Shrill Cries From The Right Tell Tales of Failure

08/21/2005

Paul Munnis

The GOP is getting shrill trying to bait Democrats into telling them how to govern our nation. They are fresh out of ideas and everything that they have tried has turned to dust. After five years they cannot point to a single successful program. They are scared. The sight of political ignominy is frightening to them.

They scream that we Democrats don’t advance any ideas yet we have done plenty of that. They just choose not to act on our advice. They turn a deaf ear to advice from Democrats.

For example in the conduct of war in Iraq we have made many suggestions. So have members of the GOP moderates not a part of the neo-con movement. All of it is just blown off. Here are just a few of the ideas advanced by Democrats: increase border security in Iraq, get the Iraq infrastructure repaired and working, stop POW abuse and Torture, increase the number of troops committed to Iraq, work more on winning the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people. Properly equip our troops. give our troops a proper reason for fighting. Most important of all: give Iraq back to the Iraqi’s to govern.

In the matter of the U.S. economy we have given very practical advice to Bush. Here are just a few examples of the advice given: stop illegal immigration, fund schools for Federal mandates, establish a national healthcare system, modernize Labor Laws, place tariffs on Chinese imports being dumped such as textiles, convert to a VAT, lead on energy conservation and subsidize alternative energy development. We have suggested ending the subsidy on SUV’s, restoring the progressive income tax, restoring taxation of American corporations, and expanding Social Security and Medicare programs to provide for a national health and retirement system. Imagine, we Democrats dared to suggest allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices in order to contain the costs of the prescription drug program then the GOP had a fit over that idea and legislated a law preventing any such negotiations. The program is now going broke over prescription drug costs.

On foreign policy none of the ideas that we have advanced have been given the courtesy of a hearing. Bush and Rice have created a disaster in American Foreign Policy and they refuse to listen to their critics. Add to the deafness a stubborn streak and you have a sure-fire recipe for failure.

The GOP has taken the approach that any of these ideas from Democrats are to be avoided and that is why they are failing. They also rebuff suggestions from the likes of Sen. John McCain of their own Party. They rule out these possibilities mainly for ideological reasons.

The GOP also continues to divide America rather than unite us and the result is that they sponsor programs that tear down our society and not programs that will build us up as a nation. Under the GOP the average person’s lot in life is declining and that is why the GOP will be tossed out of office. They are bad for America and it’s really just that simple.

So we have given lots of positive suggestions that do not even get the courtesy of a hearing from the GOP controlled Congress. Democrats represent a Centrist position in American politics while neo-cons represent an extremist position. The result is a government made up of right-wing extremists who cannot govern a nation of centrists very successfully.

The GOP theme song regarding Democrats and taxation simply pales besides the corruption, scandal, and raids on the U.S. Treasury led by the GOP. Our national debt is on the edge of being out of control and the U.S. Economy is nowhere as robust as the GOP tries to paint it. The GOP has built deficit for as far as the eye can see and failed to stimulate the economy in the process. Now they are opening the doors to inflation in a desperate bid to make the numbers look better even though the results will be worse.

Who can fix this mess? Right now only the neo-cons yet they cannot decide on a fix for anything in the matrix of disarray that they have created. The GOP is a ruling Party divided on policy and run by a lame duck and failed second-term President.

When Congress returns from recess they will hear from Democrats once again but they will also not listen once again. So things will get worse not better.

Yup, the GOP runs the country but we Democrats are to blame … right, un-huh, tell us another one.

The lyrics to a older pop-song apply to the Republican Party today: “It’s my party and I can cry if I want to..., you would cry too if it happened to you.”