They say they want less government, smaller government, less government intrusion into people's lives. But they really make government bigger. They have massively expanded the military and homeland security. The difference is, people on the left advocate government that produces added value and benefits for Americans. The right wingers create big government that costs hundreds of billions but that does not build roads, improve infrastructure, enhance our technological advantages, improve schools, strengthen our security. They piss away money on contracts with cronies, foreign contractors, mercenaries, foreign outsourced contractors.
They shrink government functions and agencies designed to protect us, to plan for future emergencies, by cutting funds in the tens of millions and then, when the weakened defenses fail to hold, like the broken levees, or the incompetent crony appointments fail to plan and carry out failed Iraq liberation, they must spend tens or hundreds of billions fixing their screw-ups.
Protecting America
They bluster and make a lot of noise about making America safer, and go off to war in Afghanistan and Iraq. They talk tough about fighting evil, about protecting us from WMDs. But they are incompetent, dishonest, corrupt, deceptive and ineffective at what they do. They make war with phantoms that don't exist. They don't understand the dynamics of the threats of terrorism and oversimplify a problem that will not respond to their simple-minded approaches.
Their deep seated belief that partisan loyalty (as compared to patriotism) is more important than competence and experience has riddled the USA with layer upon layer of low quality administrators and managers so the leadership at all levels of government ha been severely compromised. No business would work this way, so they even betray their business philosophical approach they claim to take.
We are less safe now than ever. The Iraq disaster has created the biggest, most successful terrorist recruiting and training ground ever. It is a the most successful action ever taken to build hate, contempt for and mistrust of the US. The colossal failure to take care of our own post Katrina and the Levee break has drastically lowered the world's estimation of us as a superpower, so they now see us as a megapowered fascist, third world nation that is incredibly dangerous to the rest of the world and ourselves. If the US was a psychiatric patient, it would be involuntarily committed to a psychiatric hospital for being dangerous to herself and others.
Anti Tax and Spend
Tax and spend. That's the phrase they use to describe Democrats. Well the right wing republicans spend and spend. They are incredibly irresponsible with money, dragging the USA down a deeper and deeper debtor's path. Fiscal responsibility used to be a core Republican value""not any more. USA debt is getting so bad it is endangering our long term international viability. George Bush learned how to get rich by spending enormous sums of Government money. When he was governor and owner of a pro athletic team, he built a huge $200 million dollar stadium. That helped increase the value of his interest in the team and he made a few million dollars. That's his lesson. Spend two hundred million, make a few million. He's changed the numbers to hundreds of billions now though. Can anyone doubt that he'll leave the presidency a billionaire?
Freedom from Regulations
The extreme right wingers who have taken over congress profess to want to get rid of regulations. They suggest that they want to free people of intrusion into their lives. But really, they get rid of regulations that impede big businesses from making more profits and raping the nation""environmentally, abusing employees, grabbing assets held by the nation as part of the commons. And then they go and add new regulations that help corporations to define what they are NOT responsible for. The FDA sets rules so the corporations can claim they met those rules (which were weak and ineffective) and can then claim to no be liable for losses, damages, injuries, deaths.
Protecting Life and Faith Based
They claim to protect life, by opposing abortion. But they really pander to a lie, since they also oppose birth control, which would protect many women and families from unwanted pregnancies. They allow corporations to release toxins into the environment that kill tens or hundreds of thousands in the US alone. They allow pharmaceutical companies to release drugs that are know to kill and then fail to punish them. Why shouldn't corporations get the death penalty they are so happy to apply to mentally ill and retarded people. Me, I don't oppose the death penalty. People who kill democracy by corrupting the election process should be tried, convicted and executed. People who lie to start wars should be tried, convicted and executed. Hypocrites who claim to support life while supporting corporate and military killers are blind fools, duped by leaders who sell out for money. Bush even said he would "reimburse" churches for the money they put out helping victims of Katrina. This sounds like dirty money to me. He is buying church leaders who support him. The only thing faith based about the right wing republicans is they have faith that the modern day money changers in the churches""the leaders of the televangelical and mega-church ministries have their hands out for billions in funds that the right wing has handed out to buy their support.
LOWER TAXES
What's that leave the republican party with""no taxes? That's not quite true. State and local taxes have gone up. Health insurance is not called a tax, but you know it has gone through the roof. If you don't pay it and your employer does, then there's a good chance you will get less of a raise because your health insurance has doubled in the last few years, since Bush came into office. University costs have also risen way above average inflation and now parents get less help with it.
They want to get rid of the estate tax. They've already cut off higher taxes for the wealthy. Now with a huge war to pay for and a record disaster recovery""really a repair of damage caused by failure to plan and prevent a preventable catastrophe""we have unbelievably huge demands upon our resources that will cost every family thousands of dollars. We pay for these monuments to incompetence, stupidity and cronyism with higher gas and home heating and electrical prices. Higher prices for airfares and all items that must be transported.
So you got a few hundred or a few thousand back in a rebate check. That was the most expensive check you ever cashed. And if you voted republican, it was based on the biggest pack of lies a swindler ever told.