comfort to the enemy. Conservatives are truly immoral and their ignorance can't excuse them. Slandering liberal democrats, who recognize that Americans, rich or poor, strong or weak, in good health or bad, are still equal, is an abominable, unholy act. They suffer from a form of mental illness, and their ideology has no place in today's world. Historians, in the not so distant future, will look back and wonder how it was that republicans were tolerated, and fantastically, actually elected to representative offices.

Jon Faulkner
Rate It | View Ratings

Jon Faulkner Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

Jon Faulkner is a licensed Master Mariner. He has long considered the conservative republican mindset a form of mental illness. He lives in northern Maine.
Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

Obama's One Term Presidency

Stick A Fork In It: It's Done The Fascists Won

Why Hasn't Rupert Murdoch Been Deported?

Paying To Subjugate Yourself

The Founders Tried To Warn Us

1886 - When The American Experiment Died

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend