The bizarre thing is that whatever their strongest loyalties are, it is becoming clearer that the long term future and health of the USA is not one of their presiding interests. It is becoming clearer that the rape and pillage approach the right wing is taking to American resources""jobs, ecology, natural resources, education, rights and freedoms, international relationships-- is already eroding and will soon severely weaken the USA as a nation, in many, many ways.
Republicans used to be pro business. But back then, that meant US business. Things have changed. Big business is now, for the most part, trans-national business""megacorporations with no national loyalties. By staying consistent, as pro-big business, the Republican party has shifted from loyalty to US entities and interests to loyalty for massive corporate holding companies with interests and operations all over the world.
The Republicans aren't alone in this. Bill Clinton signed off on agreements NAFTA and the World Trade Organization. These organizations are good for international trade, not US business, not US manufacturers, not US farmers, not US workers, not US natural resources and not least of all, not US laws, since these international organizations have the right to punish the US for passing laws approved by its citizens""for things like labeling cans of tuna as being dolphin-free.
North Carolina republican Robin Hayes, said, according to CNN's Lou Dobbs, "Every time I drive through Kanapolis, ".I know there is no way I could vote for CAFTA." But he didn't show up to vote against it. His vote would have made a tie. But then there are the 15 democrats who voted for CAFTA. They should be severely punished""have their committee positions taken away from them, lose any support from the DCCC and the DNC.
We have a congress that is no longer serving the people. As I write this, Lou Dobbs has a poll on his site asking "Do you think the officials you elected are representing your interests in Congress?" Ninety seven percent of the respondents do NOT think they are being represented. Sadly, even the handful of Republicans who still possess spines are under such pressure from the scum team""DeLay, Rove, Karen Hughs""that they compromise so often that they repeatedly let their constituents down.
America is in big trouble""in danger of losing its leadership economically, technologically, medically, educationally".. Oh. We've already lost our leadership medically and educationally. We lag pathetically on those two counts already. The educational problem will surely get worse, as we become a laughing stock of the world, with our kids forced to study fundamentalist forced biblical creationism and our school system threatened by fundamentalists who really want to take over the schools and replace them with religious schools. Already, the US is losing business opportunities because our workers, particularly in the red states, are just plain too dumb""ignorant and under-educated.
The selling out of America will not be the end of the world. China will probably grab the new role as economic leader of the world (with the help of Walmart.) India could take over the technological leadership.
Imagine the US as a third world nation""overcrowded, filthy, bogus elections, a government that serves massive corporations owned by international cartels and a handful of individuals and families who have made billions on war, on energy market chaos (like Ken Lay.) Imagine a nation with a population lazing in a state of complacent lassitude. Compare that to the passionate, violent, aggressive Iraqis who are pissed at what is happening in and to their country. Perhaps they are too violent and kill too many innocent civilians. But I wonder if the USA isn't worth some passion too.
Call me paranoid, but I don't think George Bush was elected president in 2000 or 2004. I don't think Chuck Hagel won his race ( he was a shareholder in the company that counted the votes in his state.) I don't think a number of republican senators really won their races in 2000, 2002 and 2004. I don't think Paul Wellstone's death was an accident.
But we can't be sure because the vote counting process in this nation is so totally impaired, god dammit, totally screwed up!! And although bills in the senate and congress have been submitted to clean up the mess, Republicans are not supporting them. Why should they. They win with this corrupt system. Every legislator who has failed to sign on to these laws should be facing demonstrations in their home districts. Voters should be doing whatever it takes to make sure that not a single federal election takes place without proper election counting technology and rules in place.
Cleaning up the vote counting system will insure that the new Bush-owned and controlled court system will not be able to appoint any more presidents. But there is still so much to clean up, to correct, to put back that the Republicans have corrupted, privatized, de-regulated in the service of corporations and churches. It's a gargantuan task. It will take a strong, organized Democratic party to make it happen. That means cleaning house, starting with the DLC, and the turncoat Democrats who voted for Cafta, for weakening bankruptcy laws to the favor of credit card companies".
Every day, with every move by Bush and his republican turncoats, the USA is more and more endangered. Germany must have been in the same situation in the mid 1930's, as Hitler consolidated his power. From then until the end of WWII, Germany went downhill, deeply downhill, while the corrupt leaders used the resources of the country, including the blood of its youth, to feed their grandiose ambitions and greedy goals.
It can happen here. It IS happening here. What are you doing to stop it and turn things around? What more could you be doing?
