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OpEdNews Op Eds    H2'ed 6/29/11

How the Republicans have Booby Trapped Their Own Party

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The Republicans could have been heroes. The path was laid out for a triumphant return to power even after the whopping Bush-term failures for which the whole party was blamed. In reality, the Democrats were just as much to blame for not standing up to the then president's failed agenda.

A comeback was so simple -- Republicans needed to show America that they were strong, powerful and in charge. They could have, but instead they reminded all of us that they not only don't care about America or their constituents. They seem focused only on the top 2 percent of the nation.

The Republicans are supposed to be the fiscally conservative ones, yet they killed that myth under Bush. Taxes were lowered while spending increased. Everything our World War II generation sacrificed for, including paying down the debt in the aftermath of the second great war, was quickly discarded. Our national debt soared, but there was still hope.

That hope was not Barack Obama, it was the fact that the Bush tax cuts were temporary. Any true conservative should know that the best plan after President Bush would be to let those cuts expire. But, the neo-cons had a new plan -- tell the poor that the cuts for the rich somehow affected them. This was a very bold lie and a very foolhardy plan. Less educated conservatives may buy the lies the Party is selling, but once they "own" an idea or ideal, they do not give it up easily. This Tea Party appeasement may be one of the first steps towards right-wing political doom.

The problem with a lie is that to keep it going you have to tell more lies. These lies were covering older Bush-era lies. The country is now risking very serious economic problems -- and we already have serious economic problems. Our currency is the world's currency. The real reason for the war in Iraq was due to the fact that the country was willing to accept the Euro for oil, which put the dollar at risk. (Yet another lie to cover other lies that lead to even more lies.) Now, by not coming to an agreement to raise the debt ceiling and insure our debt obligations are paid we risk the U.S. credit rating -- and the power of the dollar in the long run.

The Democrats are taking the "heroic" approach the Tea Party should love -- they want to balance the budget. Any sane person should realize that the money to pay our debts must come from somewhere. The Republicans are telling a new lie to protect the old lies. The new lie -- no new taxes. What new taxes? The Democrats want to let the tax cuts rightly expire and close the previously unseen loopholes.

The Republicans could look like heroes. They could come out standing tall, letting Americans know that they are keeping their promise of no new taxes. They could remind us that they knew the Bush tax cuts were only temporary and that it will only affect the top 2 percent of the richest Americans -- it will not affect the majority of voters. They could let We the People and the Tea Party know that they were helping to close tax loops to insure a fair tax policy for all Americans by taking some of the burden to pay off the middle class.

But they can't do the right thing -- it just isn't in their best interest.


Politics isn't about leadership or fixing America. Politics is about fundraising. That top 2 percent pay their Republican lackeys very well in campaign contributions to tell these lies and look the fool. The question now waiting to be asked is, just how dumb is the Tea Party? They are dumb enough to buy the "trickle down" economic theory. They are dumb enough to think that Republicans really care about their version of "Christian" values -- they are even dumb enough to think that the Republicans in Washington actually care about them. But they are also smart enough to see that the Republicans they put in office are not following through with their impossible promises.

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A graduate of Franklin University with a degree in Digital Communications, David is the co-president of the Church of Jesus Christ in Christian Fellowship, a nondenominational Latter Day Saint/Mormon movement. In the past, he was a full time (more...)
 

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